The world is saying that Boise State was cheated out of a win last night at Moby Arena, when referees determined that the Broncos’ last-second shot in overtime was no good, but that’s not fair to the CSU Rams.
As any good sports fan can attest, no single play or call costs a team a game, though it may feel that way. In every game, and in the Rams’ victory Wednesday night, there are many plays that determine the final outcome. Shot good or not, the Rams were the better team.
Colorado State was the underdog heading into the game, and the fact that they had even reached overtime against the 16-9 Boise State Broncos is a testament to how well they were playing.
From the first tipoff, the Rams came out pounding, Moby was a sea of green and gold and the team was ready to play. With a little under three minutes to go in the first half, CSU had yet to trail for a second, capitalizing on several key Bronco turnovers and dominating on the boards.
The battle continued into the second half, where Boise State’s shots began to fall, but CSU’s hard work in the paint, both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, kept them within striking distance. And after trailing by as much as five points, the Rams pushed the game into overtime with a big-time three-pointer from John Gillon and a couple clutch free throws from Tiel Daniels.
The game remained close throughout the first overtime, with CSU hitting the shots they needed to hit, but that’s not what the world noticed; the world noticed the one shot that didn’t actually count.
Boise State had the ball sideline out of bounds with a chance for a quick shot before the game would be sent to double overtime. James Webb III chucked up a floater from deep and banked it hard off the glass. Upon review, checking multiple different clocks and angles, the referees determined the shot was no good.
Wow. This got waved off???
Boise State got robbed of a game-winner.
VIDEO: https://t.co/rjVgXvNr6Q pic.twitter.com/iJs36Y2IAy— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 11, 2016
As the refs would explain, the question was not whether the ball was released before the shot clock expired, but rather was the shot clock correct in the first place?
Sports Center put a clock on it, saying the release time was at .7 seconds, making the bucket good, and even Rams fan could rationally come to the conclusion that the bucket was good. Nonetheless, it doesn’t matter today.
Not only did the Rams come out victorious, but they deserved it; they earned it. And if Boise State or ESPN or whomever want to break down every poor call the refs made on Wednesday night as much as they have this one, they’ll find plenty of “game-changing” moments, several of which went against the Rams.
It may be a tough pill to swallow for the Broncos, but that doesn’t make it any less-important of a win for the Rams.