Kansas/Kansas State Brouhaha

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by IUgrad92

My bad..... initially Trail, then to new Lead. Thought that was an assumption I could make, but normally learn that there's always one.....

Here's the point I was trying to get at....

First, bad play/decision by the Kansas St. defender on stealing the ball. Definitely not warranted or necessary. What if Trail nails him with a hand check foul? Likely, nothing occurs afterwards, you shoot Bonus and game over.

Second, probably not the best decision for Kansas player to aggressively go after K State player on the block shot. Why not just walk towards your bench, let him have the silly 2 points, and get ready to shake hands? However, what if new Lead has a STRONG whistle for body contact on the Kansas defender and immediately closes down and has a presence with the involved players? Does anything likely occur at that point?

In both plays, was there an actual foul committed? Likely not. But in either/both cases I fully believe a whistle could have been a huge prevention tool. And if like most games, a foul in either of these two plays likely would not have been the worst call made during this specific game.

The covering official is John Higgins.
He gets stuck behind the play because it surprises him when the K St player steals the ball. Everyone was expecting the simple run out the clock action. Higgins almost gets run over by the K St player and then is not in a good position to handle the shot attempt. There is a clear foul on the shot by #5 of Kansas for whacking the shooter’s arm. The other defender blocks the ball cleanly.

Would calling this foul have made any difference to the ensuing aftermath? I seriously doubt it. The animosity which occurred there is going to take place either with or without a foul call.