Nothing But Net ...
 

Ortiz's shot was all luck. Bird's was all skill.

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It was tough for me to see very well, but I have to say that from the shooter's position, it certainly looks like the ball passed over the backboard.

CK came and spoke to a local association here in Columbus.
He asked what officials hated the most. They explained to him about people not understanding the rules, etc.
Plus they explained to him the "terms" people use that are not fouls or proper.

Certainly looks like the @ Santa Clara basket should've been disallowed for a violation of NCAA 9-3-2: "The ball shall be out of bounds when any part of the ball passes over the backboard from any direction."

When In Doubt, Don't Be ...
 

"Certainly" is an awfully strong word. After viewing this several times, I would have used the word "probably". Should officials make calls when something "probably" happens? I know more about multilinear algebra than I do about NCAA rules so I don't know if this was a reviewable play. If the call had to be made in "real time" then, in my opinion, it was a tough call, either way.

Not reviewable as to whether or not there was a violation. They could've gone to the monitor to ensure the shot was released in time, but couldn't have come out and waived off the basket for a violation afterward. (NCAA 2-13-7-c). I agree it's a very tough call in real time, but it looks like, in my opinion, and by virtue of getting to watching it multiple times, that some part of the ball passed over some part of the backboard.
On another note, it'd have been interesting to see the endline camera angle on this, as they have one at either end sitting in a rolling chair for men's games, if I remember correctly from attending quite a few games there.

It's A Game Of Inches, Actually, Fractions Of Inches ...
 

Agree. But I don't fault the officials, who didn't have the ability to look at the play multiple times, like we did.

Man, is it easy to officiate plays on my computer monitor. And I got an new eighteen inch monitor for Christmas to replace my fifteen inch monitor. That should make me a much better official.