CBS Sports March Madness crew have heated debate over controversial foul call in Creighton vs San Diego State

After Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup between Creighton and San Diego State ended on a controversial foul call to give the Aztecs the win, there are bound to be differing opinions. That was clear in a postgame discussion with the CBS Sports March Madness crew in which former Villanova coach Jay Wright and analyst Clark Kellogg debated whether it was the right call.

Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard clearly appeared to bump SDSU’s Darrion Trammell, who missed the first free throw but made the second with 1.2 seconds remaining to secure a 57-56 victory. However, while Kellogg believes the call should have been made no matter how much time was left, Wright argued that from a coach’s perspective, it depends on how the game had been officiated to that point.

“The fact that it was at the end of the game doesn’t change the fact that an airborne shooter was bumped and it affected his ability to make the shot,” Kellogg said.

“Airborne shooters were bumped the whole game (without fouls),” Wright replied.

“What I’m saying is, within the spirit of the game, there is an opportunity when all contact is not a foul,” Kellogg explained. “All contact is not advantage-disadvantage. But when it’s clear no matter what’s been going on the rest of the game for that call, that’s when it has to be made in my opinion.”

CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore explained on air why the foul was called on Creighton, saying it was the hand of Nembhard on Trammell’s hip that affected the shot. However, Wright continued to argue his point that there is a certain level of understanding between coaches and officials based on how the rest of the game plays out.

“This is what Greg McDermott is going to say: if you would have called that call the whole rest of the game when our guys were driving the ball or when their guys were driving the ball, I’m fine with that. But you didn’t,” he said. “That’s what he’s gonna say. Everyone else in basketball is gonna say your point, which is correct. If it’s a foul and that shooter is dislodged, which he is a little bit. We did a clip earlier in the game where Dev cut it up for us and I showed them driving to the rim and these guys were all getting dislodged every time and there were no calls.”

Kenny Smith chimed in to the discussion to add that if what Wright was saying was true, the officials would receive a bad grade not only on that deciding call, but the whole game. Kellogg argued that they were simply trying to get things right, and any earlier misses are just a natural part of human nature.

“I think the officials are trying to make the right call,” Kellogg said. “Surely they want to advance, but they’re trying to make the right call every time. Sometimes they miss them and sometimes they don’t. These are amplified because they’re late in the game and they decided the game. But they’re basically trying to officiating to the standard that will allow them to move on throughout the entire game. In the context of the game, they are gonna be human and make some mistakes and mess some up.”

Wright added his final thoughts, once again drawing from his personal experience as a coach.

“The basic basketball perspective is if that’s a foul and the shooter’s dislodged that should be called,” he said. “I’m just telling you from a coach’s perspective when you’re in a game, there’s a feel between coaches and officials were you’re saying, ‘this game is being called a certain way. We’re all expecting a consistency. That’s just something that happens in basketball that you have to live with.”

Ultimately, the foul call on Creighton can’t be reversed and the Blue Jays will have to live with the way things ended. But as we saw Sunday, it certainly creates for an interesting discussion.