Kennesaw State upset bid ends in controversy after no-call against Xavier by refs in March Madness

Kennesaw State was inches away from winning their first NCAA Tournament game in school history against Xavier as the No. 14 seeded Owls fell by just five points against the No. 3 seed Musketeers. However, the final score doesn’t tell the full story. Kennesaw dominated most of the game and even built a 13-point lead in the second half before going cold.

The Owls were up 61-48 and cruising towards Friday’s first big upset over the Big East powerhouse. From there, Xavier clamped down and held KSU scoreless for six straight minutes en route to a 14-0 run, which helped them leap ahead 62-61 late in the game. Kennesaw was then able to string together a few buckets as the game stayed close down the stretch.

In the final minute, a pair of calls on offensive rebounds ultimately swung the outcome. The score was tied 67-67 and Xavier tried to inch ahead with under 30 seconds left, but missed their shot and got fouled while grabbing the offensive rebound. At the line, the Musketeers converted one of two with 13 seconds to play, leaving plenty of time for the Owls to nail a game-winner.

With moments to go, Kennesaw point guard Terrell Burden got low on his drive to the hoop and wedged past his defender but was blocked on his layup attempt by Xavier center Jack Nunge. After Nunge pinned the ball against the glass, Kennesaw’s Spencer Rodgers went to collect the offensive rebound and go back up for a potential game-winner. However, he was hacked on the arm by Xavier guard Colby Jones and lost control before he could put up a shot. The Musketeers came up with the loose ball with just 2.6 seconds to play and were fouled, essentially ending the game.

That whack from Jones went uncalled and Kennesaw State fans everywhere were outraged. Take a look at a slow-motion replay of the final sequence and judge for yourself: should Xavier have been whistled for a foul?

missed call by the refs in the Kennesaw State vs Xavier game pic.twitter.com/kZv2iOYAUj

— Ted Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) March 17, 2023

Rules analyst Gene Steratore joined the broadcast to explain that he didn’t see a foul by No. 2 Jerome Hunter. Except that’s not the missed call everyone was talking about, Gene! Even the the guy who is supposed to be on top of all refereeing decisions missed the obvious arm smack by No. 3 Jones.

Just a brutal way to go down for the Owls. They controlled the game from the opening tip and even had Xavier in a chokehold up by 13 in the second half…only to go ice cold for six minutes and allow a 14-0 run, then have an obvious missed foul call go against you on the game-deciding play. The hurt will lie heavy on the heart of coach Amir Abdur-Rahim (yes, Shareef’s brother) after that one. But he can take solace in the fact his boys even got to the Big Dance for the first time in program history and went toe-to-toe with a titan.

They’re building a real program in Owl Town.