A dumb goaltending rule cost Kentucky 2 critical points in loss to Texas A&M

With 5:55 left in the first half, Texas A&M was called for a goaltend as Aggies forward Wildens Leveque attempted to block the shot of Kentucky’s DJ Wagner at the rim. The referees initially counted the bucket, allowing Kentucky to cut Texas A&M’s lead down to four, 33-29.

At first glance, it looked as though Leveque cleanly got to the ball before it hit the backboard. The officials ruled that they would look at the play during the next timeout.

When they did, they saw what everyone else did: a clean block. The refs then wiped those two points off the board for Kentucky. The Wildcats went on to lose in overtime, 97-92. While those two points didn’t have a serious impact on the outcome, it feels like they did considering how close the game was down the stretch.

But it never should have happened in the first place. Had the refs not incorrectly called the goaltend, Kentucky’s Ugonna Onyenso was already in position to grab the offensive rebound right in front of the rim, which he did. The Wildcats also had the possession arrow. At the very least, UK should have been awarded the ball out of bounds with another opportunity to score right then and there. The rules say otherwise though.

Instead of checking on the goaltending call immediately after it occurred, which would have shown Kentucky had possession, the officials elected to look at it during the following media timeout. Texas A&M wound up with the ball. The refs then retroactively took the two points away from the Wildcats in one of the more confusing rule calls you’ll come across in college basketball.

“If it hurt us, they won’t change it,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said of the call postgame.

Obviously, that call alone didn’t cost Kentucky the game. There was far too much that happened over the ensuing 24 minutes of regulation and then in overtime to seriously make that kind of statement. The Wildcats had all the chances in the world to get those two points back. Not making a single field goal in overtime wasn’t because Kentucky was robbed of two points in the first half due to one bad whistle.

But the sole idea that a call such as this one could even be made makes absolutely zero sense. If there is a question about a goaltending call, it should be decided right then and there.

Just another day in the world of college basketball officials…