UCLA vs. STANFORD — Should the foul have been called on Collison’s last-second shot? Probably not. But it was a perfect example of the officials’ unwritten rule about “make-up calls.” At the other end of the floor, when Stanford scored the go-ahead bucket, Stanford ABSOLUTELY should have been called for a charge, thus negating the go-ahead basket. Since the zebras missed that call badly, they made up for it with a ticky-tack call (substantial body contact below an otherwise-clean block) on Collison’s shot. (Plus, Collison still had to hit two clutch FTs.)

UCLA vs. CAL — Should the officials have disallowed Shipp’s over-the-corner-of-the-backboard shot? Maybe; maybe not. First off, the officials acknowledged that they couldn’t see clearly whether or not the ball crossed over the corner of the backboard. When they don’t have a clear view of a violation, they simply can’t make the call. [Change the situation -- would you prefer that a team LOSE a game because a "good" or "legal" shot (i.e., one that did NOT catch the corner of the backboard) was disallowed??] Secondly, the over-the-backboard rule was not created or implemented for shots like Shipp’s; it was created to prevent inbounding teams from tossing the ball over the backboard for a non-defendable alley-oop to a taller player starting under the rim on the inbounds-play. At the very least, this is a letter-of-the-rule versus spirit-of-the-rule distinction and allows for some discretion in the officials’ calls. Even if the official HAD seen the ball go over the corner, he might have recognized the distinction and appropriately swallowed his whistle.

REGULAR-SEASON GAMES vs. NCAA TOURNAMENT GAMES — Besides, J, UCLA was tourney-bound with or without those wins, so harping on non-calls in non-Madness games only makes you sound like a sour-grapes whiner. Enjoy the madness for what it is and leave the belly-aching to the involved schools’ ADs. Peace.

But…part of the game is knowing that the ref isn’t gonna call anything on the last play. Pull up for the spot jumper or the Kevin Love fall-away.

Um, ok. Give me the chance. Being 3-of-7 from the line prior to that travesty non-call doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have been 5-9 for the tie. Thats absurd. How about… “let Sloan try 2 FT’s and you’re there”?

If he misses one…THEN you can say UCLA “won” that game.

5-5 is hard enough, but 5-8 is near impossible.

Should other calls have been made? Yes

Does this work out to where if you play good D and gather some momentum, calls may go your way? Yes

Plus, if your hand touches the ball first before sliding down to the wrist, it’s easier to make a no-call. One picture cannot show if that was the case. Let’s move on!!