Despite Bad Call, Arizona Proves Toughness in Victory

Let’s take two things away from Arizona‘s overtime win over Colorado:

1) Arizona should not have won after the officials incorrectly waved off Sabatino Chen‘s game-winning 3-pointer.

2) The Wildcats proved they may be the toughest team in the country.

First things first. The side replay of Chen’s shot showed the ball was out of his hands with 0.1 left. How the officials missed that I have no idea because it was clear from the television replays. The official closest to the play said it was good and since it was too close to call, there’s no reason why it should have been overturned.

Just like in any other sport, there should be conclusive evidence before changing a call. Unless the officials only saw the camera angle behind Chen’s back, I can’t see a reason why they’d overturn it. SI/CBS college basketball analyst Seth Davis retweeted this picture from a side replay that seemed as conclusive as any I saw.

That said, I’m willing to give Arizona credit from coming back from being down 17 in the first half and down five with a minute left in regulation. Riding the trend of their close wins over Florida and San Diego State, they chipped away at Colorado’s lead in the second half despite senior captain Solomon Hill on the bench with four fouls.

Mark Lyons (24 pts.) proved again why he’s as clutch as anybody in the country with his game-tying free throws in regulation. Kevin Parrom (16 pts.) showed his potential as a great sixth man with his buckets in overtime. There’s a reason why the Wildcats are ranked No. 3 in the country and they showed it.

It’s a shame that a bad call will ruin Arizona continuing their undefeated start. It’s a game they should’ve lost and Colorado has every right to feel cheated. At the same time, give the Wildcats their credit for staying composed in overtime and making the most of a second chance.