Charles Barkley says Santa Clara should have fouled Kentucky in final seconds of regulation
By David Wasson
Published:
Let the second-guessing begin for the Santa Clara Broncos, who saw their March Madness dreams dissolve into pure March Sadness in just 2.4 seconds Friday against Kentucky.
Santa Clara’s Allen Graves buried a wing 3 to put the 10th-seeded Broncos ahead of the 10th-seeded Wildcats 73-70 with less than 3 seconds to play. But instead of calling one of their three remaining timeouts to discuss defensive strategy, Santa Clara went straight into full-court defense – only to see Kentucky’s Otega Oweh bank home a 3 at the buzzer to tie it and force overtime.
The decision by veteran coach Herb Sendek not to call a timeout – and set up a situation to foul the Wildcats and send them to the free-throw line instead of the potential to make a 3 – was one that CBS/TNT analyst Charles Barkley took exception to during the post-game highlight package.
“I 100 percent, not 99 not 59, I 100 percent of the time think you foul,” Barkley said. “But because they didn’t call time out, they didn’t have an opportunity. The kid had just made a heckuva shot. But I always believe you foul – but I also give them a pass in that situation because they didn’t call time out and because the kids didn’t know it.”
Kentucky would go on to outscore Santa Clara 16-11 in the 5-minute overtime session and win 89-84 to advance to Sunday’s second round in the Midwest Region.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
