Phantom Call Gives Duke Final Two Points

As both replays in this entry indicate, there was the slightest bit of contact during the first part of Nelson’s drive that was obviously initiated by Nelson’s hook. No whistle blew at the time of the contact. The whistle didn’t blow (and a foul wasn’t called) until a part of the play where there was no contact and until Nelson jumped out of bounds with the ball still in his hands. At that point the whistle HAD to blow. But, as we all know in the ACC, the call also HAD to go against Duke’s opponent.

Since the guys at 850 The Buzz have so much time on their hands and love YouTube so much…I’m looking forward to the song that they write to coordinate with Duke’s winning points today.

Rob Roberts of the N&O was gracious enough to post a link to his video of the call, in the comments, review that and form your opinion.

You knew it was going to happen. We really had little chance. With the Devils down a point and with the ball…DeMarcus Nelson was close to traveling, then blatantly hooked Ben McCauley with his free arm as he drove to the basket (how many times does Brandon Costner get called for this?), then traveled again while simultaneously landing out of bounds with the ball in his hands.

The ACC officials call?

Foul on Ben McCauley. Two shots for DeMarcus Nelson.

Duke hits two free throws. Nobody else scores. Game over. Thanks for playing. The ACC’s darlings are protected and their seed in the NCAA Tournament doesn’t drop any further.

Shew. Disaster averted.

Coach K Wins #800 Duke 87, NC State 86

You can view the CBS video here.

As both replays in this entry indicate, there was the slightest bit of contact during the first part of Nelson’s drive that was obviously initiated by Nelson’s hook. No whistle blew at the time of the contact. The whistle didn’t blow (and a foul wasn’t called) until a part of the play where there was no contact and until Nelson jumped out of bounds with the ball still in his hands. At that point the whistle HAD to blow. But, as we all know in the ACC, the call also HAD to go against Duke’s opponent.