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ACC admits refs screwed up end of regulation after Duke OT loss to No. 8 Virginia

Jack Baer
Staff writer
·2 min read
28
Duke's Kyle Filipowski (30) goes up for a basket against Virginia during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Mike Kropf)

A controversial end to regulation on Saturday had Duke fans fuming and the ACC issuing a mea culpa only a few hours after the final buzzer.

With the score tied 58-58 against No. 8 Virginia and 1.2 seconds remaining in the second half, Duke inbounded the ball to star freshman Kyle Filipowski, who had a clear path to the basket after shaking loose from his defender. Filipowski seemingly had a game-winning dunk in his hands, then some late movement from the Virginia defense left him on the floor and the game headed to overtime.

Replay showed Virginia's Reece Beekman making contact with the ball then Filipowski's right arm, followed by Ryan Dunn hitting Filipowski from behind.

The officials ended up ruling that because the foul was committed after the clock reached zero, it did not count and the game would remain tied. Virginia went on to steamroll Duke in overtime for a 69-62 win.

The ACC disagreed, releasing a statement Saturday night calling the decision "an incorrect adjudication of the playing rules" and admitting Duke should have received two free throws at the end of regulation.

Here's how the conference explained it:

Per Rule 5, Section 7, Article 3c of the NCAA Rule Book, while a foul occurred after expiration of play, the ball was still in flight, thus the student-athlete should have been granted two free throw attempts.

Rule 5, Section 7, Article 3c states "when a foul occurs so near the expiration of time that the official timer cannot stop the game clock before time expires or when the foul occurs after time expires but while the ball is in flight during a try, the period shall end when the free throw(s) and all related activity have been completed."

A.R. 130, Section 2 of the NCAA Casebook notes in a scenario where "Shooter A1 releases the ball, time expires, A1 is fouled while the ball is in flight and the try is unsuccessful, since the try was released before the expiration of time and since the foul occurred after time expired but while the ball was in flight and A1 was an airborne shooter, A1 shall attempt two free throws even if the first is successful. When both free throws are unsuccessful, the game continues with an extra period(s)."

The ACC said it addressed the situation with both teams and the officials, and now considers the matter closed, though that's probably not going to stop Duke fans from grousing.

Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the loss will indeed count, knocking their record down to 17-8 (8-6 in ACC play).