A bid to the Final Four came down to the last second and a critical call by the officials.
Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup between San Diego State and Creighton was a beautiful rock fight of a defensive battle. The back-and-forth action came down to the last second—and one crucial whistle from the officials.
With the score tied, 56-56, SDSU guard Darrion Trammell missed a floater in the lane as the clock neared zero. But Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard was called for a foul on the shot attempt, sending Trammell to the free throw line with 1.2 seconds to play. Trammell missed the first attempt but made the second to send the Aztecs to their first Final Four in program history.
The pivotal call was unsurprisingly a hot topic of debate in the immediate aftermath of the game, both on air among the CBS broadcasters and on social media. Particularly because of the physical, defensive-oriented nature of game—in which each team committed just 11 fouls and there were only 17 combined free throw attempts—seeing the foul called on the last play caught many by surprise. Check out some of the most notable reactions below.