CBB Fans Slam ‘Brutal’ Late Non-Call as Penny Hardaway, Memphis Fall to FAU in Upset

No. 9 Florida Atlantic defeated No. 8 Memphis 66-65 in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Friday after one of the most frenetic finishes of March Madness thus far.

To set the scene, Memphis inbounded the ball with 19 seconds left and a 65-64 lead. Tigers guard Kendric Davis, who scored a game-high 16 points and gutted out a late right ankle injury, then threw the ball away to FAU’s Brandon Weatherspoon as he tried to evade numerous Owls defenders and cross half court.

However, Memphis’ Jayden Hardaway then gathered a loose ball off an apparent Johnell Davis turnover as he drove to the basket.

The Tigers attempted to call timeout, but referees called a tie-up after Owls players dove for the ball as well.

The possession arrow went to FAU, who then won the game after Nick Boyd drove in for a layup.

Memphis couldn’t get a shot off in the final seconds, and the game was over.

If the referees granted the timeout, the Tigers would have taken the ball out with 5.5 seconds remaining. They would have gone to the free-throw line for one-and-one if they successfully inbounded the ball and got fouled.

The game wouldn’t have been over at that moment, even if Memphis had made both hypothetical free throws to go up three.

Still, it’s a bitter pill to swallow for a team that was in the driver’s seat for much of the night but couldn’t put FAU away.

The Owls deserve credit for coming back down the stretch and executing on their final possession.

The no-call on the timeout, though, got Twitter’s attention.

FAU will now play No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, which upset No. 1 Purdue 63-58 earlier Friday. The FAU-FDU matchup is Sunday.

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