The NCAA confirmed Tuesday that a crucial end-of-game backcourt violation was incorrectly whistled against Syracuse during the team's season-ending NCAA Tournament loss Sunday to Marquette.
The score was tied at 59 with 51 seconds remaining and the Orange were inbounding the ball in the frontcourt after a stoppage. Dion Waiters threw the ball in to guard Scoop Jardine, who jumped to catch it and landed with part of his foot touching the halfcourt line.
"The Syracuse player made a legal play and no violation should have been called," NCAA officials coordinator John Adams told Syracuse.com.
According to the NCAA rulebook, "After a jump ball or during a throw-in, the player in his/her frontcourt, who makes the initial touch on the ball while both feet are off the playing court, may be the first to secure control of the ball and land with one or both feet in the backcourt. It makes no difference if the first foot down was in the front court or back court."
After the call, Marquette took possession and guard Darius Johnson-Odom made a decisive three-pointer to give the Golden Eagles a 62-59 lead, en route to a 66-62 win. Marquette advanced to face North Carolina in the Sweet 16 Friday night.
The blown call is the latest in a string of controversial officiating decisions that occurred over the weekend in the NCAA Tournament.
On Sunday, a questionable five-second violation cost Texas in the waning seconds of its loss to Arizona. Replays showed that Texas guard Cory Joseph was not given a full five seconds by the official before his attempt to call timeout was denied.
In the final moments of North Carolina's win over Washington Sunday, replays showed that the Huskies should have been given another second on the clock to try a last-second shot in an 86-83 loss. The officials opted not to review when the ball touched out of bounds on the preceding shot, leaving Washington with 0.5 seconds for a final desperation play.
