I didn't want to put this in the official recap because it's not why Texas Tech lost the game, but good grief what an all-time awful slow-mo replay overturn in the final minutes of the National Championship game.

The play in question was late in the overtime period and Davide Moretti ran down a loose ball to complete a Virginia turnover with Texas Tech down two points. With a minute left on the clock, Virginia chases down Moretti and slaps the ball away.

Easy enough call to make, but the officials send it to review to double check.

In the aftermath of the seemingly simple open and shut out of bounds call, in what seemed like a scene from a cheesy CSI show on cable tv the CBS crew dissected the moment Moretti's pinky left the ball in super slow-mo. Jim Nantz kept screaming enhance, enhance to get a "clearer" look at the ball.

Then the officials inserted themselves into the biggest moment of the biggest game and changed the call.

Because of slow-mo replay.

My initial reaction:

Again, this isn't the reason Texas Tech lost. I felt that the Red Raiders took two bad shots at the end of regulation, but the changed call did end the game. Virginia would get the possession and ride free throws to victory.

To have the momentum late in an overtime period flipped like that is a discredit to the game and to sports.

Geoff Schwartz said it well:

I don't want to sound like a sore loser but I do feel like we were robbed of a much better finish to an incredible game because of a bogus slow-mo change of a simple call. Virginia knocked the ball loose, open and shut. Officials in sports have become so obsessed with getting the call "right" the spirit of the game has been completely washed.

Credit to Virginia for taking advantage of the momentum shift and sinking eight straight free throws to finish the overtime period after the pivotal reversal.

Maybe the slow-mo screw job is just another moment in Virginia's run as the team of destiny.

 

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