Rand: Gophers-Iowa clock issue raises plenty of what ifs

per Rand:

• What would have happened if Minnesota hadn’t called a timeout — instead inbounding with 6.1 seconds left — and scored on a play that took more than 3.5 seconds but fewer than 6.1? Could officials have taken the basket away from them after the fact?

• What would have happened if Uthoff had missed his shot, but Iowa had rebounded and then scored with what seemed like enough time left but in reality was after time should have elapsed?

Ideally, play would have been stopped with 11.8 seconds left, had officials realized at the time that the clock had inadvertently stopped. In that scenario, too, the entire end of the game would have played out differently.

An attempt to gain some clarity from the Big Ten on Wednesday was unsuccessful. So, too, was finding a similar enough finish that would establish precedent. All we know now is the Gophers haven’t defeated a single Big Ten opponent this season, the clock included.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/288627111.html

Go Gophers!!

I was wondering about this too. What if we inbounded and took it to half court, like happens all the time, then called a TO, thinking there was plenty of time? If there ended up only being .5 seconds left, are we just screwed? That seems extremely wrong.

I remember a March Madness game a few years back where the timekeeper stopped the clock during play late in the game (shot clock was already off and it was the last possession I believe). The clock restarted after a few seconds without play stopping, the team with the ball was losing by a possession or less ended up stalling at the top of the key to hold for the last shot, they missed a shot but scored after an offensive rebound as time expired to either tie or win the game. The refs went to the replay, decided that the amount of time that should have ticked off when the clock was stopped exceeded the amount of time on the clock, and therefore the basket did not count and the game was over.

I thought that outcome was wildly unfair, especially since the team with the ball stopped to stall time at the top of the key. They clearly had a play they wanted to run at a certain time on the clock, and presumably that factors in them not wanting the other team to have another chance with the ball but still allowing them time for an offensive rebound. Also, you assume that had there been two less seconds on the clock, they would have stalled for two less seconds before running their play. It seemed like a terrible way for the refs to deal with the situation.

Of course, conversely, I could understand the other team being upset about losing or having the game tied on a shot when the other team had two more seconds on their possession than they should have. So that seems unfair too. The only other option seems to be to replay the play with the correct amount of time on the clock, but that is also absurd (like that old USA/USSR game).

Bottom line is that when officials (either on court or off court) make dumb mistakes like this, it cheats both teams and the fans. One team gets hosed, the other has the story change from them winning to the officiating.

Ya, we was hosed. It's an anti-Gopher conspiracy.

Dr.Don said:

Ya, we was hosed. It's an anti-Gopher conspiracy.

Click to expand...

Welcome back from vacation Doc. Good to know that the time off didn't make you any funnier.