UNC Steals Title in Foul-Plagued Championship Game by Max DiGiacomo ’18

UNC Steals Title in Foul-Plagued Championship Game by Max DiGiacomo 18

 

The North Carolina Tar Heels faced off against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 2017 NCAA Basketball Championship. It was a terribly boring game from start to finish. Neither team could make shots and there were fouls called in almost every minute of play. The refs were some of the worst in championship history. The teams missed a high percentage of their free throws. An atrociously high number of threes were missed by both sides. Possibly the worse call of the game came on what could have changed the outcome of the game: Gonzaga was given possession of the ball within the final 2 minutes of play when the refs said that a 3 point airball was tipped by Carolina. It clearly wasn’t. On that possession, Gonzaga strapped a three and made it a tie game. UNC was able to steal the game in the final minutes, but the game was boring to any casual viewer or fan of either team due to the excessive foul calls and referee “interference.” Replay also ruined the pace of the game, as the refs took minutes to make sure their calls were right, and still sometimes get it wrong. This is the 6th national championship for the blue-blood Tar Heels, while Gonzaga will have to wait another year for their first.