The Big Ten has officially released a statement on the missed call from officials Larry Scirotto, Kipp Kissinger and Roger Ayers about the ending of the Ohio State’s vs. Rutgers game on Thursday night. The play resulted in the Buckeyes winning on a long shot by Tanner Holden.
With five seconds left and a two-point lead of 66-64, Penn State’s Caleb McConnell missed a free throw, got back on defense and forced the Buckeyes to the sideline. The ball handler, Bruce Thornton, looked to step out of bounds before making a pass to Tanner Holden who was open a few feet away. If Thornton was not out of bounds, the video tape shows that Holden was standing out of bounds with both feet before coming back in and hitting the game-winner. That violation was missed by the refs.
THIS IS THE OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE BIG TEN:
The Big Ten Conference has reviewed the officiating from The Ohio State University (OSU) and Rutgers University (Rutgers) men’s basketball game on December 9, 2022, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
During regulation play, an OSU student-athlete passed the ball to a teammate who had drifted out of bounds and returned to the court to complete the game-winning shot. The action of stepping out of bounds and being the first player to touch the ball after returning inbounds consisted a violation of NCAA Rule 9, Section 3, Article 1. The play should have been stopped and the ball ruled dead.
The officiating crew that was on the court is one of the best in the country, but unfortunately missed the call. The Big Ten Conference takes officiating very seriously and has addressed the matter with both the member institutions and the officiating crew. Additionally, the conference will be providing added education and rule reinforcement to our basketball officials.
The NCAA rulebook states that “a player who steps out of bounds under the player’s own volition and then becomes the first player to touch the ball after returning to the playing court has committed a violation.”
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