UCLA beats SMU after the ref calls goaltending on a 3-pointer that wasn't even close
In the most bizarre ending of the NCAA Tournament so far, UCLA upset SMU 60-59 on a game-winning goaltend call.
UCLA was down 59-57 with 13 seconds left when Bryce Alford took a contested three-pointer. The shot looked way off, but it was deflected at the rim by SMU player Yanick Moreira.
According to the rulebook, it's not goaltending if the shot doesn't have a chance of going in.
By rule, goaltending can only be called if, "The ball is above the level of the ring and has the possibility, while in flight, of entering the basket and is not touching the cylinder."
Did this shot have a chance of going in?
The shot:
Watching it over and over, it seems like there was a possibility that it could have grazed the rim. But it's hard to see that shot going in the basket unless there was a one-in-a-million bounce.
The NCAA head of officiating said it could have gone in, which is why the call was made:
Either way, it's a really tough error by Moreira, who was apparently devastated: