Now, we’re not saying a foul should have been called on the game’s last play. We’re just saying that a foul COULD have been called on the game’s last play. And all card-carrying members of the Flyer Faithful would have to admit they blew a huge sigh of relief when no whistle was blown.
Boise State fans saw things juuuuuuuust a little bit differently, and they expressed their frustration — perhaps rage is not too strong a term — in colorful ways on the Boise State Broncos Facebook fan page.
Here’s just a small sampling, that has, in some cases, been cleaned up a bit to omit the worst examples of vulgarity:
• “Boise State was screwed tonight. They had to play Dayton in Dayton, which is never supposed to happen, and then no call in the final 2 seconds? Worst game ever. The NCAA is trash.”
• “End of the game proved why no team should play at home during the tourney. Refs swallowed their whistles and missed an obvious foul.”
• “The NCAA totally (screwed over) BSU. Putting BSU on Dayton’s home floor, with 13,000 Dayton fans, is criminal.”
• “Biggest no call I’ve ever seen in my life. I think the refs had money on the game, ‘cause it sure wasn’t called fairly. I hate the NCAA.”
• “Full body contact is a foul in basketball. I hope Providence destroys Dayton.”
• “Put this on a neutral court and the end results would have been much different, hands down.”
• “The refs missed at least two fouls made by Dayton late in the game that would have made the difference. And on their home court? Gee, now they have to go all the way from Dayton to Columbus. The life of a Flyer is so unfair.”
The Facebook thread does contain some more, shall we say, balanced comments, including:
• “You’ll never get that call at the end of a game. Wanted them to win but they had their chances to put them away. No one to blame but themselves.”
• “I’m a die-hard BSU fan. We had plenty of chances to put that game away, but we didn’t. They’re a good team and came back and took it.”
• “At least football season is coming up!”
But the true voice of reason and fine sportsmanship belonged – of course – to a Dayton-area resident, who left the following comment on the Broncos’ Facebook page:
• “As a UD season ticket holder, I just want to say that your guys played an incredible game tonight. I thought you were put in an unfair position. Granted we thought we were too, since we were predicted to be an 8 or 9 seed and ended up in the First Four and forced to play an extra game when we’re already shorthanded. … As hard fought and exciting a game it was, both teams suffered and the NCAA will only gain financially from it all — especially because realistically we will likely fill more seats in Columbus than Boise might have. You guys have a fantastic team. Congrats on a game well played and good luck to you next year.”
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