The UCLA basketball team avoids a major upset after a strong start to the second half which was capped by a ridiculous ending to the game with a six-minute official review.
Maybe it was a good thing that the game between the South Dakota and UCLA basketball teams ended the way it did, because this would be a completely different article. Why do I say that?
UCLA Bruins 85 – South Dakota Coyotes 82
Let me put it this way, the original piece was going to be about UCLA’s meltdown. The Bruins were down 36-33 at halftime after a bad display of basketball. But things looked up as the Bruins started strong in the second half, pushing South Dakota around and getting 24 points up on the Coyotes with a 78-54 lead with just over five minutes left.
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This piece was going to be about South Dakota’s late game heroics and how the Bruins seemingly gave up, quite possibly thinking they had the game in the bag. The Coyotes had other ideas as they finished the game on a 28-7 run.
It was going to be about the Bruins not being able to finish a game against a team they were manhandling. In the final minutes, South Dakota used a full court press to force three consecutive UCLA turnovers and bring the game closer with every Bruin mishap.
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It was going to be about the loud cries of Bruins fans already hitting social media with #FireAlford.
Instead, after taking a step back from watching the most bizarre ending to a basketball game, it will be about how the officiating was atrocious to end this game and a final play needed six minutes of review time before the original play, a missed South Dakota shot as time expired, was determined to be the correct way to end the game (which is mostly to distract you from the fact that the Bruins had a complete meltdown).
Why was it an issue? Because the clock started before the receiving player caught the ball, not giving him enough time to make a play with 1.5 seconds left in the game. But alas, there was something the officials were not taking into consideration.
The issue was whether Thomas Welsh tipped the ball on the in-bound play (he did) which would have started the clock, correctly allowing the last second and a half to expire.
It killed the vibe of the game and elongated an already painful contest. Bruin fans just wanted this to end one way or another, but no, they were locked into this nightmare that is, surprisingly enough, slowly starting to define the season.
FINAL: UCLA 85, South Dakota 82.#GoBruins #USDvsUCLA pic.twitter.com/JBQJC5DpSp
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) December 20, 2017
Next: The seat is now warm for Steve Alford after loss to Cincinnati
UCLA could not finish and neither could this game. If this season starts to feel long because the Bruins are not ending on a good note (which does not seem to be the case), then things are not going to end well for Steve Alford. And now to finish my meditation and try to forget this very weird ball game.