In the final moments of No. 12 Richmond’s 67–63 upset over No. 5 Iowa on Thursday, several key missed Hawkeyes chances appeared to come down to calls from the officials—or lack thereof.
Iowa Fans were left upset with the officiating when referees decided to let the game play on multiple times the last minute of the game when fouls could have been called.
The biggest controversy came from a Kris Murray three-point attempt with less than a minute to play. Richmond’s Matt Grace appeared to hit Murray’s left arm during the shot, but no foul was called.
Murray missed the shot, and the Hawkeyes remained down 60–57.
Former Iowa star Luka Garza tweeted his thoughts on the missed call, saying “Actually how do you miss that call in this moment.”
Several possessions later, with the Hawkeyes clawing back, forward Keegan Murray grabbed an offensive rebound and was able to put home a putback. It appeared he, too, was fouled, but again the officials opted for the no-call.
We will never know if the Hawkeyes could have made a comeback if the fouls were called or not, but regardless, Iowa fans weren’t pleased after the Hawkeyes were once again knocked out early in the NCAA tournament.
