Samford was robbed of an opportunity to upset Kansas in the First Round of March Madness on late Thursday night. Head basketball coach Bucky McMillan somehow managed to keep it together.
He took the high road in a situation where the low road would have been the easier path forward.
Bucky McMillan, who was coaching on the high school level as recently as 2020, led his team back from a 10-point deficit at halftime. They were down by one with 19.9 seconds left.
And then controversy struck.
Jayhawks guard Nick Timberlake caught the inbounds pass around half court, took a few dribbles and went up for a dunk. Bulldogs guard A.J. Staton-McCray had other plans.
He executed the perfect chase-down block to knock the ball loose.
However, a whistle blew. The officials wrongfully called a foul. It was a clean block.
— wow that was crazy (@CowardlyDoggo) March 22, 2024
For some unknown reason, the play was not reviewable. Every single play in college basketball seems to come with a review these days. Just not this one— which changed the entire game for the worst and had a direct impact on the final score.
Timberlake went to the line for a pair of free throws. Kansas ultimately won by four.
Samford head coach Bucky McMillan showed remarkable composure.
McMillan had every right to be furious. His team got screwed. The officials ruined what could have been the 33rd 13-over-4 upset in March Madness history. Samford did not get the final shot it deserved.
Even though a tirade was warranted, McMillan managed to keep cool. He offered an incredibly classy and respectful reaction to the blown call during his postgame press conference after the most frustrating, demoralizing and disappointing loss of his career.
Rather than blaming the referees, which would have been more than fair, McMillan praised his team.
Samford head coach Bucky McMillan on the foul called at the end of the game against Kansas: pic.twitter.com/zKi3jKlmaH
— Ryan Hennessy (@RyanWVTM13) March 22, 2024
It is a real shame that we will not get the opportunity to see more of the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament. They run one of the most creative offenses in basketball.
Plus, everybody loves a good Cinderella story. Samford would have had the entire nation behind it.
All of that fun is gone because of an all-time awful call. McMillan chose to exercise restraint and show compassion where most people would not. He deserves to play forward!