NCAA First Round: MSU Hangs On Against New Mexico St., Oakland Blown Out By Pitt

Michigan State moved on to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 70-67 win over upset-minded New Mexico State earlier this evening. The big story in the win was a controversial lane violation call on a Raymar Morgan free throw with 18.2 seconds left. NMSU’s Wendell McKines moved into the lane prior to Morgan’s free throw attempt, prompting a call from the referee on the baseline. The Dagger has video of the incident, along with a harsh opinion on the matter.

Simply put: That’s a horrendous, horrendous call. Lane violations happen on a majority of free throws and are almost never whistled by officials. To call one with 18 seconds left in a two-point game in the NCAA tournament is unconscionable. It only makes matters worse that the rebound was uncontested, meaning that the alleged violation provided absolutely no advantage to the Aggies.

Here’s the video evidence:

I don’t agree with the call because of many of the reasons listed above. However, there’s no room for New Mexico State to complain here. They still had plenty of time to score in a one-possession game. With 18.2 seconds left, there is more than enough time to either hit a three-pointer, or get a quick two and prepare to foul again. The official saw the lane violation, which was a correct call according to the rule book, and called it. The fact that he may or may not have called lane violations earlier in the game is irrelevant. It happened, the official made the call, end of story.

To make matters worse, the Spartans led by as many as 16 during the first half but let New Mexico St. back into the game early in the 2nd. Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 25 points, enlightening NMSU guard Jahmar Young, who claimed to not know who Lucas was earlier in the week. The Sparties will play 4-seed Maryland in the second round. The Terrapins beat Houston 89-77 behind 21 points and 17 rebounds from freshman Jordan Williams.

In the West region, 14-seed Oakland fell 89-66 to the 3-seed Pittsburgh Panthers. Oakland led early, holding an 18-14 lead with under 8 minutes left in the first half, but Pittsburgh pulled away to lead 39-26 at the half. Despite the loss, the Grizzlies fared better than their last tournament appearance, when they lost to eventual champion North Carolina 96-68. Coach Greg Kampe was disappointed, but the fans seem like they have his back.