Ok someone with a greater mind than I explain this rule? I always thought if the ball is above the cylinder or rim and the defense player touches the ball then it is goal tending?
Was not FMason's layup above the rim?? Am I losing my mind, or do I not fully understand the rule?
@DoubleDD My understanding was that the ball had to be on the way down, or above the cylinder (as in directly above, not just higher than the cylinder), or if it has touched the backboard already. I thought Mason's layup attempt was higher than the rim, but not "above" it, it looked to be still out front, and therefore a clean block. But my understanding might not be any better either, so...
I don't believe it was over the rim since Mason was laying it from the side, Pretty much the same thing with Selden's blocks from behind that were not over the rim. were not in their way down and had not touched the backboard either.
The rule is defined as: the violation of interfering with the ball when it is on its way to the basket and it is (a) in its downward flight, (b) entirely above the rim and has the possibility of entering the basket, and (c) not touching the rim. In NCAA basketball, WNBA and NBA basketball, goaltending is also called if the ball has already touched the backboard while it is above the height of the rim in its flight, regardless of whether it is in upward or downward flight or whether it is directly above the rim.
Did not that ball hit the back board or rim? and was coming down? Better question is if that ball was not blocked would it have gone in? I'm thinking it was. Tried to find some video on it to no avail. :)
I respect your memory, Yet my memory though foggy :) the ball was clearly over the rim and hit something. Think about it the ball was coming back to the front of the rim when it was blocked and the shot or layup came from the side. I don't know maybe I'm wrong. :)
He should have either dunked it or laid it off the backboard w his left hand. He appeared to try a finger tip layup over the front of the rim w his right hand thus exposing it to the swat.
I'm fine with it being a no-call as long as other officials call it the same way. I think I've seen goal tending called on swats like that before.
ESPN replayed it during the game from the backboard camera, and I thought it looked like a good block. Ball was not in the cylinder.
@DoubleDD In the live-game chat, I mentioned it when it happened.. Others were not so sure.
I think it's one of those that is questionable..
As for the rule (btw-- thx @JayHawkFanToo), I don't think it was downward, but it looked like the ball was over the rim.
I'm not sure what is meant by "entirely above the rim..." It certainly appeared to have the possibility of entering the basket.
I also questioned it after seeing the replay and after watching it in slo-mo on the dvr my opinion is the ball was practically center over the rim and probably would've dropped in off the back of the hoop. It is hard to tell how much of the ball had entered the cylinder if that makes a difference.
I could never get it straight when I played ball, always swatting those balls from near the top of the backboard.
I've seen lots of shots that looked like goal tending this year not get the call. And with D1 scoring averages on the brink of all time low... being soft on these calls isn't exactly going in the direction the NCAA (and their refs) want it to.
Here is an interesting read on the subject.
Slow pace, low scores damage college hoops' watchability, visibility ↗
I'm afraid the dimwits at the NCAA will continue jacking the game in attempts to make it "watchable" again. Evidently... the game is ONLY ABOUT OFFENSE! So, once again, it is time to highjack the sport and punish defense in order to attract viewers that will only watch the game if the scores are high.
Their earlier efforts to "Bilas-ize" the game into sterility failed miserably as the hand checks have returned and now only get called on enough occasions to create inconsistency in calls. The entire effort actually encouraged defenders to flop more, a negative side-effect happening naturally after the initial imbalance of power shifted over to the offense.
I'm really surprised that refs have gone soft on the goal tending calls. I figure this is just one more area where they can flip the advantage back to the offense..... even though, from an action point fans really love to see blocks!
I wish these numbskulls would quit listening to marketing goons and leave the game alone. The game straightens itself out with time. If scoring is down, then kids start working harder to improve their offense.
The real truth is that too much of the talent leaves early for the NBA. Imagine if all that talent stayed in school for 4 years? Look at us. What if we still had Wigs and JoJo? It's rare now to see a veteran team of seniors with super high skill levels. There is where you get your scoring.
Self said it right... defense is easier to teach than offense. The quality level of college ball has dropped with all the early exits. So work with the NBA and fix the rules and keep kids in school (where they belong). Do this instead of rig up the game to favor more offense. If anything... the 3-pt line should be moved back to the NBA line.