The Gophers men's basketball team survived regulation Wednesday night at Williams Arena with the help of a blown call by the officials.
Replays confirm the mistake.
First, officials ignored, or did not hear, Iowa's several requests for timeout. The Big Ten Network's microphones heard them. Then, with 20.3 seconds left and Iowa in possession of the ball with a 77-75 lead, official Chris Beaver whistled a jump ball, giving the ball back to the Gophers.
The only problem, Gophers Jordan Murphy put his hands on the ball and tied up Iowa's Brady Ellingson while Murphy's left foot was out of bounds. Murphy should have been ruled out and Iowa awarded possession of the ball.
Instead, the Gophers tied the game in the final seconds and went on to win 101-89 in double overtime.
Iowa's beat writers highlighted the oversight within the first several paragraphs of their stories.
Jeremiah Davis of the Eastern Iowa Gazette wrote, "Instead, no timeout was granted, Gophers forward Jordan Murphy tied up with Ellingson and a jump ball was awarded to Minnesota. The ensuing possession saw Minnesota guard Nate Mason tie the game with a layup and extend the game."
The Quad-City Times staff report read, "Iowa (14-11, 6-6 Big Ten) had the ball with the lead a few seconds earlier and Brady Ellingson appeared to be calling timeout but the officials called a jump ball instead, giving the Gophers the ball with 20 seconds remaining. Replays also showed that Murphy's left foot was out of bounds when he tied up Ellingson for the jump ball."
