WATCH: Caleb Love appears to be fouled at end of Pittsburgh-North Carolina game
The Pittsburgh Panthers pulled off a 65-64 win on Wednesday night against the North Carolina Tar Heels, in a knockdown, drag out, street fight type of game. While the Panthers came away with the win, it didn’t come without controversy in the closing seconds. With the ‘Heels down 65-64 in the closing seconds, North Carolina guard Caleb Love attempted to catch and shoot with .6 seconds left on the clock. Right as he rose in the air and released the ball, Pitt forward Nike Sibande appeared to smack Love on the hand, while also possibly getting a small piece of the ball.
Check out a slow-motion version of the final shot below.
It looked like a pretty clear foul in that video. None of the announcers on the ACC Network said anything about the play after the game was over. But to be fair, the foul might have been a bit difficult to see in real time. It turns out, that officials were correct.
There is a really good picture here that shows that the ball was still in Love’s hands when the clock hit zero, which means the foul was a moot point.
Check out the picture here.
Plenty of people on the North Carolina bench, players and coaches were upset. You could see them arguing the call, but it appears with the picture above, the referees made the correct call. They didn’t even review the play at the end, which was surprising because it was difficult to tell what exactly happened in real time.
Love is in the middle of a streaky season, where he’s been hot and cold for the Tar Heels. But he played huge on Wednesday night, pouring in 22 points and grabbing six rebounds. So far this season, he’s averaging 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. He’s had a number of games where he’s gone cold, but no doubt about it, he found the shooting touch against Pittsburgh. He drained 4 of 11 shots from beyond-the-arc and 8 of 18 shots from the field.
Next up, North Carolina will prepare for their bitter rivals, the Duke Blue Devils. That one is set for Saturday, Feb. 4. Tip-off is set for 6:30 PM EST and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.