Pac 12 Instant Replay Controversy

And the replay says…

This bit has less to do with betting and instead with how college basketball is played.

This past Thursday the No. 3 Arizona Wildcats took on the Colorado Buffaloes who are currently 10-2.  The game came down to the wire and it was tied 80-80 and it was Colorado’s ball.  The Buffaloes were looking to hand the Wildcats their first loss.   At the buzzer it appeared that Colorado’s Sabatino Chen nailed a bank shot for the win:

The referees immediately went to check the replay and after what Pac-12 coordinator Ed Rush would later describe as “thorough review court side with multiple angles of the play” they declared that the ball was still on Chen’s finger tips when the clock hit 0:00.

The controversial call has started a conversation about the use of instant replay in sports and have even led to some accusing the refs’ decsion of being influenced because they feared the rambunctious Arizona fans.  Colorado’s coach Tad Boyle is obviously not a fan of instant replay telling ESPN on Friday:

Get rid of instant replay. In basketball, football, human error is part of our game. If human error is part of the game, let the officials call the game. Players, coaches and officials will make mistakes. It’s part of the game. We spend all this money on replays and we still can’t get it right. Get rid of it.

MLB Baseball does not use instant replay.  This has spurned many fans to complain as players often try to manipulate the umps to take advantage the lack on instant replay.  Also, many blown calls would be easily overturned with instant replay in the MLB.

Much to the chagrin of Coach Boyle and many other Colorado fans at the moment all sports are moving toward using instant replay and other technologies to improve officiating.

Arizona was the favorite in this game and were likely the favorite among betters so the instant replay call likely saved them from losing a big money.  However, other seem to fear the rise of the machines…