Herb Sendek believes Otega Oweh's miracle 3-pointer should never have happened. As wild as the moment was for fans, the Santa Clara basketball coach knows he tried to call a timeout that was not acknowledged before Kentucky tied the game.

As soon as the dust settled from Oweh's bank shot, many realized that Sendek immediately signaled for a timeout that went unnoticed before Kentucky inbounded the ball. Sendek maintained that stance after the game with clear frustration in his voice.

“I unequivocally called timeout, but they didn't grant it,” Sendek said in his post-game interview. “I think the video evidence is clear if anybody's able to pull it up. It's a likely response after Allen hits the three that the coach would be calling timeout to set the defense, which I tried to do.”

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Video footage showed Sendek immediately signaling for a timeout and attempting to chase down an official as soon as Allen Graves gave Santa Clara a 3-point lead with two seconds remaining. The referee, Sendek, had already turned around to run downcourt, but the two other officials appeared to ignore him with the ball already being in play.

Sendek clearly did not want to blame officials, which is difficult in his situation. The longtime head coach was on the verge of securing Santa Clara's first March Madness win since 1996, which was also the last time it qualified for the tournament.

The game remained competitive in overtime until Santa Clara fell apart in its final possessions. Kentucky forward Brandon Garrison took over on defense, blocking back-to-back three-point attempts to seal the comeback victory.