Samford basketball stormed back from 22 points down in the second half and had a chance to upset fourth-seeded Kansas late in their first-round matchup of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. When A.J. Staton-McCray blocked Nic Timberlake while down one point with 14.7 seconds left, the Bulldogs thought they had an opportunity to go the other way to potentially score the game-winning basket.
Instead, a foul was called.
This was called a foul late in the 1st round of Samford vs Kansas.
Good call or bad? 🤔pic.twitter.com/x8uueY8KlG
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 22, 2024
Timberlake made both free throws and Jermaine Marshall's game-tying 3-point attempt was off the mark, allowing Kansas to escape with a 93-89 victory. College basketball fans across the nation were up in arms over the call, claiming Samford got robbed.
What did Bulldogs coach Bucky McMillan think about it? He addressed the controversy after the game and tried to be diplomatic about it, per ESPN.
“I have seen the play,” he said. “I thought A.J. made an incredible play on it, you know what I'm saying? I'm not faulting the call. Some people can see it different ways. But I was really proud of our guys' ability to go make a play.”
McMillan ultimately concluded that “it is what it is.” The Samford coach was proud of his players for battling back from down 22 points and putting themselves in position for a “great opportunity” to win.
“I think our guys really believed they were going to win,” McMillan said. “I even felt at halftime, if you would have asked me, I was very confident we were going to win. Then when we cut it, we had all the momentum, I thought we'd win.
“When we didn't win, I was shocked we didn't win.”
How Samford almost pulled off the comeback
Kansas controlled the first half and led 48-38 at halftime. The Jayhawks' lead quickly ballooned out to 22 at the start of the second half, with K.J. Adams Jr.'s dunk making it 63-41 with 16:21 to play. It looked like Kansas was going to cruise to the second round.
But then the tide turned.
Samford caught fire from 3-point range to get back in the game. The Bulldogs made 16 triples in the contest, including 10 in the second half as they made their charge. Jaden Campbell hit five 3-pointers in the game en route to 18 points, while Achor Achor hit two treys and led Samford with 23 points. Riley Allenspach scored 15 points off the bench and made all four of his triples after struggling with his outside shooting all season.
Unfortunately, that one final Bulldogs triple to tie the game in the final seconds was off, putting them at 16-of-37 from deep overall.
Kansas shot just 6-of-18 from 3 for the game, though they made up for it by making almost 75% of their 2-point attempts. Both teams struggled from the foul line, missing 10 free throws apiece.
Kansas reacts to the close cal
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For what it's worth, Nic Timberlake insisted he was “definitely” fouled on the crucial play. Kansas coach Bill Self tried not to directly address it.
“I thought Nic attacked the basket well,” Self said. “He's a much better athlete than what a lot of people think. He attacked it strong, just like he should.”
Playing without star Kevin McCullar Jr., Self knew it was going to be a tough game given Samford's style of play under Bucky McMillan.
“That's my first experience with Bucky ball,” Self said. “I'd as soon not play against it again for a while.
“It's a hard game for us with very little depth. You have to play guys the entire game. We knew it's going to be like that. There's just never a break in the action where you can catch your breath.”
K.J. Adams Jr. and Hunter Dickinson did work, combining for 39 points as the Jayhawks scored 54 total points in the paint. All five Kansas starters scored in double figures.
After escaping Samford, the Jayhawks will face the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Round 2.
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