Whoops! ACC officials admit error at end of basketball game between Duke, Virginia
Kyle Filipowski, his Duke teammates, and head coach Jon Scheyer all thought Filipowski should have gone to the free-throw line after he was fouled with less than a second remaining in regulation and a chance to knock off No. 8 Virginia on the road.
Game officials Lee Cassell, Jeffrey Anderson and Tim Clougherty, after looking at replay review, decided that wouldn’t be the case, and the Blue Devils and Cavaliers headed to overtime, where Virginia won.
Turns out, the Duke contingent was right.
Late Saturday night, the ACC sent out a release admitting the officials acted in error by not putting Filipowski at the line at the end of regulation in what became a 69-62 overtime win by Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena.
A statement from the league office called it “an incorrect adjudication of the playing rules.”
The final play of regulation unfolded with 1.2 seconds left and the score tied at 58. Duke had possession, inbounding the ball from the sideline.
Tyrese Proctor was tasked with passing the ball. He waited for his four teammates to run through their play before the 7-foot Filipowski broke free in front of him on a backdoor cut. Proctor pushed a bounce pass toward Filipowski, who gathered the ball as he moved to the rim with what appeared to be a clear lane to the basket.
As he leaped with the ball, attempting to dunk it, Virginia’s Reece Beekman blocked it and his teammate, Ryan Dunn, also leaped over the top from behind to block the ball.
Clougherty, the official positioned on the baseline, signaled a foul on Dunn. He immediately walked toward Anderson, who indicated they would be going to the monitor.
That’s where the error occurred, the league office said.
“Upon the officials’ review of the play,” the statement said, “it was determined that the foul committed occurred after the clock reached 0.0. However, the play should have resulted in two free throws for Duke.”
The ACC said that, while a foul occurred after expiration of play, the ball was still in flight, so per Rule 5, Section 7, Article 3c of the NCAA Rule Book, “the student-athlete (Filipowski) should have been granted two free throw attempts,” the statement said.
The ACC statement further cited the same rule, which states: “When a foul occurs so near the expiration of time that the official timer cannot stop the game clock before time expires or when the foul occurs after time expires but while the ball is in flight during a try, the period shall end when the free throw(s) and all related activity have been completed.”
That’s what Filipowski thought was going to happen as he was flat on his back under the basket after the foul was initially called. His teammates ran to his aid to help him up, and they thought he’d have a chance to put Duke in front at the free-throw line.
“I thought it was at least going to be a foul or a goal-tend or something,” Duke guard and team captain Jeremy Roach said.
After the officials looked at replay, they determined no free throws would be taken, and it was off to overtime.
“I don’t know how a call can be taken away,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the game, but before the ACC admitted the error. “I would just like some clarity. I hate it for our guys.”
Filipowski said he “tried to get it up before the buzzer. But I guess I didn’t.”
The ACC statement said league officials updated Virginia and Duke about the league’s findings and also addressed it with the game officials. It did not specify whether the officials face any disciplinary action.
The mistake prevented Filipowski from another chance to win a game for Duke at the free-throw line in the game’s final seconds.
On Jan. 6, at Boston College, his two free throws with 12 seconds left were the final points in Duke’s 65-64 win.
The Blue Devils were confident, even though he hadn’t scored against Virginia, he would have come through on Saturday night.
“I do wish Flip got that opportunity at the end,” Scheyer said.
This story was originally published February 11, 2023 at 8:22 PM.