Charles Barkley’s Stinging Comment Comes Back as NCAA Stars Gear Up for Match Up 9 Months After Controversial March Madness Game

The NCAA basketball community was in shambles over a foul earlier this year. SI labeled it as “perhaps the most polarizing foul call of the last few years of college basketball.” Now nine months later, the impact of that foul is still relevant. Although many claimed that SDSU progressed into the final four because of the foul, Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard feels otherwise.

Charles Barkley also had his take on the foul that allegedly helped SDSU. Sir Charles, known for his no-nonsense takes, delivered his opinion on it crisply.

What Sir Charles had to say about the controversial call

Sir Charles doesn’t mince his words when he talks about, well anything. “I hate when a referee decides the game,” Barkley said. Nembhard, however, has made his peace with the controversy. He said, “I didn’t really focus on that call. I know that’s not the reason we lost the game, regardless of what anybody said. I feel like other people… fans, whatever… dwelled on it a lot more than I did.” So what was the foul all about, and apart from the fact that it had SDSU qualify for the final four, what else was at stake?

After months of inspecting the incident, one thing is clear, it was actually a foul. Nembhard’s hand was on Trammell’s hip and he put just enough pressure on it to shove Trammell off his play. However, it can only be said once you have reviewed the footage time and time again. It’s clearly not something that a ref would spot on the first look.

Another thing at stake was time. Only 1.2 seconds were left on the clock and Trammell had to go for it, there was no time to pass or to figure out another play. That is how one of the most controversial calls of the year was made.

Like any other hoop fan, Sir Charles said “Situations, to me, matter,” and that refs shouldn’t be the ones who get to decide the outcome of a game. Interestingly, Chuck wasn’t the only pundit who had something to say about it. Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News said, “The softest foul call I’ve seen determine the outcome of an NCAA Tournament game since 1995.”

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“You likely would have a difficult time even in the officiating community finding someone who would embrace the decision against Nembhard,” he added. Now the two individuals are set to face one another yet again Friday night when the Aztecs play at Gonzaga.

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