North Carolina was on the heels (no word games calculated) to finish a 24-point comeback against top-ranked Duke in the ACC Semifinal, but a costly mistake destroyed their chances.
The friend-all Lubin was on the line with 4.1 seconds to go for a chance to tie the game and he made his free throw.
However, it was negated by a runway.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
North Carolina Tar Heels Guard Seth Trimble (7) responds to a miss the opportunity later in the second half against Duke Blue Devils at the Spectrum Center. (Jim Dedmon-Preferred Pictures)
The judges blew the whistle of Jae’Lyn Withers like Duke, without Cooper Flagg, celebrated. The blue devils were able to hit a couple of free kicks, and Lubin missed his three-point to send the game to overtime, giving Duke a 74-71 win.
While the violation was clear, many fans were upset over the call.
“You don’t call these in these situations man,” said a user of X.
“See how excited this judge was to get into the play and decide the game on an absolutely meaningless violation. Total shame,” added another.
Wrote one more, “As usual, the judges do their thing.”
But a rarity happened when many other fans came to the defense of the officials.
North Carolina Tar Heels Guard Rj Davis (4) and Guard Seth Trimble (7) respond to an unanswered option later during the second half against Duke Blue Devils at the Spectrum Center. (Jim Dedmon-Preferred Pictures)
“Man, if it’s a violation of the first, why isn’t it now? And it was clear like day,” said a post.
Caitlin Clark’s girlfriend posts cryptic message after his father is pushed out of the game and fired as Iowa trainer
“I assume you could just say that I’m wrongly wrong,” Withers said. “I tried to make sure I crashed hard to secure a rebound if he missed.”
But UNC refused to blame the whistle of the loss.
“It was much more blame than a runway,” Lubin said. “We made lots of mistakes throughout the game. We were in that position and tried to dig out of it and get out with a win or get to overtime.”
“We all made mistakes in this game,” said RJ Davis. “I am behind J-Wit. He has our full support and we would not be in this position without J-Wit. I want him to keep his head high. We are making all mistakes in this game. It’s not just on him.”
Head coach Hubert Davis also supported his player.
“The guys, we’re not here without J-wit,” Davis said.
North Carolina Tar Heels Guard Seth Trimble (7) responds to losing in the final seconds to Duke Blue Devils during the second half at the Spectrum Center. (Jim Dedmon-Preferred Pictures)
UNC’s tournament hope now seems to be over. An ACC title win would have received an automatic bid, but the semi-final loss with an under-couple-paid season may not be enough.
