The Purdue Boilermakers ended the Tennessee Volunteers’ season 99-94 Thursday night. Once down by 18 points, Tennessee came roaring back in the second half to eventually lead the Boilermakers by two points with just a little over two seconds remaining. Purdue had an in-bounds play, and Lamonte Turner was called for a foul against Purdue’s Carsen Edwards that has the sports world buzzing. Here’s the play everyone’s talking about: Tennessee fouled Carsen Edwards on the 3-point attempt. He made two. This ending has been bonkers. pic.twitter.com/uDRkOPi2GC — Kyle Boone (@Kyle__Boone) March 29, 2019 Here’s another angle: Thanks to the new PI review rules, this “foul” call with 1.7 seconds left would be overturned in the NFL pic.twitter.com/NU6Jz8Gb2W — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 29, 2019 Edwards went on to hit two of his three free throws to send the game into overtime. Purdue pulled away 99-94 in the extra period. Was it a foul? Did he step out of bounds before the shot? No doubt, this play will be talked about for a long time.<doc-sep>Purdue is heading to the Elite 8 after beating Tennessee in an overtime thriller Thursday night in Louisville. But the Boilermakers’ win did come thanks to a controversial call in the final seconds that allowed Purdue to save their season and force overtime with two free throws. The two teams were trading serious punches down the stretch. Then. with Purdue trailing by two points, Carsen Edwards attempted a 3-pointer from the corner and got a foul call that sure didn’t look like a foul. Edwards then stepped to the line, made the last two free throws after missing the first and Purdue went on to control overtime. But that foul call on Lamonte Turner will be talked about a lot: There is no foul here. None. Purdue got insanely lucky. https://t.co/q01kyY1KhR — Ryan Phillips (@RumorsandRants) March 29, 2019 Before that foul, Purdue's odds of winning this game were back where they were early in the 2nd half, before Tennessee mounted its huge comeback. Will they close the deal this time? https://t.co/QwpxoAizr8 pic.twitter.com/Z0w6a7Ovzk — FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) March 29, 2019 Twitter had thoughts on it: This call is a disgrace. pic.twitter.com/DxhUogu7RY — Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) March 29, 2019 Sensational game. Congrats to Purdue. Absolute garbage foul call on Tennessee on 3 at end of regulation. Just terrible. Season, game changer. — Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) March 29, 2019 Carson Edwards did not get fouled on that last 3 in regulation. Not a foul in any point of the game. Big time benefit for Purdue. — Kyle Burkholder (@kjburkholder23) March 29, 2019 What. A. Horrible Foul Call 🦓#Purdue is heading to the Elite 8 after the refs take matters into their own hands yet again.#Tennessee #MarchMadness https://t.co/KBuKhTxGGo — Vince Slomsky (@vinceslomsky) March 29, 2019 Thanks to the new PI review rules, this “foul” call with 1.7 seconds left would be overturned in the NFL pic.twitter.com/NU6Jz8Gb2W — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 29, 2019 One horrendous call (Foul on Turner) + two questionable calls (ball out on Edwards + no time added) go against Tennessee in 2.5 seconds. Those are objective facts. If media folks ever question why Vol fans are the way that they are, this is a big part. — Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) March 29, 2019 Not a Tennessee fan, but Purdue definitely got two huge breaks at the end of regulation….ball was out of bounds on Purdue and there was definitely not a foul on the three!! pic.twitter.com/u32Z9nOc1B — Scott Jeffry (@ScottJeffry1) March 29, 2019 That Carson Edwards corner three foul call to sent it to overtime is the worst call of the tournament. — Nick Pappageorgio (@NikolaevichEddy) March 29, 2019 For the record the foul on Lamonte Turner at the end of regulation was complete crap — Basketball Jerry™ (@atpgovols) March 29, 2019 #PURvsTENN another game at the most important time of the year affected by refs, terrible call on that foul on the 3 point shot for Purdue to tie it, should have been over — Bryan Dedon (@dedon0707) March 29, 2019 Tennessee got robbed. And I don't even care about either of these teams. But after that phantom foul I want Purdue to lose next round #Tennessee #purdue — eRic (@DET_UNC_CMUfan) March 29, 2019<doc-sep>He sat with his chin raised slightly above his chest and spoke barely above a whisper. Nearly half an hour after his season ended Thursday night, Tennessee’s Lamonte' Turner sat in his locker still dressed for basketball except for his bare right foot. He was in no hurry to move on after the Volunteers’ overtime elimination by Purdue’s persistent Boilermakers, 99-94, and he recognized he would have no choice in the matter. “Things like this never leave you,” he said. “They can give you a chip on your shoulder down the road, but they never leave you.” Less than two seconds from a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, Turner had reprieved Purdue by fouling Carsen Edwards on a three-point shot that was already airborne and off-target. It was one of dozens of plays that could have decided the South Regional semifinal at the KFC Yum Center, but it was the one most likely to linger in memory as a lasting regret. Sweet 16:PJ Washington's status still 'up in the air' for Kentucky vs. Houston The foul was unforgiveable, a desperate lunge too late to alter the shot and so costly as to overshadow Turner’s contributions to Tennessee’s comeback from an 18-point deficit. And yet this gripping game could easily have ended with Edwards lamenting what might have been had his right heel not been raised an inch or two above the out-of-bounds line before he launched his shot. What makes March Madness so compelling is how much minutiae matters; how many games are still in doubt in the final seconds; and how heroics and heartache are so often separated by a tortuous twist of fate. “Carsen Edwards is a great shooter,” Turner said. “All night I was trying to contest his shot (and) he was kicking his leg out. Anytime you try to contest shots and someone kicks their leg out, it makes it harder to contest his shot. I’d been complaining to the refs about that all night. “Last play of the game, I’m trying to contest his shot. He kicks his leg out and his leg made contact with my body and they called a foul. I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do right there if I’m trying to contest a shot.” Replays did not support Turner’s memory of that sequence. Though Edwards’ jump shots includes a protruding right leg on his follow-through, Turner clearly made contact with the shooter’s torso as well as his extended limb. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes conceded that a foul had been committed. “That’s a tough play. ...” Barnes said. “But Lamonte', being the competitor that he is, he went up, and the ball was gone. It was three feet out of his hand when he hit him. We know the rule. You’ve got to allow the shooter to come back down. It’s a tough one because in that situation we know we can’t foul there and they’ve got to make that shot. But we wouldn’t have been in that situation to come back in that game if it wasn’t for Lamonte'.” NCAA Tournament Sweet 16:Tennessee fans can't believe last-second foul that helped Purdue force OT Common decency precludes coaches from blaming players for the consequences of their momentary lapses. Because Turner scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half – including the three-point basket that tied the game at 65-65 – Barnes was inclined to accentuate the positive. “It was a high-level game,” he said, “and really I can’t say enough about our guys fighting back. And taking nothing away from Purdue, but we were there. Tough one at the end. We had the lead with one-point something seconds left. Tough foul.” Even then, Tennessee had opportunities to change the script. Edwards would miss the first of his three free throws, forcing him to sink the last two to forge an 82-82 tie and force overtime. Later, with two minutes remaining in the extra period, Turner drew a clever fifth foul on Purdue star Ryan Cline, whose deadly three-point shooting had produced 27 points. This momentary triumph was tempered, however, when Turner missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. “I can honestly say me and my brothers did leave it all out there,” Turner said. “There wasn’t a time when I didn’t play my hardest. In overtime, some shots didn’t go our way.’’ With each successive wave of reporters, Turner responded to repetitive questions by saying his foul had not decided the game, but ultimately added, “It’s tough, especially being the guy that fouled. . . "We won’t play a basketball game for a half year. You think about it all the time.” Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/tims.<doc-sep>
The Tennessee Volunteers just enjoyed a great season. They won 31 games, beat the Kentucky Wildcats twice, and made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. But that’s as far as they went thanks to the Purdue Boilermakers, and a little controversy, something the Vols are no stranger to. After trailing by as many as 18, the Vols went on a furious second-half rally to seemingly take command in the final minute. After leading by three with a minute left, Ryan Cline hit a three-ball to tie the game at 80-all before a Grant Williams up by two with 10 seconds left. At that point, ESPN’s win probability projection gave the Vols an 83.7% chance of winning, but the Vols fouled Purdue star Carsen Edwards on a three-point attempt with two seconds left. However, the foul in question was one that, while there was contact, is usually not called in the final seconds. Thanks to the new PI review rules, this “foul” call with 1.7 seconds left would be overturned in the NFL pic.twitter.com/NU6Jz8Gb2W — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 29, 2019 I’ve seen far more contact in countless games not called, not to mention any fanbase would be irate if that was called against their team in that situation. And Edwards clearly pushed his leg out to sell the foul more. But we’re talking about a Tennessee team that benefited from bad officiating late in wins at Vanderbilt and vs. Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. Edwards finished with a game-high 29 points on 8/22 shooting, including two of three free throws to send the game into overtime, where Purdue cruised to a 99-94 win. The real story was Ryan Cline, who averages just 11.7 ppg but erupted for 27 points on 10/13 shooting and 7/10 from three-point land to knock the Vols out of March Madness.