WVU was robbed.
That was virtually the unanimous feeling throughout the Mountain State following West Virginia University's 63-61 loss to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.
Those who took the time to watch the basketball game already know what took place.
Trailing by what became the final score, Darryl Bryant put up a 3-point shot that missed its mark but was grabbed by Mountaineer teammate Deniz Kilicli, who went in for a game-tying layup.
Syracuse's Baye Keita pinned the ball against the backboard for what appeared to be an easy goaltending call that would have tied the game with 6.2 seconds left.
The call never came. None of the three officials blew their whistles. Rather, West Virginia was awarded the ball after a Syracuse player fell out of bounds with it.
A potential game-winning shot by Mountaineer senior Kevin Jones missed its mark and WVU suffered its seventh loss and fourth in the Big East.
Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins minced no words (there's a surprise). Asked if he thought goaltending occurred, he said, "Do I think it was? No. I know it was. I just saw the replay.''
It's never good to leave a hard-fought game feeling the outcome was decided by the officials.
Yet, you never want to put the game in the hands of the officials.
Naturally, upset fans immediately started spewing their venom at the Big East, saying league officials conspired against WVU because it is leaving the league. So, however, is Syracuse.
This, plain and simple, was a bad no-call by three officials who ate their whistles on an obvious goaltending.
There's simply nothing that can be done about it.
Perhaps the Big East head of officials will review the tape and come to the same conclusion as Huggins that this clearly was goaltending. A lot of good that will do West Virginia. The game is over. The final score isn't going to change.
Plus, West Virginia has a game to play tonight, when Pitt visits the Coliseum. While the Panthers have had a rough season, they would love nothing more than to hand WVU its third straight loss.
The Mountaineers must come out focused and ready to play, not feeling the effects of what took place on Saturday.
Being around athletes all my life, I'm often amazed by their resiliency. While fans have a hard time accepting and moving on from such tough losses, athletes rebound quickly. They know there is another game to be played and to be won.
Yes, it was a frustrating loss that is difficult to accept. WVU went into the No. 4 team in the nation's arena and played Syracuse on even terms. The game came down to the final seconds and a no-call by the officials had a major influence on the outcome.
There's only one thing that can be done -Beat Pitt!
