Goaltending has, and will always be, a judgement call.
It is up to the officials to decide if an attempted shot is on the way down, has made contact with the rim and if the ball has struck the backboard before it is interfered with by a defender.
The latter of the three helped decide the 63-61 win for fourth-ranked Syracuse over West Virginia Saturday.
For those who didn't catch the game, West Virginia's Deniz Kilicli attempted a layup with less than 10 seconds remaining and the Mountaineers trailing by two points.
His shot clearly and blatantly struck the backboard then was blocked by a Syracuse defender.
No goaltending was called, the game did not go to overtime, and the Orange won its 22nd game of the season.
The state of West Virginia, and most of the country for the matter, was left with a look of bewilderment and its hand in the air.
Now, suddenly, the Mountaineers have lost two straight games and have gone from second in the Big East Conference Standings to a three-way tie for seventh.
So, what's next for the Mountaineers?
Head coach Bob Huggins has always said "It's a lot easier to deal with failure than success."
When you fail, you are more motivated to fix the issue to achieve success, Huggins said.
Whereas, success can often leave someone content and satisfied.
What better time for his team to do what Huggins has done so well as a head coach – overcome defeat.
Huggins hasn't lost three straight games since he was hired at West Virginia in 2007.
In fact, Huggins is 8-0 in the game following a two-game losing streak as head coach of the Mountaineers.
Just last week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected West Virginia would be a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, some may argue the Mountaineers are on the bubble.
Monday night, Huggins' team will face its arch-rival Pittsburgh at the Coliseum in what could be the final Backyard Brawl in quite some time.
Pittsburgh is headed in the opposite direction of West Virginia. The Panthers have won two straight after losing eight games in a row.
Much like the no-call by the officials Saturday, the Mountaineers are also faced with a decision – to crawl in a corner and harp on the heart-breaking loss against the ‘Cuse, or use that as fuel and motivation to beat the Panthers.
My call is the team will do the latter of the two.
Huggins' track record proves his teams know how to deal with defeat.
Now, it's your turn to make the call.
Will you be at the Coliseum Monday night to help the team avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2007?
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