Michigan State survives Florida Gulf Coast after buzzer sounds early
No. 13 Michigan State hung on for a 78–77 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday, but it didn’t come without some controversy.
The clock operator at the Breslin Center at Michigan State had some issues on the final play of regulation. With 2.4 seconds let, the Eagles had an inbounds pass knocked away out of bounds, which they claimed drained 0.8 seconds off the clock. This error was debatable, but it wasn’t reviewed nonetheless.
After that, with 1.6 seconds left, the clock operator started the clock too early, so by the time the ball got in the hands of Florida Gulf Coast’s Antravious Simmons caught the ball, the buzzer sounded and the clock expired.
It seems as if Simmons should have had 2.4 seconds to catch the ball and get off a shot, but instead the buzzer went off early and he wasn’t afforded that opportunity.
– Kenny Ducey