The No. 4 seed Kansas Jayhawks led No. 13 seed Samford by 22 points in the second half of their first round matchup in the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament. That’s when the Bulldogs started an inspired run to chip away at the lead and produce what should have been a March Madness classic.
The champions out of the Southern Conference, Samford made it a one-point game with an incredible three-pointer from Jaden Campbell with 20 seconds left. Kansas inbounded the ball and then chucked it downcourt to Nick Timberlake. Timberlake could have pulled up and tried more clock, but instead he decided to try to dunk the ball. Samford’s A.J. Staton-McCray was lurking from behind, and he made one of the greatest chasedown blocks you will ever see.
Only one problem: the refs called it foul. Timberlake received two free throws, which he made to ice the game.
Kansas beat Samford, 93-89, on a game marred by an obviously incorrect foul call late. Watch the incredible chasedown block from Staton-McCray here:
The ref was in perfect position to make that call, and they still blew it. That should have been a clean block, with Samford going the other way to win the game in the final possession. It should have gone down as one of the greatest defensive plays we’ve ever seen in March Madness. The refs robbed Samford of a potential win, and they robbed the fans of what could have been an all-time great March moment.
While there were several replay reviews during the game, that particular play was not reviewable. What a shame.
Kansas now plays No. 5 seed Gonzaga in the round of 32.