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Referees make inexplicable call in Duke-Arizona game

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated Mar 28, 2025 1:14 AM ET

The referees made an inexplicable call during Thursday’s Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament game between the Duke Blue Devils and Arizona Wildcats that left many surprised.

Duke was leading Arizona 78-68 in their East Region game at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Caleb Love missed a layup attempt, and there was a fight under the basket. Jaden Bradley hooked Kon Knueppel and yanked him to the ground. The officials reviewed the play and later decided to call Bradley for a flagrant foul.

Uhm refs? #Duke #UOFA flagrant? pic.twitter.com/WZwcXPotLH
— Russell WESTBROOⓀ (@RussellKriz) March 28, 2025

Then a minute later, a similar play occurred, but with Duke as the aggressor. Patrick Ngongba II hooked Henri Veesaar and pulled him to the ground. Somehow that one was considered a common foul and not upgraded to a flagrant foul.

"I'm a little surprised by that." @GeneSteratore didn't agree with this not being a flagrant foul against Duke. pic.twitter.com/DZztzmdWOH
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 28, 2025

Fans couldn’t believe one was called a flagrant while the other was not considering how similar the plays were. Of course, they were left saying it was a sign of favoritism Duke receives.

The Blue Devils won the game 100-93 to advance to the East Region final.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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