Controversial Flagrant 1 Foul Dooms OSU in Final Seconds vs. Charlotte

Oklahoma State suffered an inexplicable loss on the hardwood Saturday afternoon to open its season, but because it was on the same day and virtually same time as Bedlam, not much was made of it.

We covered it for the site with a recap, which you can read here, but in the aftermath of the loss/meltdown, I fully realize there wasn’t nearly enough made about it. Not just because it was an L to Charlotte, a team my colleague ranked 302 (out of 353) entering the season, but because the way in which it lost was extremely controversial.

Oklahoma State was up by 3 with under 10 seconds to play in the game, and with Charlotte bringing the ball up the court, OSU smartly opted to foul up 3. Simple. Only problem is … the official on the court chose to call a flagrant 1, versus a common foul.

Here is the play in question. ESPN’s announcers were so blindsided by the call, the only debate they had was about whether or not it should have been a shooting foul or on the floor. They settled by agreeing it was a foul before a shot attempt; the officials settled elsewhere after going to the monitor to review it.

Here is the NCAA definition of what a flagrant 1 foul is via the NCAA rulebook.

A flagrant 1 personal foul is a personal foul that is deemed excessive in nature and/or unnecessary, but is not based solely on the severity of the act. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Causing excessive contact with an opponent;
• Contact that is not a legitimate attempt to play the ball or player, specifically designed to stop or keep the clock from starting;
• Pushing or holding a player from behind to prevent a score;
• Fouling a player clearly away from the ball who is not directly involved with the play, specifically designed to stop or keep the clock from starting; and
• Contact with a player making a throw-in
• Illegal contact caused by swinging of an elbow that is deemed excessive or unnecessary but does not rise to the level of a flagrant 2 personal foul (see Rule 4-18.7)

Was that excessive contact? No. Was it a legitimate attempt to play the ball/player? I would argue yes. Was it a push/hold? No. Go through the entire bullet point list and it’s quite clear the call on the floor, which was elevated from a common foul to flagrant 1, was, ironically, a flagrant escalation.

Predictably, it mattered!

Jon Davis made both free throws he was awarded, and given possession after the charity shots as a result of the flagrant call, Charlotte’s Jon Davis drilled a 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining to bury OSU in a 66-64 deficit it would not overcome.

The Cowboys were up as many as 24 points over the 49ers during the 40 minutes of game action.

“Incredibly disappointed in the outcome today,” said Mike Boynton. “Kids fought, but didn’t make the right plays in the second half. As their Coach, I will use this as a painful teaching moment. WE will learn and get better from this.”

OSU doesn’t project to be an NCAA Tournament team in 2018-19, but this stunning loss puts it even further behind the eight ball to reaching that accomplishment this year. According to KenPom.com, Charlotte is 215th in strength of schedule and is projected to finish tied for last with FAU, UTEP and Rice in C-USA.