The most dramatic moment of March Madness might need an asterisk next to it.
Maryland big man Derik Queen hit an incredible shot as time expired to seal a 72-71 win against Colorado State in a thrilling Round of 32 game.
Although when he drove left and laid the ball up off the glass, a closer look shows he may have traveled on the play.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander said he spoke to a “veteran official” who confirmed that Queen “absolutely traveled on this shot.”
Queen drives left before gathering the ball on a step and taking two more to his off hand before re-gathering and banking the shot in with his right hand for the buzzer-beater.
After the game, Colorado State’s coach Niko Medved laughed when asked by a reporter to react to “there being a time and a day” where that play was blown dead and called a travel.
“I haven’t seen the video yet. I’m sure it’s going to be difficult to watch,” Medved said after the game. “Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But it doesn’t matter, they didn’t call one.”
Medved added that Queen “made a really difficult shot” to snag the win.
On the postgame show, CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore said that the key is whether Queen had full possession as he was taking those steps.
“It doesn’t jump off the screen as anything big,” Steratore said when asked about the alleged travel.
Charles Barkley appeared specifically upset by it, saying he got 13 text messages from friends talking about the no-travel call from the referees.
The generous non-whistle for Maryland results in a Sweet 16 berth for the Terrapins and a painful defeat for the Rams, who head home after a red-hot stretch to end the season where they won 22 of their final 23 games.
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Maryland next takes on No. 1 seed Florida in the West Region on Thursday night.
