The 13th seeded Samford Bulldogs’ comeback bid fell short in their first round matchup against the fourth-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, with the Bulldogs falling 93-89.

Bucky McMillan’s squad trailed by 22 points in the second half and clawed within 1 point with under 30 seconds left in the matchup before a controversial call effectively put the game on ice.

A.J. Staton-McCray had an incredible chase down block that would have given the Bulldogs the ball back trailing by one point with under 20 seconds left, but a foul was called despite the replay angle confirming that Staton-McCray’s block was clean:

Refs ruined an all time classic comeback from Samford. Have to feel for them. pic.twitter.com/AXalOwUDpY

— Brandon Baker (@BBakerHogs) March 22, 2024

While McMillan was quick to not blame the refs, not everyone felt the same.

Charles Barkley in the postgame show discussed his thoughts on the play, saying it was a bad call and calls like such should be reviewable down the stretch at the end of a close game.

Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley discuss the controversial foul on Samford, as well as the review system. pic.twitter.com/pICvSfkW5V

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2024

“The thing that bothers me about the play is that we review everything,” Barkley said while discussing a call.

Barkley’s co-host, Clark Kellogg, brought up the fact that the rules dictate a foul call like that is not reviewable, to which Barkley said the rules are wrong for.

“Well the rules are just wrong then. That should be reviewable,” Barkley said.

Kellogg also brought up the fact that complaints of reviews taking too long already exist, and Barkley said reviews can be done faster, while Kenny Smith said that a play that controversial should be challengeable.

Despite the bitter ending on Thursday night, McMillan’s Bulldogs had an unbelievable run, going 29-6 and winning the SoCon for Samford’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.

McMillan, who rose from the high school ranks at Mountain Brook, is one of the brightest young coaches in the country and if Samford can hold onto him will continue to develop the Bulldogs’ program into a SoCon powerhouse.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP