Samford's Bucky McMillan 'not faulting' refs in loss to Kansas - ESPN

SALT LAKE CITY — Samford coach Bucky McMillan didn't want to say whether officials were wrong when they called a foul on A.J. Staton-McCray after he attempted to block a dunk by Kansas guard Nic Timberlake.

What the fourth-year coach did say after 13th-seeded Samford fell short of upsetting fourth-seeded Kansas 93-89 on Thursday was that if the block was clean, the Bulldogs would've been going the other way, down a point, five on four, with a chance to go to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

«That's how close the game was,» McMillan said. «That's how well our guys played. What was the maximum we were down? We were down by 22. We're going to have the ball there with a great opportunity.

»It is what it is."

Throughout his postgame news conference, a dejected McMillan was careful not to lay blame on the officials.

«I have seen the play,» he said. «I thought A.J. made an incredible play on it, you know what I'm saying? I'm not faulting the call. Some people can see it different ways. But I was really proud of our guys' ability to go make a play.»

Timberlake said he was «definitely» fouled on the play.

And Kansas coach Bill Self sidestepped discussing the actual foul when asked if he had a good view of the dunk.

«I thought Nic attacked the basket well,» Self said. «He's a much better athlete than what a lot of people think. He attacked it strong, just like he should.»

Samford shot its way back into the game from long distance. The Bulldogs finished with 16 3-pointers, 10 more than the Jayhawks, leading Self to say it was «remarkable» that Kansas won despite the disparity from long range. The Bulldogs hit eight 3-pointers during their comeback from 22 down, which started with about 16 minutes left.

Samford was pesky for