Many of the 16 teams remaining have been aided by last-minute blunders — a halfcourt shot lofted long before the buzzer, a timeout when leading in the final seconds, a misstep across the backcourt line, missed free throws, poorly timed turnovers and — in the case of Butler and Pittsburgh — back-to-back fouls, with less than two seconds left, that defied explanation.
The malaise carried over into the opening minutes of the third quarter when Coach Scott Brooks walked onto the court, holding out his arms after calling a timeout when New Orleans tied the score at 61.
"I called a timeout when Magic had the ball in his hands and everyone started to really question my ability as a young coach.
Fans on the couch, announcers in the booth, even players on the sideline — in last week's case, a perplexed Peyton Manning, arms raised in a "what are we doing?" gesture — often have a cooler sense of when to call a timeout, when to let the clock run, when to run or pass or punt.
In 2009, the Cleveland Browns were given a fourth timeout when the referee failed to record a timeout taken earlier in the second half.
Inexplicably, the Bulldogs wasted a timeout when Alabama lined up first-and-goal at the Georgia 1-yard line in the third quarter.
The key basket came with 1 27 left, after a timeout, when Mike Doyle hit a three-pointer to give the Gauchos (9-0) the lead for good at 80-78.
State trailed by a point with a chance to win the game in regulation, but Justin Gainey fell to the floor with the ball and called a timeout when his team had none.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, immediately after a long break in play, Oklahoma had to burn a timeout when it saw Swoopes, not Heard, run onto the field.
