Dick Vitale: Refs ‘flat out blew it’ at end of Auburn-Virginia semifinal. Here is why

Add Dick Vitale to the list of people clamoring over the ending of Saturday’s NCAA tournament semifinal between Auburn and Virginia.

The longtime ESPN analyst commended Virginia guard Kyle Guy for sinking three free throws after being fouled with 0.6 seconds left to play to seal a 63-62 victory over the Tigers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

“Unbelievable like you cannot believe,” Vitale said in a video posted to his Instagram account Sunday morning. “70,000 fans, millions watching all over the world. Bottom line is he made them.”

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“It should have never been on the line,” Vitale continued, “because the referees flat out blew it.”

Vitale, of course, is talking about the missed double-dribble call on Virginia’s Ty Jerome that happened on the play before Guy was fouled shooting his last-second three-point attempt.

On that play, Jerome lost control of the ball, grabbed it and began dribbling again before being fouled.

“No way in the world they should miss it,” Vitale said. “You have six eyes miss a double-dribble and it was flat out a double-dribble.”

Vitale then offered his two cents on how to resolve the problem in the future.

“The last minute of the game, referees should be at that monitor to really make sure any call they don’t feel comfortable with,” Vitale said. “Check it out because there’s too much at stake.”

Regardless of the call (or lack thereof), Virginia is heading to its first-ever NCAA men’s basketball championship and will face Texas Tech for the title at 9:20 p.m. Monday.

“Come on, now. Not many of you had that,” Vitale said. “I know I didn’t. But let’s give credit where it’s due.”