Western Kentucky beats Alabama but nobody realizes it, a breakdown
What Happened
In a December 2020 men's college basketball game, Western Kentucky and Alabama were tied 71-71 with about 30 seconds left when the ending went haywire. A Western Kentucky drive missed, a teammate put up the rebound, and an Alabama defender swatted it off the glass for goaltending, which awarded WKU the basket and the lead. The problem was that almost nobody in the building realized it. The scoreboard didn't update right away, the crowd thought the game was still tied, and even the players, broadcasters, and possibly Alabama itself were confused about who was winning.
Why This Matters
Goaltending calls are some of the most disorienting in basketball because the points get awarded retroactively, and the scoreboard can lag behind the ruling. That's exactly what bit everyone here. Alabama kept playing keep-away in the final seconds, apparently believing the score was tied, while Western Kentucky already knew they were ahead. The broadcast crew narrating their own confusion makes the clip land, since they're processing the rule in real time alongside viewers. Plays like this are a reminder that the official ruling, not the scoreboard or the crowd reaction, decides the game. Western Kentucky walked away with a win that the building only fully understood after the fact, and the visiting players trash-talking confused Alabama fans turned an oddity into one of the stranger finishes of the season.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Western Kentucky, Alabama (MLB, 2020).
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentwestern kentucky versus alabama men's
basketball a match
everyone was tuned in for tied at 71
with 30 seconds left and western
kentucky has the ball
number four going to drive the lane put
it up misses comes down 23 puts it up
blocked
what happened everyone's celebrating on
both sides of the ball
number 23 in western kentucky he's
getting some high fives
they think they took the lead so the
first guy he got the ball to the rim
so shot clock resets it was right at the
buzzer next guy
picks it up and he's going to throw it
off the glass it hits the glass then
gets blocked so goaltending so it gets
called for goaltending which gives
western kentucky the lead
i was in that was it that was it that
was in that was in that they're all
saying it
but the scorekeeper doesn't change the
score
the crowd in the audience doesn't know
what happened i don't even know if
alabama knows
that they're losing right now everyone
thinks it's a tied game besides the
western kentucky players and the refs
which made for the viewing experience at
home
and in the stands pretty confusing
as well as for the play-by-play guy
and i'll let them take over because it's
really funny to listen them be confused
herbert jones backing in jones to the
lane
missed it and there's still a ton of
time seven seconds
[Applause]
[Music]
what is western kentucky doing oh
goodness it took him nine
seconds and they will not get a shot off
that guy
thought they were just playing keep away
instead of trying to win the game which
is a really funny
perspective and then eventually he's
like oh wait they must have called
a goaltending the two coaches getting up
how about that
and then all the players start [ __ ]
talking the fans they must have been on
them all game
so they're just like western kentucky
western kentucky in your face
we rule you guys drool western kentucky
boo
you we're the best we're the best
meanwhile the kids in the crowd have
no idea what just happened like i
thought we were [ __ ] tied
why are they talking [ __ ] to us what
just happened
what just happened where we were tied
it's pretty funny this guy got his wife
and his kids come on honey let's go
let's get out of here
damn it thought we were tied these kids
like what
what happened so just western kentucky
just killing people's spirits in this
kid's face
haha kid i do like that his shirt and
his uh
gator match perfectly