"A game of this magnitude can only be decided by an objective call": Emmanuel Acho weighs on ref decisions after dramatic Iowa vs. UConn showdown

Emmanuel Acho has some thoughts on the way the game between Iowa and UConn ended. The Iowa Hawkeyes have clinched a spot in the national championship game amid a controversial call by the officials in the dying moments of the game.

A foul called on UConn's Aliyah Edwards with less than ten seconds on the clock allowed Iowa Hawkeyes to recover the possession after a failed free throw by Caitlin Clark. This practically marked the end of the game.

Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho gave his two cents on the situation in a now-deleted tweet on his X account. He focused on the lack of objectivity of the call, now outright criticizing the call but also on the fact that the call relies on an interpretation of the rules.

Emmanuel Acho's tweet

What was the call on the UConn vs. Iowa game? How did it help the Hawkeyes?

With 10 seconds left in the game, Caitlin Clark made a pass to Hannah Stuelke inside of the rim. Stuelke, instead of attempting to score two points, made a pass attempt to Sydney Affolter just outside the rim. The pass failed and the possession was recovered by UConn.

It seemed like the Huskies were poised to score and get ahead; however, an offensive foul was called on Aaliyah Edwards, who seemed to push Iowa's Gabbie Marshall.

The call allowed Iowa to get a free throw, which Clark failed to convert, but it allowed them to recover possession with less than five seconds left in the clock.

"I mean, there's probably an illegal screen call that you could make on every single possession, I just know there were three or four of them called on us and I don't think there were any called on them," UConn's head coach Geno Auriemma said. "So I guess we just gotta get better on not setting illegal screens."

Do you agree with Emmanuel Acho? Let us know in the comments section.

Caitlin Clark on going back to the national championship game

Caitlin Clark is making her second trip to the national championship game, with her first being in 2023. That time around, the Hawkeyes fell to the LSU Tigers of Kim Mulkey, Angel Reese, and co.

This year, they will face another SEC powerhouse in the form of the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Clark spoke after the UConn game about the possibility of playing in the national championship once more:

“Going to the national championship game, everybody's stepping up,” Clark said. “It's not just me. It's not just one player. That's not what this is. We wouldn't be at this point right now if it was just one player. And everybody comes up and makes really big plays when we need them.”

The Gamecocks are undefeated at the moment. Last season, Iowa defeated another undefeated South Carolina team in the semifinal round. However, this time around, Gamecocks will like to avenge.