The NCAA has added a coach's challenge to college basketball for next season, which is going to help a ton for boneheaded calls that refs make or miss. The problem for Wisconsin basketball is that it's coming about a decade too late. Bo Ryan would have loved to have a couple of those calls fixed in the 2015 National Championship game against Duke.
It's not a stretch to say that missed calls cost the Badgers the championship. Sure, you hate blaming the refs, and you'd love to be in a position where the refs can't do anything about the domination, but it's the National Championship, and momentum is king. Even one wrong call can change the entire direction of the game.
Coach’s challenge will be introduced this upcoming season.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) June 10, 2025
🏀 Can challenge at any point in a game
🏀 Must have a timeout in order to challenge
🏀 If successful teams receive one additional challenge for the rest of the game, including overtime
Full details:… pic.twitter.com/Sv9aIPGpki
Would a coach's challenge have helped Wisconsin win the National Championship over Duke?
We are in hypothetical land for a minute, but would having a coach's challenge for Bo Ryan actually have helped the Badgers? Yes and no. Let's start with no.
The reason it may not have helped is that one of the biggest missed calls was actually reviewed: the out-of-bounds ball that was tipped off of Duke's Justise Winslow. It was clear as day on the TV broadcast, but the refs said they didn't have definite proof to overturn the call. Watch it again below if you want to be angry again, but also, if the refs are determined to screw a team, they still can.
If that call had changed, it would have helped tremendously. An extra possession for a high-level team is about a two-point swing. But it's also momentum. At this point, the score was 63-58 Duke. Had Wisconsin gotten the ball and scored, it could have easily been 63-60 or 63-61, which certainly changes things.
The answer is also "no" because a coach can't challenge a foul call, and that's where the refs were really one-sided. Wisconsin had the lead at halftime, 48-39, but then it was like the refs decided to only call fouls against the Badgers. Duke attempted 11 free throws that second half, while Wisconsin only shot 1. Wisconsin was called for 13 fouls in that second half when they were averaging less than that on the season. Thus, if the refs decide to be one-sided, they still can.
The reason the answer is yes, a coach's challenge would have helped is because Bo Ryan could have used it like an NFL coach, even if they don't win it, they can shift the perception and the momentum. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered, but it did have fans wondering if Wisconsin could have beaten Duke for the National Championship with a challenge in their back pocket.