Clock operator's woeful error helps Michigan State

Michigan State survived a nail-biter against Florida Gulf Coast (DUNK CITY) on Sunday. And the Big Ten should be thankful that Antravious Simmons missed his buzzer-beating attempt because otherwise, it would have been a major problem.

The Spartans rallied to take the lead late, which left FGCU with 2.4 seconds to go the length of the court. Miles Bridges, who is very good at basketball, blocked the initial inbounds attempt back out of bounds. The announcers noticed that a considerable amount of time had ticked off the clock in that time, but ultimately there was no review. The Eagles had 1.6 seconds on attempt No. 2.

Then, this happened. Keep an eye on the clock.

The clock started immediately after Christian Terrell's inbounds attempt left his hand rather than at the point of the first touch in play. By the time the pass reached Simmons, the buzzer had sounded and the game was over.

That obviously was a huge error on the clock operator's part, and FGCU coach Joe Dooley immediately argued for a review. After all, that shot clearly should have been allowed to happen without the interruption of a buzzer. The officials consulted with each other and elected to uphold the call on the court.

Now, if Simmons had made the shot, what would have happened? FGCU definitely had reason to be upset - it was major home cooking.