The 11-seed VCU Rams put together a remarkable comeback to stun the 6-seed North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round of the 20226 NCAA Tournament on Thursday evening. Trailing by as many as 19 points in the second half, VCU stormed back to send the game to overtime and proceeded to come away victorious 82-78 in OT. It’s the largest comeback in the first round in NCAA Tournament history.
Well, TSN viewers in Canada saw the VCU-UNC game — a TNT simulcast — get to 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation, tied 75-75, before the network cut away to curling.
“You can catch the finish of this game on TSN4, because we might have overtime. But for now, we’re going to curling, women’s world championships,” the TSN studio host said as the channel switched off the VCU-UNC game in favor of curling.
The game was still available on TSN4, one of the five regional feeds of TSN, as well as the standalone streaming service, TSN+. But, A) a large percentage of the TSN viewers don’t have access to these options (which, as the post above suggests, could be a ploy by TSN to get subscribers), and B) it takes time to exit out of TSN and go find the game on a different channel or service. However you slice it, it’s inconvenient right in the heat of March Madness.
Even in Canada, where they love their curling, most viewers would likely rather see the finish of that wild NCAA Tournament game- or at least see the final 2.4 seconds of regulation.
For the Canadians who missed the finish, here’s a look at VCU making the go-ahead shot in overtime.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.