People like to generalize (myself included). We enjoy looking at specifics events and trying to find trends. We use small pieces to form the big picture. So, it is not surprising that after the controversial block Patrick Ewing Jr. made against Da’Sean Butler in the final seconds of the West Virginia game, people claimed that the “missed” call meant the Mountaineers were cheated out of a victory. However, there is an obvious flaw to this logic. And it is a matter of sample size.

In mathematics, sample size plays a large role in determining if a conclusion is reasonable. In order for a result to be statistically significant, the sample size needs to be large enough. For example, if I ask only one person to name his favorite basketball team, and then I attempt to generalize, I will try to claim that everyone’s favorite team is Georgetown. But, this is foolish. It is just as foolish to look at just one play and then make a claim about who should have won, or who was cheated.

If we look at the whole game, we will see that there were plenty of calls that went against Georgetown. Austin Freeman was called for a loose ball foul when he was in good position and got an offensive rebound. Patrick Ewing gained control of a loose ball and stood up and was whistled for a loose ball foul. There were plenty of calls that were wrong, and they hurt both teams. It is not only the last call of the game that decides the outcome of the game.

Were the referees bad? Absolutely. Was it goaltending? Perhaps. Did West Virginia get cheated? Definitely not. One play is not enough to make such a generalization. In order to come to a reasonable conclusion, one needs to look at the whole 40 minutes, not just the last 6.2 seconds. I know it’s easier to let one play define an outcome. But, if you want to get a true understanding of a game, you need to look at the Big Picture.