Sunday’s conference championship game in the Atlantic 10 conference between the VCU Rams and the Duquesne Dukes featured an extremely bizarre moment where confetti designed for the end of the game was prematurely dropped, which caused a stoppage in play.
The incident took place with 18 minutes left in the second half, halting a VCU possession. CBS broadcaster Kevin Harlan had a terrific call of the unusual moment.
“Oh my gosh, they have confetti falling right now,” said Harlan. “Confetti is falling on the floor and we are going to have to stop play! We can’t see our notes! The players can’t work on this court! Confetti is everywhere! Somebody hit the wrong button.”
"Confetti is falling on the floor! They're gonna have to stop play! We can't see our notes! The players can't work on this court! CONFETTI IS EVERYWHERE! SOMEBODY HIT THE WRONG BUTTON!" – Kevin Harlan 🏀🎊🎙️🤣pic.twitter.com/ExbDTlMJJX
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 17, 2024
Harlan was absolutely correct in his assessment of course. Someone in the Barclays Center very clearly hit the wrong button. And many around the college basketball world were certainly talking about this situation.
Pray for Duquesne.
They just dropped the confetti with 18 minutes to play. @MarkTitusShow
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 17, 2024
I’ve watched A LOT of college basketball games in my time…
Never have I seen an early eruption of confetti during a game 💀
Had to livebet VCU after seeing that pic.twitter.com/RP6XdJpFG5
— 🦀💵 (@Krabs_Bets) March 17, 2024
Confetti is raining down in Brooklyn!!!
Only problem, there’s still 18 minutes left in the game pic.twitter.com/rdo2PNhGD9
— Austin Mitchell (@Austin_Cree) March 17, 2024
Kevin Harlan calling the A10 Championship with confetti coming down is an all-time Mid-Major Moment ™️ pic.twitter.com/SeutKBaEZr
— Nathan Strauss (@NathanPStrauss) March 17, 2024
Hate to see the confetti drop early @BarstoolDU pic.twitter.com/AdUUtgUKQA
— Barstool U (@BarstoolU) March 17, 2024
You’ll only find moments like this in college basketball. And it certainly impacted the broadcast of the rest of the game.
With 12 minutes remaining in the game, CBS ran a “since confetti fell” graphic to show that the premature confetti falling had seemingly affected Duquesne negatively, as VCU was on a 9-0 run to cut into their deficit.
CBS had a "Since Confetti Fell" graphic showing a 9-0 VCU run in the A-10 Championship. 🏀📺😂 https://t.co/b6ecfeBdQE pic.twitter.com/5YDalb3D0F
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 17, 2024
VCU would continue to cut into the lead and make this an extremely competitive ending to the game. However, Duquesne would hold onto their lead, winning the game 57-51 to automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Duquesne would then get their confetti shower, this time at the right time appropriately at the end of the game, to celebrate their victory.
“First time in 47 years! Duquesne is going to the NCAA Championship Tournament! The A-10 champion Dukes of Duquesne! Now the confetti falls at the right time.” – Kevin Harlan 🏀🎊🎙️🕺 https://t.co/b6ecfeBLGc pic.twitter.com/WK4pFXa8GJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 17, 2024
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