Maryland had just breezed past Grand Canyon 81-49 in the first round, their “Crab Five” starters flexing muscle with all five in double figures. But Charles Barkley, never one to shy away from a hot take, saw a crack in the armor. Colorado State, riding an 11-game winning streak and fresh off a 78-70 upset of No. 5 Memphis, had the firepower to exploit it. However, that didn’t really end up happening, as Terps’ coach Kevin Willard put it, “It feels really good, to be honest with you, because we battled back”.
Even saying that the game was neck-to-neck feels like an understatement. The Rams established a 37-30 lead in the first half, but the Terrapins caught on to them soon enough. 6.1 seconds remained, and Nique Clifford put the Rams in front on a three-pointer from the right flank. The matchup could have very well gone in Colorado’s favor had the Terrapins not stolen their rivals’ dreams of advancing to the Sweet 16 with under 3.7 seconds remaining. With one swift move, Maryland secured the win and probably disappointed Charles Barkley in the process.
Well, the Philadelphia 76ers legend has been serving as a studio analyst for the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament between Turner Sports and CBS since 2011. He has been in the broadcast of every Final Four game since that same year too! Over 14 years, the former player has predicted his fair share of game-winners. Therefore, before the Maryland-Colorado game, Barkley would have certainly used his years of experience to predict “I’m gonna go with the upset. I’m taking Colorado State.” Having observed the Maryland roster, the NBA legend had his doubts.
“Maryland, to me, won one of the most impressive first games out there. But, all five of those guys play well, Ernie. Can they play…. They don’t have a lot of depth…. can those five guys play at the same level?” asked Barkley before announcing his decision to side with Colorado. “I’m curious to see that”.
“I’m gonna go with the upset. I’m taking Colorado State.”
Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/CTQaeKNd4N
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2025
Charles Barkley’s curiosity to see how Maryland would perform would have certainly made the game more enjoyable for him. Derik Queen and Rodney Rice led the scoring effort for the Terrapins by recording 17 and 16 points respectively. 3 additional team players scored in the double-digits to keep the Terrapins’ offensive contributions in line with the rival team. In the end, it was the Terrapins that gained the edge after Derik Queen hit a running floater with under 3.7 seconds remaining in the second half. The action put the final score to 72-71 in Maryland’s favor.
However, Charles Barkley’s prediction would have proven true had the on-court officials been allegedly extra-vigilant. After all, eagle-eyed fans might have noticed that Queen took three steps after picking up his dribble before releasing the shot! Under normal circumstances, that would have been called out for ‘traveling’. After all, the official NCAA definition of traveling differs from the NBA’s. Players do not get a “gather step” in college, like they do in the pro league, as they pick up their dribble. Queen picked up his dribble behind the free-throw line as he took a step with his right foot.
The action might have gotten missed in the heat of the moment. After all, everyone’s attention was to see whether the buzzer beater would be successful or not. Unfortunately, not catching that lapse perhaps cost Colorado State Rams the chance to make it to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ for the first time since 1969. And it cost Charles Barkley his prediction.
Well, the former NBA player was humbled. He had a chance to defend his possession by bringing the ‘traveling’ into the limelight. However, even as his co-hosts brought it up, he took an opposite stance from what many would have thought he would take.
Charles Barkley and co-hosts disagreed with Derik Queen’s unaccountable mistake: “What travel….?”
In the aftermath of the Maryland-Colorado game, CBS’s studio coverage team viewed the final 3.7 seconds of the game. After watching Derik Queen make the shot, Kenny Smith highlighted how Charles Barkley had gotten 13 messages. All of them inquired about the former player’s thoughts on Queen’s traveling. This led Barkley to say, “Listen, I was so mad, I’m like ‘What traveling y’all talking about?’”
Barkley’s co-host, Gene Steratore, attempted to provide his reason for denying the final move as a travel. He stated, “Look, by rule, the dribble doesn’t end until there’s firm possession with one hand locked or more times than not with 2 hands”. Having observed Queen’s final move second-by-second, the analyst was of the mind that a travel had not taken.
Gene Steratore explained to an agreeing Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley that Maryland’s Derik Queen was correctly not called for a travel.
We suspect there will be some disagreement. https://t.co/X5ACxzF9fR pic.twitter.com/svEQZKeJ4k
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 24, 2025
Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith too agreed with Steratore, saying they did not notice anything unusual. And as social media began to ask for Colorado’s due justice, Steratore made a pretty valid point. “Many times now, in this game we love with the technological enhancements […] we’re starting to overanalyze things that are natural when we watch them,” he said.
As for Niko Medved, the one who deserves justice, he isn’t currently interested in watching a replay to make any comments. That might only serve as a painful reminder for him. “I’m sure I will at some point. I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe it was [a travel], maybe it wasn’t. But it doesn’t matter, they didn’t call one,” he said. “So whether it was or wasn’t, they didn’t call one and they never go back and change the call. But again, he made a really difficult shot, guys. I mean, he made a really, really difficult shot and they just made one more play than we did.”
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