Colorado vs. Oregon basketball

Freshman guard Askia Booker exhorts the student section during the final minutes of the second half of the Buffaloes' 72-71 victory over the Oregon Ducks. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

University of Colorado students sing the alma mater with the team following the Buffaloes' 72-71 victory over the Oregon Ducks on Saturday night at the Coors Events Center. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

Sophomore forward Andre Roberson skies to block the shot of Oregon's Devoe Joseph late in the second half of the Buffaloes' 72-71 victory over the Ducks. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

Senior guard Nate Tomlinson drives into Oregon's E.J. Singler in the final seconds of the game. Tomlinson drew a foul on the play and made the first free throw giving the Buffaloes a 72-71 victory over the Ducks on Saturday night. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

Sometimes a single image can sum up an entire game. (See: Tom Brady sitting slumped over on the turf in Indianapolis) Just as often, however, a single photo can fall short of conveying the full context of that game, or even the entirety of one play.  Judged solely on the frame above, the foul called on E.J. Singler seems ridiculous. But viewed in real time with bodies colliding in the air, Nate Tomlinson was likely fouled on the play.

No one likes seeing the final play come down to a foul, but this was a fair call on a physical sequence that capped off a tight back-and-forth match full of such sequences. Nate earned his free throws and CU earned the win. The Ducks will get another crack at the Buffs on March 1st in Eugene, and if Saturday night was any indication these teams will be going through another tight one, a game that will again fail to be defined by a single image.