I know everyone will attack me and say we lost because of Fran - which is fine - but something has to be said about the role officiating played in tilting this game.
So over the course of the final 12 minutes of the game the refs call 11 straight fouls on Iowa - giving Maryland 16 free throws to Iowas 0!
Yea I know the tired story: rebound, defense, hustle. But we were literally doing all of those things (and controlling the game) up until about the 13 minute mark of the game. Then what changed? This was a lost season and we dropped way too many winnable games - but in this particular game it objectively felt like the refs chopped us down at the legs.
- At 13:25, Maryland gets called for their 4th team foul. Iowa leads 50-42
- *refs then called 11 straight fouls on iowa
- At 0:56, Maryland gets called for their 5th team foul. Iowa down 64-72. And the game is pretty much over.
So over the course of the final 12 minutes of the game the refs call 11 straight fouls on Iowa - giving Maryland 16 free throws to Iowas 0!
Yea I know the tired story: rebound, defense, hustle. But we were literally doing all of those things (and controlling the game) up until about the 13 minute mark of the game. Then what changed? This was a lost season and we dropped way too many winnable games - but in this particular game it objectively felt like the refs chopped us down at the legs.