Aren't the words equity and fairness the catch phrase of the moment? Well, it isn't very equitable or fair to have to outplay the officials and the other team. Both teams make mistakes and commit fouls. Yep, shitty free throw cost us the game but how would the game have played out if Illinois was in foul trouble. Cockburn fouls almost every possession especially on offense.
But you can ALWAYS find a reason a team could have one a close game.
No, I think he gets hacked by everyone from multiple angles…
If Iowa had won, the officiating would have still been terrible. There are some that shouldn’t be doing it in this conference and 2 of them reffed tonight. It took the B1G 20 years to stop Tedddy Valentine from doing league games. Take out the trash already.
He’ll be bust in the association . Too slow and faster more athletic players will run him ragged
He dishes it out just as well swinging those elbows, all while shuffling and hopping his way under the basket
I’m saying tonight wasn’t on the refs. It was free throws. You can have that internal battle with yourself on whether the refs cost us the game tonight. I wish you luck.
I suppose if you watch Illinois all year long it would appear that the 3 second rule is no longer a violation. Most of the games I watch there's movement through the lane back and forth. Kofi plants himself and makes very little attempt to step outside at any time. Along with the constant traveling when he makes his bull rush towards the basket it's not surprising he gets the numbers he does.
That's exactly why Iowa is a good team, but not great. Unfortunately winning close games is the difference between a possible tourney run and an early exit
Yes. Wish it wasn't an issue. However, it's criminal what has become of the game I used to love. Fairness matters and that illusion of fairness is gone.
Sometimes that's just sports. That's why it's fun to watch. All credit to Wisconsin for winning a share of the conference title, but are they really "clutch" against Purdue when they bank in 2 3-pointers in the last minute to win the game? And then lose by 1 to Nebraska, at home, on senior day to have the conference all to themselves?
speaking of elbows, you must have forgot how Garza cleared space in the big ten….
He’s also fouled every single possession, as every team’s players triple team and hack him. Surely you see that, too?
Yeah, I don’t blame tonight on the officials - it just got so damn frustrating how differently the two halves were officiated. In the first half, Iowa had great rhythm offensively because the officials were allowing freedom of movement. In the second half, Illinois decided to hold on everything and the officials let it go for long stretches. I counted at least two occasions where Kofi jumped into an Iowa defender going after a rebound and no call. Later Kofi jumped into Keegan in the perimeter, and no call; then did the same thing a couple minutes later and did get whistled. all anyone can ask for is consistency from the officials and last night was anything but. That said, if they shoot 70% from the line this becomes a moot point.
And winning a bunch close games is random. It usually evens out over an extended period of time. Hopefully Wisconsin’s luck starts to run out and losing to Nebraska is a nice start. They are middle of the road team who is primed for an early exit in the Dance. On the opposite end Iowa is going to be underseeded and will be set up to make a second weekend run. The numbers reflect that.
I’m one of the biggest Kofi fans out there, and I think you’re right. We’ll, actually you might be wrong because he may not even make it to the nba. 30 years ago he’s a lottery pick, but the game has changed.
How Kofi gets officiated imo will determine how far Illinois goes in the tourney. Because of how the officials called fouls for him last night, he controlled the paint, but whenever he left the game Iowa went on runs. If the games are called tight, then Illinois might flame out in the second round again depending on the draw.
Iowa had it's chance to win with the last shot. Yeah if Kegans free-throw shots would have fallen we could have won the game that way. I felt the refs had some very bad calls close to the end of the game. Especially when Kockburn jumped into Kegan on his shot from 3 the first time and some calls under the basket against Iowa.
Watch the Big 12 games, they plant in the lane for a long long time in that league
Not only that but he's a foul machine. He's not going to get away with much in the NBA. Multiple times he stuck out his arm to impede someone from driving around him, stuck his legs/hips into a driver while still shuffling his feet, and extended his arms/pushed off on rebounds. All of that will be called a foul at the next level. They will exploit him in the pick-and-roll to where he is fouled out or simply unplayable. He doesn't stand a chance. He's not fast enough or skilled enough to stick.
Agreed.
Agree with 1 and 2 completely. I completely agree that Courtney Green's officiating sucks and and is totally inconsistent.
And Kofi travels a lot without it being called. That five step basket was a bunch of bullshit.
Hopefully in the NCAA tournament Illinois won't have Big Ten refs. COCKburn will foul out early.
Agree, refs were bad(what a surprise with CGreen), but it worked both ways. The announcers were worse than Dolphin and that is saying something
Doesn't the fact that the Big Ten retains the same officials for decades tell you the Big Ten is happy with the results those officials produce? It sure seems that way to me.
