NCAA Officiating

[Auger]

Not a Wisconsin fan at all. I have been one of the most outspoken fans of their style of physical play but last night was an example of how bad officiating is getting in college basketball. So Wisconsin plays a physical style of D and all season long they get away with that style and are the least penalized team in college basketball. In the 1st half of last nights game they play the same style they have played all season long and only get 2 fouls called on them ( I actually agreed with coach K at halftime). In the 2nd half Duke goes down by 9 and all of a sudden the same style of physical D that Wiscy has played all season long including the 1st half starts getting called for fouls on every other Duke possession.

I hate the style of ball Wisconsin plays but come on in the championship game all of a sudden the way they play is a foul every other time down the court? I am about to start believing there is a conspiracy against the BIG. I remember all the no calls from the Michigan Louisville game a few years back when the Louisville guards were allowed to basically push the Michigan ballhandlers right off the ball and all the body checks.

 

[hawkeye54545]

If they would just enforce the rules as they did 20 years ago and call fouls like they should be then the subjective crap would go away.

I'm not sure when contact off the ball and body contact on shooters quit being a foul but it has killed the flow of a game and turned it from a game with scores in the 80 ' s to thay in the 60's.

If they would just call all fouls next preseason than players will either adjust how they play defense or foul out of every game. Sure it may be a foul fest for awhile but I think would help long term.

 

[Chewback]

Actually Wisconsin was getting a lot more fouls called against them during most of the NCAAT games than they had during the season so maybe they should have gotten a message. I know they had 21 against Virginia and 18 against NC. Only 14 against Kentucky so maybe they got overconfident. And of course the 1st half against Duke went quite well for them. Then Krachunsky "reasoned" with the refs at halftime and persuaded them of the error of their ways and we now have history.

 

[Michael1969]

I really don't think the refs can be that bad at what they do. I think they're biggest problem is they become too influenced by the coaches along the sideline.....after 30 to 60 minutes of real time and I just think their minds start to think differently on different calls and situations. And let's face it, many of these coaches know how to play the game. They know refs are only going to call so many fouls and so on.....in other words, it's not like a team ever has to worry about all 5 of their starters fouling out of a game. Eventually the refs realize they have to let certain things go and eat their whistles.

 

[MepoDawg#]

Its the same thing every year. B1G teams don't get away with as much in the NCAA Tournament. It's up to the players and coaches to adjust. Quit crying. Bad calls went both ways.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[CanadaHawk]

Originally posted by MepoDawg#:
Its the same thing every year. B1G teams don't get away with as much in the NCAA Tournament. It's up to the players and coaches to adjust. Quit crying. Bad calls went both ways.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

DIsagree that B1G teams don't get away with as much in the NCAA. MSU made it to the Final Four this year. WI made it to the finals.

Agree the it's up to coaches and players to adjust. But how can they when the same crew calls 2 different halves in the same game? The adjustment was made by the officials.

The officials determined the outcome of the championship game. By the standards that they are supposed to espouse, that is an undesirable outcome.

 

[Auger]

Originally posted by MepoDawg#:
Its the same thing every year. B1G teams don't get away with as much in the NCAA Tournament. It's up to the players and coaches to adjust. Quit crying. Bad calls went both ways.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

Tough to adjust when the game is called one way for much of the game and then the last 12-14mins is called differently. I wouldnt say the BIG doesnt get away with things either. The B1G has done well in the tournament over the years.

 

[BubsFinn]

There has been all this talk about what to do to improve college basketball. Shorten the shot clock, extend the three point line, blah, blah, blah, blah. The biggest problem in college basketball, and the thing that makes people not watch the games, is inconsistent/biased officiating. If the NCAA or ESPN or CBS is interested in increasing viewership, that's where they need to start looking.

 

[Michael1969]

The problem is they don't see officiating as a problem. And furthermore, the problem with what officials have to do is mostly make judgment calls. I'm just not sure what you do to correct that.

 

[The Sleeping Dog]

While its hard to empathize with Bucky, a worthless rodent that gets a thousand officiating breaks during the B1G season, the officiating down the stretch last night wasn't poor it was dishonest. A Duke player hopping with the ball on the baseline passing to another Duke player who then stepped OB? Officials looking right at it....not a "mistake" but rather an conscious intent to do nothing that might hurt Duke.

Who knows why, and the motives don't matter. What we do know is that intent is proven through circumstantial evidence and the circumstances of last night's game pretty clearly display outcome oriented and dispositive. Haven't seen that kind of officiating in a FF or Nat'l title game since the officials descended on Tarkanians undefeated team in 91.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

Originally posted by Michael1969:
The problem is they don't see officiating as a problem. And furthermore, the problem with what officials have to do is mostly make judgment calls. I'm just not sure what you do to correct that.

Get across the board standards. The problem is these teams play in the non-conf against other leagues and the officials do not enforce the rules the same. Some leagues want to be known has physical leagues and let the kids play. Other officials want to control the game from the start and call everything. Then when conference play rolls around the players have been exposed to different officiating and there is an adjustment period for them. Then in the NCAA its a crapshoot who you get.

I have talked to officials who say that if a player is at a disadvantage it is most likely a foul. Meaning that if a player using his arm to get around a defender (hook) is an advantage and should be called. The problem is most of these officials do not call it. I also think the coaches talking to the officials and arguing the calls. One coach can step out onto the floor and scream all they want and they get a warning. Other coaches speak up and say the magic word get called for a Technical. The inconsistencies of officiating are bad right now and they are ruining the college game. I do not know how you improve them, I have thought about this for a long time. I don't know if adding a 4th official would do the trick (they added 8 to college football to speed up the game). Maybe add a 4th guy and that way they can box it in more, as opposed to triangle everything in?

I don't know, but something has to be done. I know in officiating its a damned if you do and a damned if you don't type of job. If you call a game really tight and close, your going to have the fans saying, "games take way too long, too many fouls, let the kids play." But if you let a game go and call it loosely, then you will have people complaining the game has gotten out of hand and they need to tighten down on the fouls. So no matter how to shake it, people are going to be upset with the officiating. 50% of people will agree with you and 50% of people will argue with you. Its the nature of the beast, and I do not know how they can improve it.

 

[CoachoftheFuture1]

Yes, officiating is largely about judgment calls. So how do you improve it? Get people who show better judgment.

But some officiating is simply enforcing rules. Even then college basketball officials are wildly inconsistent and indefensible.

Kentucky slugs a Badger, officials review it over and over and over and decide to disregard it. That's a patently blatant abuse of power. The rule says that MUST be at least a Flagrant 1 violation. The only question was to determine if it rose to the level of a Flagrant 2. This is the definition of dishonesty, not simply bad judgment.

A similar event takes place when Duke clobbers Gasser in the face, knocking his contact askew and forcing him out of the game. The refs don't call anything, AND they don't even review it! Again, patently dishonest.

And in the final moments of the final, Duke tips the ball out of bounds, the play is reviewed and clearly shows Duke touched the ball last, ball STILL goes to Duke. Again, that can ONLY be described as cheating. Period.

College basketball has plenty of problems, but biased, dishonest, inconsistent, indefensibly poor officiating as problem #1.

Accountability would be a good place to start. How can the officials honestly explain the failures like those noted here? They can't, so they're fired.

Then hire people and pay them as full-time employees and demand excellence...not perfection...excellence. They don't meet those standards, they're dismissed. The NCAA has so much money, there's no GOOD reason for not doing this. Unless, of course, the NCAA is aiding and abetting the bias and dishonesty in officiating.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

Originally posted by CoachoftheFuture1:
Yes, officiating is largely about judgment calls. So how do you improve it? Get people who show better judgment.

But some officiating is simply enforcing rules. Even then college basketball officials are wildly inconsistent and indefensible.

Kentucky slugs a Badger, officials review it over and over and over and decide to disregard it. That's a patently blatant abuse of power. The rule says that MUST be at least a Flagrant 1 violation. The only question was to determine if it rose to the level of a Flagrant 2. This is the definition of dishonesty, not simply bad judgment.

A similar event takes place when Duke clobbers Gasser in the face, knocking his contact askew and forcing him out of the game. The refs don't call anything, AND they don't even review it! Again, patently dishonest.

And in the final moments of the final, Duke tips the ball out of bounds, the play is reviewed and clearly shows Duke touched the ball last, ball STILL goes to Duke. Again, that can ONLY be described as cheating. Period.

College basketball has plenty of problems, but biased, dishonest, inconsistent, indefensibly poor officiating as problem #1.

Accountability would be a good place to start. How can the officials honestly explain the failures like those noted here? They can't, so they're fired.

Then hire people and pay them as full-time employees and demand excellence...not perfection...excellence. They don't meet those standards, they're dismissed. The NCAA has so much money, there's no GOOD reason for not doing this. Unless, of course, the NCAA is aiding and abetting the bias and dishonesty in officiating.

The Director of NCAA officials said the refs in the game only had certain number of replays and did not see the one from the baseline (the best view). They couldn't support over turning the call with the views they saw.

This is where college basketball needs to improve. The review process needs to change and needs to go to a MLB style. If they want to dispute or go to the monitor they have either a 4th official in the "TV Truck" or on site with all camera angles at their disposal. They look at it and communicate with the officials and they have the power to over-turn the call. Just my opinion, this whole going to the monitor is getting old and I swear they have to do it at least 3-4 times a game.

Also would like to see a "coaches" challenge. They get 1 per half and if they win both of them, they get a 3rd. Something like that and then only reviews under 2 minutes need to be made and only if the "4th official" thinks that a review needs to be made. I don't know, just some ideas. I have a feeling there will be some serious changes made for next year.