Big Sky admits officiating error

[Unwrittengriz]

in the UNC-NAU game.

NAU was jobbed out of a 1 & 1 by the official score keeper.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...73/big-sky-regets-scorekeeping-error-in-semis

 

[Potomac Griz]

They really should have apologized for a hell of a lot more than that one error. After watching the 2nd half I felt so bad for Cameron Jones and NAU I was hoping they'd somehow overcome the 8 vs 5 disadvantage and pull it out at the end. Jones, from what I remember wasn't one of those "whiner" players...yet he was visibly pissed about what was occurring in the 2nd half of that game.

It's one thing to be out played and lose...even badly... it's entirely another when the refs take a game over like that and keep the road team from ever building a decent lead by putting the other team on the FT line 35 times... Hard to win a game when one team shoots 35 free throws and you have to back away from any possible contact on defense in fear of your entire team fouling out. Guess we found that out tonight too :/

 

[GrizLA]

The Big East seems to have the same problem...

 

[Potomac Griz]

Those non-calls at the end of the Rutgers / St Johns game were terrible that's for sure. However it wasn't an entire half+ of one sided bullshit like in the two games we just saw. I'd gladly trade what NAU and the Griz had to endure for a few blown calls at the end of a game that from the looks of it (other than the end) was pretty evenly officiated.

That said I'd still be pretty pissed if I was a Rutgers fan over the missed obvious fouls near the end, and then that travel + out of bounds crap with a little over a second left. In both of the Big Sky games, and the Rutgers games the players deserve better than having their seasons end the way they did.

I'm not trying to take anything away from UNC either. They are a hell of a team. Beitzel is a great player and I hope they represent the Big Sky well in the tournament. What happened to NAU and the Griz could have just as easily happened to UNC. I guarantee you they've been homered badly by the Big Sky refs too. It sure seems to happen a lot in the Big Sky. It's harder to take when it's in a game that ends your season though.

 

[EverettGriz]

The Big East seems to have the same problem...

Not the same. First, it was only one call, not a serious of ridiculous calls and inconsistency. But more importantly, who gives a shit? Had SJU lost, they were still a lock for the tournament. Bad officiating cost the Griz a shot to play in the tournament.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

The Big East seems to have the same problem...

Not the same. First, it was only one call, not a serious of ridiculous calls and inconsistency. But more importantly, who gives a shit? Had SJU lost, they were still a lock for the tournament. Bad officiating cost the Griz a shot to play in the tournament.

Yep. :thumb:

 

[MT Jack]

Not the same. First, it was only one call, not a serious of ridiculous calls and inconsistency. But more importantly, who gives a shit? Had SJU lost, they were still a lock for the tournament. Bad officiating cost the Griz a shot to play in the tournament.

The inherent unfairness of the NCAA tournament stated quite well here, Everett. I don't see any realistic way of changing things either.

 

[MT Jack]

I've shrugged off suspect officiating in the past. I've now seen suspect officiating cost two teams two nights in a row vs. the home host. I don't mean that UNC is undeserving. I do mean that the reffing was not done objectively for two nights in a row. And that truly sucks for NAU and UM fans.

 

[Zootown Rox]

They really should have apologized for a hell of a lot more than that one error. After watching the 2nd half I felt so bad for Cameron Jones and NAU I was hoping they'd somehow overcome the 8 vs 5 disadvantage and pull it out at the end. Jones, from what I remember wasn't one of those "whiner" players...yet he was visibly pissed about what was occurring in the 2nd half of that game.

It's one thing to be out played and lose...even badly... it's entirely another when the refs take a game over like that and keep the road team from ever building a decent lead by putting the other team on the FT line 35 times... Hard to win a game when one team shoots 35 free throws and you have to back away from any possible contact on defense in fear of your entire team fouling out. Guess we found that out tonight too :/

+1

With a fair officiating crew it would've been UM vs. NAU in the championship game.

 

[Growler1]

They really should have apologized for a hell of a lot more than that one error. After watching the 2nd half I felt so bad for Cameron Jones and NAU I was hoping they'd somehow overcome the 8 vs 5 disadvantage and pull it out at the end. Jones, from what I remember wasn't one of those "whiner" players...yet he was visibly pissed about what was occurring in the 2nd half of that game.

It's one thing to be out played and lose...even badly... it's entirely another when the refs take a game over like that and keep the road team from ever building a decent lead by putting the other team on the FT line 35 times... Hard to win a game when one team shoots 35 free throws and you have to back away from any possible contact on defense in fear of your entire team fouling out. Guess we found that out tonight too :/

+1

With a fair officiating crew it would've been UM vs. NAU in the championship game.

You know, I have agonized myself over why it seems like the home team always enjoys a foul advantage in college hoops. In games that officiated, I think this was almost always the case. And yet, when I did my personal analysis of the game I just officiated, I can assure you that I believed that I called a fair and unbiased game. Yet, the stats, regarding fouls, often looked suspect.

I really do not think that any of the three officials last night intended to have the foul totals be so skewed. I really don't. But, there must be a sub-conscious effect on officials when thousands of rabid fans are screaming after each call. I think it is especially hard in a cracker-box gym like last night. I am quite sure that the three officials looked at the box score after the game, and were surprised at how unbalanced the foul totals were. I reali9z that this may seem impossible, but I believe it is a psychological reaction by officials to please the home crowd, keep them from creating a difficult situation, etc. Just sayin'.

 

[Grizbacker1]

They really should have apologized for a hell of a lot more than that one error. After watching the 2nd half I felt so bad for Cameron Jones and NAU I was hoping they'd somehow overcome the 8 vs 5 disadvantage and pull it out at the end. Jones, from what I remember wasn't one of those "whiner" players...yet he was visibly pissed about what was occurring in the 2nd half of that game.

It's one thing to be out played and lose...even badly... it's entirely another when the refs take a game over like that and keep the road team from ever building a decent lead by putting the other team on the FT line 35 times... Hard to win a game when one team shoots 35 free throws and you have to back away from any possible contact on defense in fear of your entire team fouling out. Guess we found that out tonight too :/

+1

With a fair officiating crew it would've been UM vs. NAU in the championship game.

You know, I have agonized myself over why it seems like the home team always enjoys a foul advantage in college hoops. In games that officiated, I think this was almost always the case. And yet, when I did my personal analysis of the game I just officiated, I can assure you that I believed that I called a fair and unbiased game. Yet, the stats, regarding fouls, often looked suspect.

I really do not think that any of the three officials last night intended to have the foul totals be so skewed. I really don't. But, there must be a sub-conscious effect on officials when thousands of rabid fans are screaming after each call. I think it is especially hard in a cracker-box gym like last night. I am quite sure that the three officials looked at the box score after the game, and were surprised at how unbalanced the foul totals were. I reali9z that this may seem impossible, but I believe it is a psychological reaction by officials to please the home crowd, keep them from creating a difficult situation, etc. Just sayin'.

The biggest issue is they are not good officials. The few good ones the BSC had have moved on to bigger conferences and the NBA.

 

[Grizbeer]

You know, I have agonized myself over why it seems like the home team always enjoys a foul advantage in college hoops. In games that officiated, I think this was almost always the case. And yet, when I did my personal analysis of the game I just officiated, I can assure you that I believed that I called a fair and unbiased game. Yet, the stats, regarding fouls, often looked suspect.

I really do not think that any of the three officials last night intended to have the foul totals be so skewed. I really don't. But, there must be a sub-conscious effect on officials when thousands of rabid fans are screaming after each call. I think it is especially hard in a cracker-box gym like last night. I am quite sure that the three officials looked at the box score after the game, and were surprised at how unbalanced the foul totals were. I reali9z that this may seem impossible, but I believe it is a psychological reaction by officials to please the home crowd, keep them from creating a difficult situation, etc. Just sayin'.

The biggest issue is they are not good officials. The few good ones the BSC had have moved on to bigger conferences and the NBA.

I think this is largely true, but I also think that every official, or crew, see the game differently. some see every touch as a foul, others require stitches to call one. some call nothing on the inside but everything on dribble. However, in nearly every case, when it comes to the tournaments, there is always a tendency to loosen up calls and "let them play" more.

I suspect what we ran into in the Championship game was a crew who liked to call touch fouls. I believe in the first 1/2 of the game they were letting more go because of the magnitude of the game, but there was still way more ticky tack calls than you would normally see in the championship game, and not even comparable to an NCAA tournament game. as the game wore on and the intensity increased the officials fell back on their instincts, to call every touch. I don't think they had any intended bias against the Griz (or NAU for that matter), but when the stress was on they went back to their old habits. The less physical game didn't benefit the Griz at all, and not what you would expect in the Championship game.