For years so many of you have complained about the Big Sky refs. But it's a far bigger problem than just the Big Sky. Take yesterday's Gonzaga game, and three crucial misses by the refs--all in the second half.
--An Arkansas player drives the baseline and clearly steps out of bounds. No call. There ensues a critical three-point make by Arkansas.
--A Gonzaga players spills to the floor while dribbling at the top of the key. No call. Replays not only show he was tripped, but probably intentionally.
--Holmgren with four fouls goes up for a block. He's clearly vertical--but gets his fifth foul. Game changer.
Last week, in another game, an Iowa kid was fouled late on a three-point shot--right on his shooting arm, right in front of the ref. No call.
For college basketball, you simply have too many games spread out over an inadequate pool of part-time refs.
I watch a lot of Warrior games as you all know. Refs make mistakes; of the challenges by NBA coaches, about 44% are overturned. Many of those calls are contested out-of-bounds plays or goaltending calls where the action is so fast you sometimes have trouble seeing the correct call even on replay. But by and large and in general, NBA refs are full-time professionals, and they do a great job.
Not so in college.
And when you're on a big-time stage, with millions of dollars at stake on the outcomes of these games, it is a travesty to see the quality of the refereeing.
--An Arkansas player drives the baseline and clearly steps out of bounds. No call. There ensues a critical three-point make by Arkansas.
--A Gonzaga players spills to the floor while dribbling at the top of the key. No call. Replays not only show he was tripped, but probably intentionally.
--Holmgren with four fouls goes up for a block. He's clearly vertical--but gets his fifth foul. Game changer.
Last week, in another game, an Iowa kid was fouled late on a three-point shot--right on his shooting arm, right in front of the ref. No call.
For college basketball, you simply have too many games spread out over an inadequate pool of part-time refs.
I watch a lot of Warrior games as you all know. Refs make mistakes; of the challenges by NBA coaches, about 44% are overturned. Many of those calls are contested out-of-bounds plays or goaltending calls where the action is so fast you sometimes have trouble seeing the correct call even on replay. But by and large and in general, NBA refs are full-time professionals, and they do a great job.
Not so in college.
And when you're on a big-time stage, with millions of dollars at stake on the outcomes of these games, it is a travesty to see the quality of the refereeing.
Gonzaga got totally screwed by the refs last night...
