Final Four

[admin]

Zags 35-32 at half.

And UNC promptly scores the first 4 of the half to take the lead.

[admin]

Zags 35-32 at half.

And UNC promptly scores the first 4 of the half to take the lead.

Crap - 8-0 run UNC to start the half.

[admin]

Refs have taken over the game.

[Jet915]

Damn refs took over the 2nd half. Maybe this title will be vacated later....

[admin]

Well that sucked.

[Toronto Rapture]

I was only able to see the first half. Could someone provide a summary of how the second half went (was Gonzaga in foul trouble?)? Towards the end of the first half, there were some blatant phantom calls against Gonzaga. I wonder how it was for the rest of the game.

[Bill Marsh]

How many times this year have we seen refs go to the monitor in the last 2 minutes to be sure they got it right? Their failure to do so in the biggest game of the year may have cost Gonzaga the game.

With 49 seconds to go and Gonzaga trailing by 1, Carolina misses a shot. In the rebound battle that followed Kennedy Meeks and Silas Melson found themselves on the floor, scrambling for the loose ball. The ref, who was right on top of the play, called it a jump ball. The arrow favored UNC. They hit a 3. For all practical purposes, it was game over right there although there were 27 seconds left.

The problem is that replays clearly showed that Meeks was out of bounds on the tie up that resulted in the jump ball. The ball should have been given to Gonzaga. But the refs never checked the monitor in the biggest game of the year.

[Xudash]

How many times this year have we seen refs go to the monitor in the last 2 minutes to be sure they got it right? Their failure to do so in the biggest game of the year may have cost Gonzaga the game.

With 49 seconds to go and Gonzaga trailing by 1, Carolina misses a shot. In the rebound battle that followed Kennedy Meeks and Silas Melson found themselves on the floor, scrambling for the loose ball. The ref, who was right on top of the play, called it a jump ball. The arrow favored UNC. They hit a 3. For all practical purposes, it was game over right there although there were 27 seconds left.

The problem is that replays clearly showed that Meeks was out of bounds on the tie up that resulted in the jump ball. The ball should have been given to Gonzaga. But the refs never checked the monitor in the biggest game of the year.

Bill, not to defend UNC, but the refs were bad in both directions. Earlier than that, on a play where the ball clearly went out on a Zag's hand, possession was awarded to Gonzaga and they promptly buried a 3.

Last night was characterized as being about bad officiating, bad decision making by the players and terrible overall shooting, be that from behind the arc or at point blank range. Last night's NC game was NOT a thing of beauty. It was a train wreck that came down to a near suspenseful ending - "near" because Gonzaga imploded at the end after Williams-Goss decided to have his dental work rearranged by a Meek's shot block that led to a run out basket, inbound interception and busted dreams.

[NJRedman]

Officiating in college ball has gotten to the point where the games are damn near unwatchable.

[Bill Marsh]

How many times this year have we seen refs go to the monitor in the last 2 minutes to be sure they got it right? Their failure to do so in the biggest game of the year may have cost Gonzaga the game.

With 49 seconds to go and Gonzaga trailing by 1, Carolina misses a shot. In the rebound battle that followed Kennedy Meeks and Silas Melson found themselves on the floor, scrambling for the loose ball. The ref, who was right on top of the play, called it a jump ball. The arrow favored UNC. They hit a 3. For all practical purposes, it was game over right there although there were 27 seconds left.

The problem is that replays clearly showed that Meeks was out of bounds on the tie up that resulted in the jump ball. The ball should have been given to Gonzaga. But the refs never checked the monitor in the biggest game of the year.

Bill, not to defend UNC, but the refs were bad in both directions. Earlier than that, on a play where the ball clearly went out on a Zag's hand, possession was awarded to Gonzaga and they promptly buried a 3.

Last night was characterized as being about bad officiating, bad decision making by the players and terrible overall shooting, be that from behind the arc or at point blank range. Last night's NC game was NOT a thing of beauty. It was a train wreck that came down to a near suspenseful ending - "near" because Gonzaga imploded at the end after Williams-Goss decided to have his dental work rearranged by a Meek's shot block that led to a run out basket, inbound interception and busted dreams.

Excellent summary. Not disputing anything you say. You nailed it.

There isn't a remedy for most officiating mistakes, and teams just have to live it's mistakes hoping that they even out. However, they recently installed the practice of using TV review in the last 2 minutes so that the outcome of a game won't be determined by an officiating mistake when it's too late for a team to do anything to overcome it.

Thejump ball call with Meeks out of bounds is a classic example of why the rule was created. It wasn't a judgment call. It was black and white. But it wasn't used in the most important game of the year. They erroneously gave the ball to Carolina with a chance to seal the deal. To their credit, they did just that by nailing the jumper. It's just frustrating to see the outcome determined that way. Otherwise, I totally agree that the officiating was bad throughout the game.