Disgraceful Officiating in Huge Moment for NCAA
Ok, so, I just had to post about this because I think it showcases how the NCAA's problems with officiating is systemic and even extends to women's sports. But, in case you missed it, LSU just beat Iowa in the women's national championship game in what was a highly anticipated matchup. However, it was a contest marred by incompetent officiating and it basically became the story of the game.
It's such a shame because it was an absolutely colossal moment/showcase for the sport as it was expected to draw one of its biggest audiences ever. I'm not sure what the ratings will be, but I know a TON of people who are not women's basketball fans who tuned in. And literally every one of them thought the officiating was downright horrible and it had a major impact on the game, particularly Iowa's star players.
The officiating was definitely not great both ways; LSU freaked out when Angel Reese got whistled for her 2nd foul in what appeared to be a clean swipe at the ball (that's OK because Reese probably could've been whistled for like 12 fouls in this game). But, LSU seemed to get away with a ton of stuff that Iowa did not. And the incompetence tended to favor LSU.
Iowa's center Monika Czinano fouled out with 6+ minutes left despite spending most of the game on the bench. She got whistled for her 3rd foul when Reese rammed her shoulder into her face. And then after her 4th (we never got replays of her 4th or 5th fouls) they gave Caitlin Clark a technical for tossing the ball out of bounds and supposedly saying something. Replays show she didn't say anything. That sent them both to bench in the 3rd right when Iowa had made a great run to cut it to single digits. The juice was returning to the game at that point but that basically ended Iowa's chances.
I mean, I was rooting hard for Iowa, but I really think the officiating ruined the game. That will be the takeaway from this game; not the fact that it was a major moment for women's sports and a chance for the country to see a phenomenal and generational talent, someone who could be a major star and draw for the women's game. But we got a ref show.
Shame on the NCAA. Hopefully they'll do something about it and get full-time refs in here. But we know they won't.
Ok 👌
If I squeeze your nose will it honk?
If you squeeze his nose, he'll probably pass gas.
"Sometimes their noses are horns."
- from the best Bill Murray movie ever: Quick Change
Yes, the NCAA really blew it here in an opportunity to really showcase the women's game.
It sucks, but honestly this probably gets the sport more publicity on First Take, Get Up, etc Monday morning than if it hadn’t happened. This is the same kind of stuff that normally gets talked about for the NFL, NBA, etc.
It was disturbing that Caitlin Clark got a T for doing nothing but the LSU coach, who went on the court and appeared to touch the ref, did not.
LSUs "hey look at me" coach was clearly getting preferential treatment from the refs. She spent half the game standing on the playing surface with no warnings.
That’s a T most of the time. Refs were coming the get the ball, she threw it away from them. Either leave it alone or toss it to the ref.
Dude, Iowa lost by almost 20 points.
yeah, ref bs can change momentum in games and rob a team in a close one, but don’t think this is the game to be highlighting “ref show” given the score.
You want ref show, rewatch The Game 2016 UM-OSU. That was beyond absurdly one sided and cost UM in a close game.
You apparently looked at the final score without actually watching the game.
Did you watch it? Or just look at the score? I've seen that 2016 game and I know it quite well- that was fucking disgrace too, which backs up my point that its a problem throughout college sports.
THis was an NCAA final. The title game - and you had millions of people tuning into watch a star player who is legitimately fun and incredible to watch. We tuned into watch her bomb logo 3's and fire laser passes to cutting teammates. We didn't tune in to watch those refs blow their whistles on ticky-tack fouls and send her to drink a Powerade on the bench.
The NBA famously didn't call shit on Shaq/Kobe/Jordan etc bc they wanted high paying fans sitting courtside to see those guys play. They knew that and got away with a ton. Clark is not that type of player and she's not like getting away with shit (in fact, she gets a bad whistle despite being a superstar). Those fouls were poor calls and it took her out of the game, affecting the outcome of the game.
Clark played 35 minutes. She didn't spend much time on the bench.
She sat half the 2nd qtr while LSU built the lead from 5 to I think 17 at halftime
Fouling out players and putting them in foul trouble fast changes things fast on a basketball court. To not acknowledge how officials influence a game is just ridiculous. At this point the ncaa is a joke in how they allow these things to happen.
We say it every Saturday and Sunday in football season, call it both ways, either let them play or don’t but make up your mind. The poor officiating robs players and fans of the game we all want to see.
I feel like Iowa just didn't have a chance with their best players on the bench or barely playing defense bc they couldn't foul out. It also sucks because it feels like the best team didn't win: Iowa - who beat undefeated South Carolina on Friday night and is red hot and with one of the best players of all time - basically got blown out by an LSU team that 1) got crushed by that same So Carolina team earlier in the year and 2) kind of looked like shit in eeking out every other win in the tournament so far and 3) shot 19% from 3 in the tournament before going fucking bananas and hitting 75% in the first half. It sucks that luck was on their side, they didn't need the refs too. I want justice for the Hawks!
Ive noticed those southern teams tend to hack down on players while defending. I think in conference they dont want to watch a foul fest so they let it go. In the championship game I noticed those Bill Laimbeer type "I was going straight up" type fouls from Iowa and crazy swiping/hacking action from LSU. Like Izzo if you can get away with it as a coach you gotta do what ya gotta do. To say Iowa was in any way close to LSU's hacking style is crazy. Im not sure what I would do as a ref but the eye test screams 2-1 or 3-1 should be the fouls called in Iowa's favor. That being said LSU was lights out and that lady off the bench for them went Spike on crack. I didnt really have a horse in the race but LSU seemed like the bullies a bit but also shot lights out. Hats off to them. Move on and save it for when we go to the Breslin center.
While I agree, It’s maddening to watch one team get away with that bs while the other team gets to hack away. The officials just determine too much for my liking. And the ncaa blew it for a big game on the national stage for the women to let those officials put the best players on Iowa’s team on the bench for bs fouls costs the ncaa in the long run.
And nothing like a joke of a player from LSU running up to Clark after the game to do the “you can’t see me gesture”. LOL, when you score 15 and gave up 30 to a player that had to sit for considerable time of the game is a joke.. Like sweetie, you were getting it handed to you so who you talking to.
There were terrible calls both ways, yes worse than some of the lousy officiating we have seen all year. Those against Iowa were more impactful as it cut their legs out just as they were making a run.
It was not great officiating, but it is far from the shit show you are describing. We have had worse at both men and women BB. Were too many fouls called? Probably. 37 fouls were called compared to 31 last year and 28 in 2021.
The refs didnt cause the sagging defense that left wide open threes and let nonshooters get hot in the first half. That was pretty much game.
Actually they did because as the OP pointed out Iowa couldn't breath on them without a foul being called, let alone guard them tough.
Didn't LSU have more fouls in the first half and two of their starters had to sit?
Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story!
LSU commits a ton of fouls as part of their incredibly physical style. Same way they beat us, just shove the girl boxing you out away and grab the offensive board. If it's not called, it works great.
The key to the game was the calls on Clark and Czinano, which removed them from the game. Those are by far Iowa's two best offensive options, and they were forced to the bench for long periods of time on some nonsense. Clark's second, third, and her tech in particular were absurd.
I was rooting for Iowa and after watching 6ish quarters of Iowa I was also rooting for Czinano to foul out the second half. She seemed like an absolute liability every time she touched the ball.
Clark, on the other hand, that technical was about as soft as it gets and killed whatever chance they had. She was noticeably less aggressive.
She scored like 2200 points in her career and is kind of a wizard around the basket. Slightly under sized though so has some issues finishing over South Carolina or LSU's bigs.
On the other hand, LSU was already in the bonus before the end of the first quarter. IIRC, Iowa also hit the bonus in Q1. That's ridiculous.
The refs were calling the game incredibly tight, including some very bad calls. The officiating absolutely affected the outcome of the game, imo.
The bonus is 5 fouls in a quarter in women's hoops. The rules being as different as they are in weird ways often makes no sense.
Generally I think the women's ruleset is better, actually.
There was a 1 foul difference between the two teams and didn't LSU have more fouls in the first half when they were up by 17(!)?
Also, Angel Reese picked up a bogus foul and had to sit for an extended period prior to the 3Q. LSU survived this because Carson's shooting went thermonuclear. Iowa did help by playing the same sagging defense they tried on USC. The conspiracy theory being floated in the game thread was that fouls called in LSU's favor were the result of uncalled fouls against Iowa. Because ESPN is in bed with the SEC. And because the refs "look like the SEC." Yeah...
Was not a bogus foul.
I agree. The fouls didn't change Iowa's approach on defense -- they played the same style against South Carolina. The difference is that SC didn't make them pay for ignoring open players at the 3pt line. LSU rained down wide open threes all night, down to the final shots of the game.
Agree with this, also. One thing I noted about Clark is that defense didn't seem to be a particularly high priority for her, even early in the game when she wasn't in foul trouble. Not sure if that was just her or the game plan, but that seemed odd to me.
Of course it change their philosophy on defense. In the 2nd half with foul trouble already taking place on Iowas stars they couldn't do a goddamned thing because of course the officials would call their 4th/5th.
It was downright atrocious. It was a tale of "this team gets to play physical and go to their bench and do just fine, much better actually....and Iowa girls get called for bullshit calls and are forced to play differently for the rest of the game". Clark was getting mugged up top from the first quarter and then those 2 offensive fouls get called?? Wtf are we doing?
Well apparently they played better when they "couldn't play defense because of foul trouble" because in the 2nd half Iowa scored 43 and LSU scored 43. In the first half, when Iowa wasn't in foul trouble and allegedly playing their planned defense, LSU outscored them by 17. I'd say it had more to do with Iowa leaving shooters open, not some philosophical defensive adjustment that was made bc of foul trouble. Iowa's defense played like shit long before 4th and 5th fouls were an issue.
LSU WAS the better team, but the officiating really spoiled the game. I think both can be (and are) true.
Agreed.
I said at the half that Clark was the best player on the court, but that the next 5-7 were from LSU. That said, the refs took what should have been a very competitive game and handed it to LSU. The two o-fouls and the tech on Clark were well beyond the pale. The tech in particular, seemed like evidence the refs were targeting her. Let the players play and it might well have been that LSU ended up on top. But the refs put a heavy thumb on the scale and at a minimum, cheated fans out of a much better game.
"We don't need no EDUCATION!"
WBB Officiating has been bad for a long time.
Agreed.
Maybe the refs were too distracted by the clown suit the LSU coach was wearing.
You've...not seen her before today? This is kinda her thing. She had her own outfit stylist for the tournament (yes, I'm serious).
And this was tame compared to the flamingo fit.
Could have saved money and worn a trash bag.
Maybe, but the first thing you said was that LSU got hosed on a call. Refs rarely even up in a game. Gotta find a way if you can
I have season tickets for U of M and the officiating is frequently abysmal.
The officiating was terrible, but Iowa played like Iowa has played all year (because, why not?) and they got beat.
If S. Carolina had even a couple of decent shooters...they would've beaten Iowa. But they didn't. LSU hit shots S. Carolina was missing and won by 17, winning 3 of the 4 quarters.
The officiating didn't change the game THAT much, stop it.
Clark is awesome, but the fact that she and Iowa get to talk shit for 5 games and then in the 6th, when someone does it back, it's "poor Iowa" and "officiating."
