Anyone notice a distinct & obvious difference in the way the post-season games are refereed?

[tornado]

I would love to see some official stats on this topic..but...
All year long we endured the referees whistling everything...games all had 30, 40, even 50 fouls and teams shot 25 and 30 free throws
Regular season games rarely ever had less than 30 fouls - our game at Indiana State had 50 fouls -
WITH THE SYCAMORES SHOOTING 47 FREE THROWS!!!

then late in the season the whistles declined and by the post-season it was OBVIOUS that the refs had pretty unanimously changed and were whistling fewer fouls

In our MVC Tourney game vs. Loyola only 17 fouls were called! and only 11 FT were shot

and I never saw any game in the NCAA Tournament that became a foul-fest - most had a modest and limited number of fouls...

So the question is if the refs can back off the whistles when the audience doesn't want to see it - then why not do it all year?

[Jim]

Huge difference in the way the games were refereed. Even before the post-season the referees that worked Bradley games did not call fouls the same way as referees working Illinois or Duke games. Maybe

Dr. Reynolds can share some insight from his officiating oversight role

on the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

[Da Coach]

There has always been a marked difference between the way MVC games have been officiated versus the Power 6 conference and NCAA Tournament games.

[wily coyote]

There has always been a marked difference between the way MVC games have been officiated versus the Power 6 conference and NCAA Tournament games.

Just a thought, could it be because the MVC does not get the better officials as a whole. The better officials want to work the better conferences,hence better teams and games. If you are getting the better officials, they have the ability to keep games under control by knowing what needs to be called and what can be let go. Naturally the better officials should be getting the tournament assignments and it gives the appearance of games being officiated differently. When really they aren't. It makes no sense to assign the better officials to games that have no bearing on who's going to win a game. You assign your best officials to games that matter either in conference standings or big rivalries or big time non conference games. The conference tournaments and the NCAA tourney should have the best ones still working and the also rans should be playing golf somewhere warm . Good observation DC

[Da Coach]

Just a thought, could it be because the MVC does not get the better officials as a whole. The better officials want to work the better conferences,hence better teams and games. If you are getting the better officials, they have the ability to keep games under control by knowing what needs to be called and what can be let go. Naturally the better officials should be getting the tournament assignments and it gives the appearance of games being officiated differently. When really they aren't. It makes no sense to assign the better officials to games that have no bearing on who's going to win a game. You assign your best officials to games that matter either in conference standings or big rivalries or big time non conference games. The conference tournaments and the NCAA tourney should have the best ones still working and the also rans should be playing golf somewhere warm . Good observation DC

I think you are probably right. Also, maybe the MVC headquarters might urge the officials they hire to call the games tighter. I don't have actual statistics, and maybe the total number of fouls isn't all that different. If so, I think that would be because players adjust to the way a game is called. But it isn't just my observation. Almost every fan I know who watches basketball believes the big conferences get away with a lot more than players in the MVC do, and that there are a lot more offensive fouls called in the MVC. Does anyone recall the game that Hersey Hawkins got 5 offensive fouls called against him by the same official, fouling him out early in the 2nd half?

[tornado]

no player in the history of college basketball has ever gotten more than 5 offensive fouls in one game-
and I am not sure there's even anyone else who is tied with Hersey for that record

and every one of those five was some defender sliding in under Hersey right under the basket, as he penetrated the lane -

[Tommy]

That's a question I ask every year. The ticky tack fouls off the ball just get so tiresome, and nobody goes to a game hoping to see a foul for every minute of play.

[Go_Braves]

One key difference of post-season college basketball refereeing is there is no "home court" advantage. There is "no home court team". Although this is not suppose to happen - I truly believe the "home court crowd" alters / sways the referees foul calling in favor of the home team. A great example is - how many can recall the Bradley at Drake game this past season? I really enjoyed the NCAA tournament refereeing - the referees allowed each team "to play" - and win or loose based on the teams overall skills - not by some poor foul calling.

[wily coyote]

One key difference of post-season college basketball refereeing is there is no "home court" advantage. There is "no home court team". Although this is not suppose to happen - I truly believe the "home court crowd" alters / sways the referees foul calling in favor of the home team. A great example is - how many can recall the Bradley at Drake game this past season? I really enjoyed the NCAA tournament refereeing - the referees allowed each team "to play" - and win or loose based on the teams overall skills - not by some poor foul calling.

Trust me home court crowds do NOT bother good officials and to get to that level crowds don't bother them.They could gives a rats a== who wins the game. They have no skin in the game. They get their check no matter who wins.And it's a very nice sized check.

[tornado]

good officials sure....but there's evidence some officials do display their biases

https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sports-forums/basketball-fan-talk/482899-refereeing-controversy

[Go_Braves]

good officials sure....but there's evidence some officials do display their biases

https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...ng-controversy

04-11-2019, 06:11 PM

Originally posted by Go_Braves View Post
One key difference of post-season college basketball refereeing is there is no "home court" advantage. There is "no home court team". Although this is not suppose to happen - I truly believe the "home court crowd" alters / sways the referees foul calling in favor of the home team. A great example is - how many can recall the Bradley at Drake game this past season? I really enjoyed the NCAA tournament refereeing - the referees allowed each team "to play" - and win or loose based on the teams overall skills - not by some poor foul calling.

Trust me home court crowds do NOT bother good officials and to get to that level crowds don't bother them.They could gives a rats a== who wins the game. They have no skin in the game. They get their check no matter who wins.And it's a very nice sized check.

Thank you Tornado... for sharing that article …

Wily Coyota - I referenced in my comment the refereeing of the February 2019 Bradley Drake game as one example. Don't take my word - refer to what others stated about that game and the refereeing..

http://www.pjstarforums.com/viewtopi...4094&start=200


Re: The Drake Game

by diehard braves fan » Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:39 pm

real fan wrote: ↑ Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:40 pm
SID and AD should send the game tapes to Valley offices to review as nobody in their right mind could say that we got a fair shake from these officials. Those refs should be suspended for doing such a pis- poor job in a game that was very important in determining seeds for the tour. They actually screwed Loyola and MO.ST. by giving the game to Drake.

Loyola and MO State should join BU in asking the Valley office to review the entire game tape.


Refer to the other comments from others in this article regarding the Drake game refereeing "at Drake".

[tornado]

but league officials almost always lean towards publicly backing the refs even when it's pretty clear they did a bad job or screwed up...
they kinda have to or refs won't want to work the Valley - so I would never expect the MVC to come out publicly in such a situation other than to say they stand by the refs.
Maybe behind the scenes they will look at the tapes and maybe even not hire one of them again if they think he was terrible but we will probably never know that and it will be kept confidential.

[Aargh]

Now that I've seen officiating in the MVC and the AAC, MVC games are called better than AAC games. The AAC officiating is so bad that fans don't even worry about it. Sometimes the guy you need on the floor is going to pick up two mystery fouls early in the game. There's nothing you can do about it. The only consistency is that the refs are bad.

Refs at the beginning of the season are trying to call the game the way they've been told by the NCAA. By the end of the season, they just want the games to be over and it's been a long time since they were told how to call the games.

Some incredibly physical play and A LOT of contact has always been allowed in the NCAA tourney. They still call the ticky tack stuff on the perimeter that doesn't affect the play, but "the stronger guy wins" around the basket seems to be the way things go in the tourney.