Did ya'll think the reffing raised some eyebrows?

Yes
To go from so few to so many fouls from half to half isn’t typical. Also in second half gators had 5 fouls in 3 minutes then cougars had 9 of next 11 fouls.
In a close game consistency is key, not wild swings.

 

Those refs really bungled the second half. Fouls were 6-0 about 2:40 into the second half, culminating with the tech after what appeared to be a completely blown call on Richard that should have been offensive on Houston (at least it looked like that at the game, haven't seen replays). At that point, the refs knew they had really messed up and needed to make up for it. So they tightened their whistle even more and called, I think, 10 of the next 11 fouls on Houston...

Refs have a hard job. In big games like this I think they tend to let things go in the first halves so foul trouble doesn't dictate the game, then try to tighten things up in the second. Which IMO isn't unreasonable, as long as its fair on both sides. I'm sure both coaches complained a lot in the first half how much they were letting go against the other team. But it was the 6 early foul calls on UF in the first 2:40 of the second that I think really made things unravel from the refs perspective.

 

This game was competently officiated. Auburn game not so much.

 

1. I think both teams got more physical as they should have due to lack of calls early.
2. missing the foul on Clayton's 3 was terrible.

 

These refs seem to be changing the style of making calls when comparing with the two halfs.

In the 1st half, the refs allowed too much physicality to go on without fouls being called. It looked like football out there in the way that the players were allowed to push, shove & bump each other. Houston was trying to intimidate the Florida players.

When Chinyelu decided to give it back more, well that seemed to be out of line from the refs' perspective.

In the 2nd half, the refs began calling all kinds of ticky-tacky, touch fouls. As a result, Florida quickly picked up five fouls in just two and a half minutes of play. One of the fouls was an unwaranted technical on the bench - should have just been a warning.

This allowed Houston to quickly build their 12 point lead and the game seemed to get out of hand if you were Florida.

Later on, Houston began picking up more of the fouls, too.

Both teams had to adjust in the way that the refs were calling the game on what was allowed or not.

 

I don’t think the refs favored either team so in that respect I don’t think they had an effect on the game.
I think they were extremely inconsistent from half to half.
First half the let them play mentality favored Houston and it appeared the message for our guys at half was the be more physical and that quickly went south with the change in foul calls. I still think the first foul in the second half on Condon was a charge and not a block.
The missed goal tend was bad but did anyone else notice they missed an out of bounds? We never got a replay but on the play where the Houston player dived for the ball near the Gator bench it looked pretty clearly like the ball bounced out of bounds. Golden was absolutely livid and kept pointing to the floor.

 

I think the ones that should be looked at were the ones officiating the game before against Auburn. The stuff they let Broome get away with was criminal. They call fouls on Florida and let Auburn and Broome get away with obvious fouls.

 

I was hoping for a good balanced thread on the officiating for Monday.
The first half there were 4 fouls TOTAL called.
The 2nd half there were 23 called.
That's just strange...

Were there missed calls? Yes.
The missed goal tending on Handlogten was bad, but later on that half Houston clearly traveled and it wasn't called.
And as someone said above start of the 2nd half we had 7 calls on us in a row, and then Houston had 10 of the next 11.

I honestly don't think there was an agenda, and both teams can rightly point at bad calls that cost them.

So IMO this was in no way a Swindle type of thing.

But still- not normal and there was definitely something going on.

 

Other than in some instances where you have conference refs potentially protecting a cash cow (ex.- the swindle), I don’t really think they’re biased, just incompetent. You could have some gambling, but I think that would be rooted out. I really just think they suck at their jobs, and some of them have bigger egos than the coaches and players. Enforcing their will on the game makes them feel big. They want everyone to know they’re in control. They can let the game run at a lightning pace or slow it to a crawl. They think the crowd came to see them. Guys like Shows, Valentine, and Adams come to mind here…

 

I see refs do this often where calls become tighter in the second half. Can't answer why but it's definitely a frequent occurrence. However, I can't argue with too many of the calls made though it seemed it was tighter against the Gators initially and then things caught up. Teams have to adjust and the Gators did a better job at that.

 

I don't know about raising eyebrows, but the officiating did cause people to hold their noses.

Look, this is a really hard game to officiate. There is so much to look for and so many calls could go either way. It's even worse with the intensity and pressure of the Final Four.

In Saturday's game, the refs let a lot go in the first half. That favored Houston because they were the more physical team. Not favored in any way that showed bias or even poor quality. If the refs are letting fouls go, then its on both teams to toughen up and be physical.

In the 2nd half, that's what we set out to do. We were more physical. The problem is that the refs started calling things more closely, and they were calling us for fouls that they hadn't called on Houston in the first half. That's why we ended up with 5-6 fouls when Houston had 0.

After the technical foul, they went back to calling things more evenly, and that included giving us a couple of make up calls during that long possession where they were whistled for, I think, 3 fouls in 9 seconds. Problem is that none of those calls hurt Houston nearly as much as the earlier calls had hurt us.

Overall, the inconsistency between the first half and the second meant they did a poor job overall.

 

I think there’s 2 competing forces: 1. how they call fouls in the natural course of the game, then 2. They conduct an audit at halftime or during breaks, where they see potential imbalances (even if justified) then call fouls the other way to balance it out. Almost ALWAYS, the teams like Houston, Tenn, old SC teams - are successful because they foul on virtually every play - ofc the refs can’t call fouls on every play so they pick their poison and call 1 in 10. Meanwhile, on the other end, we’re doing our level best to not foul at all, so when we barely foul we get whistled - so that the foul total looks “balanced” - even though they fouled 10 times as much. It’s a devious yet effective strategy. They just get known / reputation as a “tough defense” when in fact it’s technically nonstop fouling. It can really affect the other team, so is almost always an advantage - if you choose to play that way

 

Yeah I thought it was a Jets versus Sharks rumble in the first half with no cops in sight. And then it got tighter (but not super tight) in the second half.

Two very physical teams playing excellent D is a very hard game to call. These refs got the Finals because they graded out very well in the earlier games. They are not bad officials and I think that they try to get things right. No agendas. Of course they blow some calls. Ron Luciano was a MLB umpire and said that he was expected to be perfect on opening day and improve all season. Such is the life of an official.

Maybe the refs knew it would be a very physical game and let them play in the first half so that the game could be decided by the players in the second half. Both teams in serious foul trouble at half time sucks for both teams and makes the refs an even bigger factor in the second half.

I am not complaining. It is bad form to complain about the officiating when you win unless your team doesn't cover the spread. IIRC the Gators were favored by 1 so they did cover.

 

Instead of a bunch of old experienced refs, they should bring in 12-year video game whizzes with lightening quick perception and situational awareness. It seems the game is too fast for some of these older refs.

 

I used to direct (ref) foil fencing bouts. Much more difficult than reffing basketball. Things happen much faster.

 

If the refs had done their jobs just a tad better, Broome would have fouled out just on the numerous hacks on Condon's right forearm.

 

I hate playing teams like that. They get away with 90% of their shenanigans, then we get hit with touch fouls so there’s not a huge discrepancy in total fouls.

 

I think our attacking the rim led to more calls in the 2nd half