(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Dear NCAA tournament referees,
Let ’em play.
Sincerely,
All of us
For the second straight night, a classic NCAA tournament game swung on the overeager whistle of a referee. With four seconds left in overtime of Saturday’s West regional final and his team trailing by one point, Arizona’s Nick Johnson was called for a charge on Wisconsin’s Josh Gasser. The Wildcats would go on to lose the game, 64-63.
Was it a charge? Maybe. Johnson threw his body into Gasser and pushed off with his left forearm. There was certainly enough contact to blow a whistle.
But was it a block first? Maybe. Gasser bodied Johnson as he started his drive. That contact is what led to Johnson throwing the forearm.
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
When it’s up in the air like that, there’s only one call to make: Not making one at all. What had been a well-officiated and well-played NCAA tournament has turned into an unfortunate zebra showcase over the past 26 hours. Part of that is because the competition is better, the stakes are higher and there are more eyes on the games. Part of it is officials who think they’re on display. Let the athletes settle it, not the refs. When there’s 10 seconds left in a game and one possession separates the teams, keep the whistle around the neck unless it’s something egregious.
But just like the previous night, one bad call led to another. On the inbound pass after the charge call, both teams slapped for the ball as it went out of bounds. Officials spent almost five minutes looking at the replay. Though the ball was initially awarded to Wisconsin, the interminable review eventually gave Arizona the ball with 2.3 seconds left. This appeared to be the right decision, though it was far from conclusive.
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
But there was one thing officials missed before the ball was tapped out of bounds. Look how far Arizona’s Aaron Gordon was over the baseline.
They all even out.
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