- I watched the game today in unusual fashion...at home with friends with the sound not muted.
- Jess Settles was the color guy. My friends and I both clearly heard the same thing...and I replayed it so we could be sure. In about the middle of the 2nd half a Rutgers guy had the ball down low and a second Indiana player dropped down to double-team him, swatted at the ball, caught him across the wrist, and was called for the foul. Settles said that he didn't agree with the call, that the ref should let the guys play, and that this was the Big Ten. Fair enough.
- On the next series an Indiana guy had the ball and was struck in an almost identical fashion by a Rutgers defender. Settles comment was that it was clearly a foul as the Rutgers guy had struck the ball-handler across the wrist.
- My friends were just as puzzled by the apparent inconsistency from Settles. He played at Iowa, not Indiana. Why would he make exactly the opposite comments on two successive plays at opposite ends of the court that were virtually identical ?
- I know it had nothing to do with the game. We sucked, Indiana played well. We were not gonna win that game. But my friends....who are not really Rutgers fans...wondered just like I did what was going on with Settle's comments.
- Anyone else notice this ?
That sort of thing happens fairly often. Everytime Rutgers fouls its because "they foul a lot".. " they want to ugly up the game".. etc. While a few of our guys make some stupid fouls.. we are not especially aggressive on either side of the court. Not like some of these commentators would have you believe.
Most fouls are committed out of over-aggression or desperation for being out of position. Anyone watching can see how hard our guys have worked at being in position, doing things the right way. But that announcer today.. one of the worst.
But that's not why we lost today... or vs PSU (though clearly the refs could have called some stuff in our final flurry in that loss).