The Referees

HallX2

Senior
Mar 25, 2005
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Actually no, I think it's a built-in thing that refs probably discuss all the time yet still organically occurs. The thing is, it doesnt come down to egregious things, it comes down to Geo Baker, who they're well aware of, getting called for a ticky-tack foul on a break that could go either way and then not getting calls later in the game that are much worse but maybe still in some kind of "great area". It goes to not reviewing a few blocks that may be goal tends that are not as obvious so they dont feel compelled. Over the course of this game those instances seemed more apparent than it usually does, and as an RU fan it usually seems pretty apparent that the refs EXPECT us to lose, etc.

Seton Hall had the home court, the reputation advantage etc. The Seton Hall kids played their hearts out and won. But more often than not, a neutral observer would say that the refs were leaning towards an expected outcome resulting in less minutes for Geo, at least 1 uncounted RU basket, and at least 1 double tech the RU kid had nothing to do with. I didn't keep a complete list but the foul disparity in the first half was nuts. I am well aware these things go both ways, but as I said, I had neutral observers with me today that were kind of shocked.

Whatevs. Congrats.

Whatever. But you’re grassy knoll theory is wrong I believe. That said home teams do get more of the benefit and very good players get the benefit of the doubt. But that door opens fully in both directions.
 

dkostus

All-Conference
Feb 10, 2002
6,144
1,552
0
There was a huge disparity in fouls and foul shots in favor of RU last year. Did the Refs screw SHU last year and that’s why RU won? You can’t have it both ways. That’s the folly in blaming the Refs. Sure there were bad and blown calls but they went against both teams today.
I would need to analyze last year. I didn't see it go against both teams this year, and neither did objective observers. Whatever. You won, you have no need to convince me of the purity of your victory.
 

80RU

All-American
Jan 31, 2011
6,604
5,279
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There was a huge disparity in fouls and foul shots in favor of RU last year. Did the Refs screw SHU last year and that’s why RU won? You can’t have it both ways. That’s the folly in blaming the Refs. Sure there were bad and blown calls but they went against both teams today.
One thing to look for in making this analysis is shot attempts in the paint. Typically, the team that operates in the paint gets to the line more. RU had 41 attempts in the paint to Seton Hall’s 21. Last year‘s discrepancy was also in favor of RU. In the first half of this year‘s game, Seton Hall was treated pretty indulgently when RU got an offensive rebound or penetrated.
 

NewJerseyHawk

Heisman
Jan 11, 2007
24,411
38,681
113
Watching the replay and the Baker non call at 216 left was the game sealing non call....McKnight grabbed him and Mamu body checked him.....then Powell gets fouled to make a 6 point game 8

If Baker gets 2 FTs to get the score to 64-60 @2:16, you have it still within 2 possessions and could have made it very interesting.

It's not why RU lost but definitely a game altering non-call when you're down 17 and get it to possibly 4.
 
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TDIrish27

All-Conference
Aug 2, 2001
4,438
2,666
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I didn't think that was a foul when I watched the replay.

It was at other end of the floor during the game and view wasn't great.

Can't shoot 20 % from 3 and win games against good teams. It just won't happen.

Difference in the 2 teams was Powell to state the obvious. Shot it well and played a good floor game too.

Biggest play of the game IMO was when RU cut it to 3 and Nzei got in the lane and kicked it to Powell for the 3. That was a dagger.
 

Halldan

All-American
Staff member
Jan 1, 2003
183,794
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Watching the replay and the Baker non call at 216 left was the game sealing non call....McKnight grabbed him and Mamu body checked him.....then Powell gets fouled to make a 6 point game 8

If Baker gets 2 FTs to get the score to 64-60 @2:16, you have it still within 2 possessions and could have made it very interesting.

It's not why RU lost but definitely a game altering non-call when you're down 17 and get it to possibly 4.
Pike talked about that play specifically in the post game, noting it was a possible game changer. But he put the blame squarely on Baker and gave no hint that he felt he was fouled.

Hinted at it being a learning experience for his young guard.
 
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anon_xekqhstck0ygt

Guest
that was the one call I was mad about. key call, but thinking back, Baker was a little out of control. I was more mad about the big guy hitting wide open 3's.

Watching the replay and the Baker non call at 216 left was the game sealing non call....McKnight grabbed him and Mamu body checked him.....then Powell gets fouled to make a 6 point game 8

If Baker gets 2 FTs to get the score to 64-60 @2:16, you have it still within 2 possessions and could have made it very interesting.

It's not why RU lost but definitely a game altering non-call when you're down 17 and get it to possibly 4.
 

DHajekRC84

Heisman
Aug 9, 2001
30,709
19,818
0
The one with Mathis if anything should have been a no call. The shu guy said wtf. After getting mugged I don’t blame him and didn’t really think it was t worthy.
Re watched the 2nd half this am, that was the one I thought bad. Rest were fine.
Mathis did nothing wrong trying to get off the back of the player. Who then f bombed with the ref right there. Watching that ref and review I could have sworn a T on the hall kid. But no, the stupid double t.
I think it was 6 there and we would have gotten 2 shots and keep Mathis in.
But did it make the difference ? Heck no. Poor shot selection, the usual inability to finish, and general sloppiness was.
 
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RU848789

Heisman
Jul 27, 2001
65,204
44,283
113
I was at the game. Had no major issue with the refs - as always, some questionable calls, because they're human, but those usually even out. No "conspiracy" against RU here.
 

RUChoppin

Heisman
Dec 1, 2006
19,270
13,695
0
I'd like to see (across all sports) more data/stats kept around officials. Just as players have tendencies, so too do referees. We've talked about it in baseball threads on the football board - pitchers/catchers know the strike zone tendencies of certain umpires, and use that to their advantage. And that data is all available online.

For basketball - what are specific referee tendencies? If you could easily see which refs rarely called charges, that would help teams plan around that (no sense Omoruyi stepping in for charges that are unlikely to get called, and may more often get called against him). If you could easily see which refs called the most moving screen fouls, that could help inform the bigs in a given game (or change game strategy to move away from high screens with slower bigs). What refs are more likely to call fouls on three pointers, or on fouls close to the basket, etc, etc.

All of that data would be really valuable to coaches, and provide more context for fans. If you knew going in that a certain crew is unlikely to make certain calls (or more likely to), then "good" or "bad" calls fall into more context with that given official or crew. It would provide interesting color commentary ("Omoruyi draws more charges than anyone in the conference, and this crew has collectively called the most charges in college basketball - will be interesting to see how that will impact the game").

Instead of "I can't believe a travel wasn't called there!", it could be "this ref never calls travels in that situation". Or instead of "how is that a flagrant?", it could be "this ref is in the top 5% when it comes to calling flagrant fouls". I think context would help fans, improve expectations, and help inform coaches how to best strategize.

I'm sure that coaches already have a sense of ref tendencies, and players do too. Having data, though, is much more powerful than a handful of anecdotes.
 

bowlgoal

Heisman
Jul 20, 2004
12,185
11,396
93
I thought the refs were okay. In the first half it took a while to get a whistle as I thought we were hacked on some put backs but then it evened out. Fordham game had some terrible calls. We need to play better to win on the road. Our shooting percentages were not good.