59 Fouls Called tonight

[mbc82584]

thats 1.475 fouls per minute played.

For every one minute of game action, they are averaging 2 whistles. One per shot clock.

It is a trend that has been growing in college basketball, and it is ruining the game.

There has to be a way to let the kids play. That’s what everyone wants, and no one wants to see zebra stripes and whistles more than dunks, shots, and even physical play.

 

[MoneyMuntz]

I really just think it’s poorly trained, or otherwise incapable, officials. A majority of the fouls called tonight on both sides were anticipated. You could predict when they were going to call a foul based on how the play was unfolding. The rare game that is appropriately called is usually so much more enjoyable.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It's mainly a problem in the SEC.. you don't see UNC or Duke or Big10 basketball with this many fouls..

Calling this many fouls brings teams to an even playing field. It doesn't let the better team run the lesser team out of the building. When games like tonight happen, Kentucky has a much better chance to lose.

 

[crazyqx83]

74 free throws. That is basically a pair of free throws every 1 minute of game action.

I would rather watch geriatrics learn yoga than watch a game called as atrociously as this one again.

Sad thing is, this is literally the only way USC can win basketball games. How awful must it be as a fan to have to wish for a game as awful to watch as this one was in order to have a hope of winning. Just shoot yourselves.

 

[C5matt]

thats 1.475 fouls per minute played.

For every one minute of game action, they are averaging 2 whistles. One per shot clock.

It is a trend that has been growing in college basketball, and it is ruining the game.

There has to be a way to let the kids play. That’s what everyone wants, and no one wants to see zebra stripes and whistles more than dunks, shots, and even physical play.

F*** the officials -- what a horrible job tonite!

 

[Saven]

It's really one of the reasons why college basketball is dying a slow death.

 

[Blue63Madison]

thats 1.475 fouls per minute played.

For every one minute of game action, they are averaging 2 whistles. One per shot clock.

It is a trend that has been growing in college basketball, and it is ruining the game.

There has to be a way to let the kids play. That’s what everyone wants, and no one wants to see zebra stripes and whistles more than dunks, shots, and even physical play.

The game has gotten more and more physical, resulting in a lot more fouling. I want the refs to call every foul, and then maybe at some point the players will learn to play without fouling. The refs aren't to blame for what the game has turned into.

 

[Ineverplayedthegame]

What happened was a result of an experienced team that wanted to muck the game up and didn’t care how much they fouled vs. a young and inexperienced team that didn’t know how to respond to Usc physicality without fouling back.

 

[NoDef]

It got to the point where Michigan State was creating a dynasty on just being stronger than the other team. Nothing was called at the rim and games were brutal to watch. They tried to clean it up with more whistles to create more offense. I really don't know why the kids can't adjust and just quit fouling. You would think after the first 5 minutes they would realize how the game was being called and adjust.

 

[LukaszObrzut]

We had 6 players with 4 or 5 fouls.

USC has 2.. one being a bench player. I have no idea how Silva had 4 fouls. Did he not pick up 3 with like 17 min to go in the game?

 

[Deli owl]

I would love to see the ref stats from each conference.

 

[tapemaster8]

It would help if players would learn to get in a stance and stay in a stance. Right now if our defender is on the ball we are in a stance more than not. But if we are off the ball we stand straight up and when the man on the ball gets beat our rotation is slow on account of it. Free throws it seems has always been a problem for us and that probably is nerves because of the youth of our team. We just don't have great work habits. Our teamwork like all teams teamwork can be totally derailed by one player not passing the ball to the open man and the snowball starts rolling downhill from there on! I think Vanderbilt is the answer to a lot of these problems, he just needs to get in shape and get playing time! I still think he is our best player! Actually don't think it is close!

 

[CELTICAT]

It's true there were some ticky tack calls, especially underneath, but a lot of the fouls called really were fouls. Guys on both teams were just out of control running into each other.

 

[bigbluedon]

The rough play starts in earnest once conference play starts. All of the BS about enforcing hand checking and arm bars goes out the window even more so when conference play starts. Blue63, the refs and the NCAA are to blame for what the game has become. They let it get this rough and are scared to call it the way it is supposed to be because of coaches and TV and $$$$$$. About 80% of these kids couldnt play defense in college if they had to keep their hands completely off of the offensive player. Keep your arm bar out of their side while they are driving to the basket. This shit will not be stopped so you will have this shitty product probably from here till doomsday. That is why I would not ref in college and dont watch games anymore besides ours.

 

[Mojocat]

It's mainly a problem in the SEC.. you don't see UNC or Duke or Big10 basketball with this many fouls..

Calling this many fouls brings teams to an even playing field. It doesn't let the better team run the lesser team out of the building. When games like tonight happen, Kentucky has a much better chance to lose.

yep. I'm not going to go all conspiracy here - I don't think in this case the refs were trying to create a situation where Kentucky was more likely to lose. I don't think that. But it's undeniable that when one team has a limited bench, an exorbitant number of fouls called will hurt that team more. It also serves to even out a talent disparity between two teams (akin to how rain can help to even out two football teams with different talent levels)....

Nothing intentional. Was an ugly game. A weird game, as CBS called it....

 

[Aces Fan]

The game has gotten more and more physical, resulting in a lot more fouling. I want the refs to call every foul, and then maybe at some point the players will learn to play without fouling. The refs aren't to blame for what the game has turned into.

This is exactly right. When the game is being played like a football game and no fouls are being called people get pissed and say the game needs to be cleaned up. But when they try and clean it up and make it more free flowing, which benefits the more talented team by the way, people complain they call too many fouls. If you want the game cleaned up there is only one way to do it and that is to call all fouls and force coaches to adjust how they coach.

 

[Wildcat Sheli]

Kimble was also on the whistle in our Elite Eight game vs. North Carolina. There were similarities between both games.

 

[TheDude73]

The game has gotten more and more physical, resulting in a lot more fouling. I want the refs to call every foul, and then maybe at some point the players will learn to play without fouling. The refs aren't to blame for what the game has turned into.

Kinda hard for players to learn how to play without fouling when every game is refereed with a different level of scrutiny. Take the LSU contest as an example - what a good game to watch and there were hardly any fouls called. Then last night, it went overboard. How on earth can a player understand what is expected and adjust when the referees have such a wide variety of tolerance?

 

[Pizza Slice]

The thing is, you can't teach a kid what "proper" play is anymore. Each ref has their own mindset and interpretation of what the rules are and they call it based on that. So one ref may think something is a foul or a walk while another ref doesn't. You can't expect a kid to change up their game on spot just because of how officials interpret fouls/rules. Another thing I hate is how refs set the "tone" of the game. They're either gonna allow it to be a slugfest or a whistleblower special. You can't force a kid to play each and every game based on how the officials are calling it. That's totally unfair and it ruins the game. Something needs to be implemented to hold refs accountable. Call the rules BY DEFINITION not by your interpretation.

 

[TheDude73]

The thing is, you can't teach a kid what "proper" play is anymore. Each ref has their own mindset and interpretation of what the rules are and they call it based on that. So one ref may think something is a foul or a walk while another ref doesn't. You can't expect a kid to change up their game on spot just because of how officials interpret fouls/rules. Another thing I hate is how refs set the "tone" of the game. They're either gonna allow it to be a slugfest or a whistleblower special. You can't force a kid to play each and every game based on how the officials are calling it. That's totally unfair and it ruins the game. Something needs to be implemented to hold refs accountable. Call the rules BY DEFINITION not by your interpretation.

Sometimes they do this within the same half! Call 'em all, then swallow for 10 minutes, only to completely mix it up in the next half of play.

 

[KyCatFan]

I wish I had the post I made a year or two ago handy. I compared the amount of fouls in SEC games versus some of the other conferences. There was a substantial difference in average fouls called per game. I think something like 5 more a game. I don't know how hard it would be to find that post.

 

[Fox2monk]

Total garbage game. The refs ruined the game for both sides.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

yep. I'm not going to go all conspiracy here - I don't think in this case the refs were trying to create a situation where Kentucky was more likely to lose. I don't think that. But it's undeniable that when one team has a limited bench, an exorbitant number of fouls called will hurt that team more. It also serves to even out a talent disparity between two teams (akin to how rain can help to even out two football teams with different talent levels)....

Nothing intentional. Was an ugly game. A weird game, as CBS called it....

IDK what it is. At the very least, officials are afraid to call fouls on the home team, which means every team is going to get some home wins over teams they clearly have no business beating against. So now USC can maybe make the CBI but Kentucky just dropped down to a 6-seed.

Good work, SEC. Hope it's worth it.

Also, I don't buy the game being "more physical" at all. Because that doesn't explain why Big10 teams have like 40% less fouls.

It's just a giant mess. We saw last year that some refs have a distaste for Kentucky, Home teams have like a 12pt advantage, and officiating differs from conference to conference. In all of this, You rarely see Kentucky get the benefit. I can count on my hands the number of times I said "Man, officials really saved us from a loss".

 

[Fox2monk]

Kinda hard for players to learn how to play without fouling when every game is refereed with a different level of scrutiny. Take the LSU contest as an example - what a good game to watch and there were hardly any fouls called. Then last night, it went overboard. How on earth can a player understand what is expected and adjust when the referees have such a wide variety of tolerance?

I honestly can't remember a charge/block call going our way this year. Its so up to the ref and we never get the benefit on either end. Makes me sick. If its a block.on way its a block the other and a charge vice versa.

 

[Fox2monk]

That is why in the tourney when we avoid the Higgins of the world and get a crew from.another conference we are tough to beat. We are not used to being able to play.

 

[Mojocat]

This is exactly right. When the game is being played like a football game and no fouls are being called people get pissed and say the game needs to be cleaned up. But when they try and clean it up and make it more free flowing, which benefits the more talented team by the way, people complain they call too many fouls. If you want the game cleaned up there is only one way to do it and that is to call all fouls and force coaches to adjust how they coach.

Agree with this in theory. But this is supposedly all settled by now. Several years ago everyone complained the game was too physical, too rugby, too Big East. It was an ugly, low scoring game. So the rules makers agreed the officials were going to start calling everything. Which means it would be really bad for a year or two, but eventually players would figure out the new normal, the game would open up, freedom rings. Same thing the NBA went thru 20 years ago. But here we are, a few years later, with no change in sight. The problem is the refs are woefully inconsisten, with crazy whiplash in whistle from one game to another, and those rulemakers haven't given any direction. So what you have is a mess, and players have no real idea what constitutes a foul.....

 

[docholiday51]

It's true there were some ticky tack calls, especially underneath, but a lot of the fouls called really were fouls. Guys on both teams were just out of control running into each other.

I agree most of the fouls called were committed.one of the most poorly played games I have ever seen,Hell, I played in 5th grade playground games that didn't have as many fouls.

 

[Seth_C]

This is exactly right. When the game is being played like a football game and no fouls are being called people get pissed and say the game needs to be cleaned up. But when they try and clean it up and make it more free flowing, which benefits the more talented team by the way, people complain they call too many fouls. If you want the game cleaned up there is only one way to do it and that is to call all fouls and force coaches to adjust how they coach.

Absolutely agreed, but absolutely useless without consistency. One game everything is a foul, the next game nothing is a foul. That's what kills the game. You never even know what to expect from one half to another.

 

[musrat59]

When the Refs want to be the show, it makes for a long boring game.