Just watched the 2010 Cornell game

[FurdTerguson]

Higgins made about five unbelievable calls/non calls against us in that one, too. Cornell dude tackles Cousins from behind. Bilas is going crazy, saying if that's not intentional what is. Higgins actually goes to the monitor and STILL calls it a normal foul. Then he calls one on Cousins on the other end where there was minimal contact on a shot block attempt from outside.

 

[YouKay]

I was at that game. Refs were awful. Was like playing a SEC road game.

 

[jgraf_1]

It was the kids who go to school versus the "kids who don't". At least that's the media tried to make it out be. The game was awful and had no flow. I feel like the refs wanted it that way. If the game was loose and up and down UK wins by 25+ easy.

 

[drainthatub]

He probably had money on that one too.

 

[theGspot]

Was that the game with the infamous spelling bee comment by Cousins?

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Was that the game with the infamous spelling bee comment by Cousins?

It sure was!

 

[Kentucky fan 1989]

I remember being annoyed by the media that day.

 

[kev69]

Higgins made about five unbelievable calls/non calls against us in that one, too. Cornell dude tackles Cousins from behind. Bilas is going crazy, saying if that's not intentional what is. Higgins actually goes to the monitor and STILL calls it a normal foul. Then he calls one on Cousins on the other end where there was minimal contact on a shot block attempt from outside.

I remember being at that game and losing my mind over those calls.

 

[Wildcat Sheli]

We've got the video over at the Higgins Missed Calls Thread. Agree it was horribly officiated, so bad, as the OP alluded, Bilas repeatedly said, "horrible call, impossible to miss!"

With 1:11 to go it was a 9 point game; this one is often overlooked because we won by 17. But when you watch it, you realize it was far tougher on our 'Cats than it should have been because of the officiating. Even our "wins" under Higgins have had their issues.

2 days later we played West Virginia. And we lost. And didn't make the Final Four. I think the way Cornell was officiated had an impact on that loss. There are just too many "what ifs" at the end of a Higgins-officiated game.

 

[JPScott]

We've got the video over at the Higgins Missed Calls Thread. Agree it was horribly officiated, so bad, as the OP alluded, Bilas repeatedly said, "horrible call, impossible to miss!"

With 1:11 to go it was a 9 point game; this one is often overlooked because we won by 17. But when you watch it, you realize it was far tougher on our 'Cats than it should have been because of the officiating. Even our "wins" under Higgins have had their issues.

2 days later we played West Virginia. And we lost. And didn't make the Final Four. I think the way Cornell was officiated had an impact on that loss. There are just too many "what ifs" at the end of a Higgins-officiated game.

The weird thing is that last week Jay Bilas was interviewed by Matt Jones and Bilas defiantly stated that Higgins was not biased against UK or Cal.

Bilas' argument is that one can't rely on won/lost records or stats like foul totals etc. when assessing referees. [Which is true as not all bad calls show up as fouls (including bad non-calls), not all foul calls are equal (as often it depends more on WHO and WHEN a call was made than how many), it's hard to ascribe stats to one referee when there's a crew of three referees at play etc.]

Further it's misleading to use won/loss records as many of the high profile referees are working games where the level of competition is more even (and thus the expected win% is lower than typical for top programs).

That's all very true. But Bilas then acknowledges that if you look at specific egregious calls it's possible to detect poor refereeing (either due to incompetence or malice).

What Bilas fails to admit is that when it comes to Higgins, UK fans' gripes with him don't rest solely on statistics (which by themselves do suggest that something is amiss) but they also are supported by numerous examples of extremely poor calls made at critical times.

In reality there is plenty of evidence suggesting Higgins holds a bias. The media, incuding Jay Bilas, seem more intent on shaming UK fans over a few idiots who went over the line, than in acknowledging the reality behind the anger.

 

[Cardsstink]

Day 33 and still no arrests.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

They were great at the Rubic Cube!

 

[JPScott]

Day 33 and still no arrests.

How many examples, not just in sports but in general, do you hear a police officer state beforehand that they are investigating multiple cases and expect to press charges, and then absolutely nothing comes of it?

It's odd enough for them to annouce their intention to press charges prematurely. And even odder that absolutely nothing seems to happen afterwards. Can anyone remember examples of this type of behavior from credible members of law enforcement?

 

[rick64]

Oh wonderful, another Higgins thread regarding a game from 7 years ago. Really folks.....really?!?!

 

[JPScott]

Oh wonderful, another Higgins thread regarding a game from 7 years ago. Really folks.....really?!?!

What's the old saying: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."?

I'd say this is an apt example. Personally I've been down on Higgins for a number of years for his terrible officiating and apparent bias. It seems like now more people are starting to take notice. Hopefully that will prevent more travesties in the future.

Of course if we were take your advice, we'd probably deserve getting terrible officials to call important games.

 

[Wildcat Sheli]

rick64,
We were told after Wisconsin to quit whining and move on.....then UNC happened and even non-UK fans took notice. If we keep silent, it will keep happening.

 

[FurdTerguson]

Oh wonderful, another Higgins thread regarding a game from 7 years ago. Really folks.....really?!?!

This was the one Higgins game that we won. I wanted to see if he was fair in that one. Go back and watch the game. It's incredible how bad he is, but only bad against one team.

 

[Wildcat Sheli]

I'd also encourage reviewing the 2005 NCAA game vs EKU, as well as this past regular season's game vs Vandy at Rupp. Both were wins, but the officiating was awful, too.

 

[rick64]

College bball fans, not just UK fans, have been complaining for years about officiating. Has it helped? No, not that I can tell. And it won't ever help until the big time D1 coaches and ADs start demanding something be done about it.

 

[JPScott]

College bball fans, not just UK fans, have been complaining for years about officiating. Has it helped? No, not that I can tell. And it won't ever help until the big time D1 coaches and ADs start demanding something be done about it.

So your solution is to sit back and wait for something to happen? Sounds like a winning strategy.

 

[irishcat1965]

I don't think much about the refs even if bad calls are made. Higgins is the exception. There is simply too much evidence which reflects that not only does he have a bias, he has decided to act on that bias to affect the outcome of UK games. He is a despicable human being.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Oh wonderful, another Higgins thread regarding a game from 7 years ago. Really folks.....really?!?!

And yet you opened it. And posted.

 

[YouKay]

We've got the video over at the Higgins Missed Calls Thread. Agree it was horribly officiated, so bad, as the OP alluded, Bilas repeatedly said, "horrible call, impossible to miss!"

With 1:11 to go it was a 9 point game; this one is often overlooked because we won by 17. But when you watch it, you realize it was far tougher on our 'Cats than it should have been because of the officiating. Even our "wins" under Higgins have had their issues.

2 days later we played West Virginia. And we lost. And didn't make the Final Four. I think the way Cornell was officiated had an impact on that loss. There are just too many "what ifs" at the end of a Higgins-officiated game.

What had an impact in the WVU game was Eric Bledsoe picking up two cheap fouls early and sitting most of the first half. He was UK's best shooter by far. Refs knew who to get out of the game.

 

[Orville Boggs]

Higgins is on the buy! He is crooked!

 

[morgousky]

College bball fans, not just UK fans, have been complaining for years about officiating. Has it helped? No, not that I can tell. And it won't ever help until the big time D1 coaches and ADs start demanding something be done about it.

We just learned a valuable lesson by the last political cycle.

1. Any press can be good press.
2. Public perception is not constructed through the lense of the press.

Kentucky fans created a NATIONAL CONVERSATION about Higgins and brought to light some very serious questions. By any means necessary? Sure.

Did the media portray UK negatively regarding the story? Mostly.

Are people going to pay attention to UK / Higgins games from now on, especially in the coming few years? You bet your a** they are.

Kentucky will gain something from creating a firestorm.

 

[EvilMD]

God I hope so. Watching a UK game knowing he's on the floor is like watching that championship game where Rex said Cal was gone. It takes the joy out of it completely.

 

[kyjeff1]

How many examples, not just in sports but in general, do you hear a police officer state beforehand that they are investigating multiple cases and expect to press charges, and then absolutely nothing comes of it?

It's odd enough for them to annouce their intention to press charges prematurely. And even odder that absolutely nothing seems to happen afterwards. Can anyone remember examples of this type of behavior from credible members of law enforcement?

Seems to have been a very feeble attempt at a scare tactic.
But then again, John Higgins may have told the cops to back off to avoid more hassle from UK fans.
Afterall, JH still has to officiate games next season and will surely be exposed to an arena full of UK fans. Good luck with that Mr. Higgins.

 

[kyjeff1]

College bball fans, not just UK fans, have been complaining for years about officiating. Has it helped? No, not that I can tell. And it won't ever help until the big time D1 coaches and ADs start demanding something be done about it.

But this is different, the uproar is much larger after the UNC game than it has ever been and even guys like Jay Williams made a fuss about it.
If I'm the NCAA, I don't allow Higgins to officiate UK games for his own protection. But also, if I'm the NCAA, I'm looking into the claims.
Somebody made a call to the officiating crew at halftime of that game, because the second half was called completely different.

 

[UKCATSFREAK]

The weird thing is that last week Jay Bilas was interviewed by Matt Jones and Bilas defiantly stated that Higgins was not biased against UK or Cal.

Bilas' argument is that one can't rely on won/lost records or stats like foul totals etc. when assessing referees. [Which is true as not all bad calls show up as fouls (including bad non-calls), not all foul calls are equal (as often it depends more on WHO and WHEN a call was made than how many), it's hard to ascribe stats to one referee when there's a crew of three referees at play etc.]

Further it's misleading to use won/loss records as many of the high profile referees are working games where the level of competition is more even (and thus the expected win% is lower than typical for top programs).

That's all very true. But Bilas then acknowledges that if you look at specific egregious calls it's possible to detect poor refereeing (either due to incompetence or malice).

What Bilas fails to admit is that when it comes to Higgins, UK fans' gripes with him don't rest solely on statistics (which by themselves do suggest that something is amiss) but they also are supported by numerous examples of extremely poor calls made at critical times.

In reality there is plenty of evidence suggesting Higgins holds a bias. The media, incuding Jay Bilas, seem more intent on shaming UK fans over a few idiots who went over the line, than in acknowledging the reality behind the anger.

Extremely well said!! I agree with what Bilas said about not being able to judge officials on stats like that. However, it's all in the eye test on calls to me. I don't look at foul counts because that's the illusion that the NCAA wants based on its officiating philosophies. They use foul counts as an illusion of consistency when in fact, foul counts don't mean anything when determining how a game was officiated. The reason being is that teams play different styles. Some play zone, some play man to man, some press, some don't, some attack the rim, some settlefor jumpshots, and so on and so on.

With that said, Higgins doesn't pass my eye test. I look at each individual call and make a judgement on right or wrong based on advantage/disadvantage. I would love for someone to show me calls that GO FOR us rather than against us with Higgins. I bet there aren't many big calls that have went our way with his calls. That's what makes me scratch my head with this guy. Seems like all of his calls go against us and they're usually big calls or momentum calls that go against us. I think it's pretty obvious myself. Either he has something in his head about Cal or UK or he is a HORRIBLE official. One or the other.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Diary]

Day 33 and still no arrests.

Out of "thousands" of threats made and still nothing? As I have said on here before John did exactly what he intended to do, take the eyes of the public off of the horrendous job he did and put them on UK fans as redneck crazies who wanted him dead. It's the classic magician trick...watch the left hand while being distracted from what the right hand is doing. #DeathThreatGate

 

[awf]

Extremely well said!! I agree with what Bilas said about not being able to judge officials on stats like that. However, it's all in the eye test on calls to me. I don't look at foul counts because that's the illusion that the NCAA wants based on its officiating philosophies. They use foul counts as an illusion of consistency when in fact, foul counts don't mean anything when determining how a game was officiated. The reason being is that teams play different styles. Some play zone, some play man to man, some press, some don't, some attack the rim, some settlefor jumpshots, and so on and so on.

With that said, Higgins doesn't pass my eye test. I look at each individual call and make a judgement on right or wrong based on advantage/disadvantage. I would love for someone to show me calls that GO FOR us rather than against us with Higgins. I bet there aren't many big calls that have went our way with his calls. That's what makes me scratch my head with this guy. Seems like all of his calls go against us and they're usually big calls or momentum calls that go against us. I think it's pretty obvious myself. Either he has something in his head about Cal or UK or he is a HORRIBLE official. One or the other.

I think you are wrong...........he has a burr up his arse for Cal AND he is a horrible official.

 

[Ron Mehico]

I will be absolutely shocked if Higgins ever calls a UK game again, so well done I say.

 

[gracetoyou]

I remember that bilas picked Cornell to win that game

 

[crestcat]

I remember that bilas picked Cornell to win that game

He must have talked to Higgins

 

[EvilMD]

Only in Higgins eyes does Stilman White get two 50/50 calls against De'Aaron Fox.