Cal wins about 82% of his games at UK. Accept when Higgins referees, and then he wins about 33% of his games. I'm no rocket scientist, but that's statistically significant.
Look, we all know that whining about referred is the refuge of losers. People always complain about officiating. It's a damned cliche. But here's the thing. Fans are almost always wrong doing that. They have a bias, and see the game through the lens of a fan with a particular rooting interest. So the calls against, you remember, and the bad calls in your favor don't make an impression. Fans are almost always wrong. But not always. Either thru incompetence or corruption or personality conflict, sometimes officiating is, lack of a better word, unfair.
Donaghy:
"Studying under Dick Bavetta for 13 years was like pursuing a graduate degree in advanced game manipulation. He knew how to marshal the tempo and tone of a game better than any referee in the league, by far. He also knew how to take subtle — and not so subtle — cues from the NBA front office and extend a playoff series or, worse yet, change the complexion of that series.
...Bavetta went on to inform me that it wasn't the first time the NBA assigned him to a game for a specific purpose. He cited examples, including the 1993 playoff series when he put New Jersey guard Drazen Petrovic on the bench with quick fouls to help Cleveland beat the Nets. He also spoke openly about the 2002 Los Angeles–Sacramento series and called himself the NBA's "go-to guy."
I don't believe in conspiracy theories, generally. I don't think all referees are corrupt or incompetent. I'm just saying the easiest thing in the world to do is influence the outcome of a basketball game, if one wanted to do so for whatever reason....