Warning...Tennessee Cheats

[hogfanincville]

The truth is that officiating in basketball is terribly imprecise. And there are a lot of conventions that contradict what the rules actually say.

For instance, it's just sort of expected that referees will not call fouls in the paint in tight games at the end unless someone actually gets blatantly hacked. As a result, players tend to be very aggressive with the expectation that the referees will let more slide at that point in the game. That's why referees are so demonized when they do make those calls at the end of a game. Theoretically, the officiating should be no different just because it's the end of the game and the score's close, but it absolutely is. And, of course, this leaves a lot of room for referee discretion--which is the enemy of continuing public confidence in the game as a whole. I usually count at least 10 absolutely blown calls a game when I'm fortunate enough to sit courtside. Most of the time they balance out. But it's really tough when one comes at the end of the game.

The truth is that basketball is just not that precise--it's more like the old scoring system for figure skating than any of us would care to admit. Even the clock issue is kind of an example. It's not like time was called perfectly before that point in the game. I'm sure there were other examples throughout the game where the clock stopped too early or went too long. We tend to only notice the imprecision at the end when it really matters, though.

[Dropkick]

This was just a mistake pure and simple. It is disappointing that the officials didn't get it right after reviewing the play. You can't blame UT for the zebras not having the guts to make the right call.