The Ref Show

A weekend of missed calls brings burning questions with mundane answers.

Tipoff

One of the first games of the Round of 32 turned on its head on a controversial flagrant foul call while the last game of the weekend included multiple mishaps in the final seconds that allowed Arizona to escape to the Sweet 16. Naturally, fans want answers for what can be called controversial calls at best or flat-out mistakes to be less charitable. One team, TCU, has a legitimate claim that their season ended due to a mistake. The image of TCU’s Mike Miles being “obstructed” at midcourt by Arizona’s Dalen Terry is of a weekend marred by bad calls. Fans may want firings and resignations. The solution to the problem, however, is more about positioning.

Brian Merry, a contributor to the Zagaholic blog posted a useful twitter thread (and only 8 tweets!) that walks through a series of mistakes that resulted in the wild finish to regulation on Sunday night. In short, one referee failed to notice his fellow referee shift positions during the play and, as a result, was out of position to see Miles be bumped by Terry. The full thread is posted below for inquiring minds.

Mistakes happen. Fans may want heads to roll, but this is a human game played and observed by human actors. The solution isn’t to sack everyone involved and start from scratch. An experienced referee crew is bound to be better than a crew of fresh faces. What needs to happen is accountability. The referee crew and their bosses owe the fans an honest assessment of where they were right and wrong and what they can do to ensure referees will be in the right place in the future. J.D. Collins, NCAA’s National Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating, should take note of the NBA and its Final Two Minute Reports that explain to fans which calls were made correctly and which were in error. While we cannot go back and make the wrong calls right again, we can all commit to learning and improving over time.

Field of 68 Live from the Sportsbook at Rivers Casino Philadelphia

The Field of 68 will be streaming LIVE from the Sportsbook at Rivers Casino Philadelphia during the First Round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Tune in live to hear from Rob Dauster, Terrence Oglesby, and Randolph Childress. The crew will stream on YouTube each day:

  • 11:00 am-12:15 pm (all times Eastern)

  • 5:45-6:45 pm

  • 12:00-1:00 am

During each broadcast, you can sign up to win prizes, including one of five $50 Top Golf gift cards and a grand prize of two tickets to the Sweet 16 in Philadelphia. Winners will be selected at random and announced on the live shows broadcasting at www.youtube.com/c/thefieldof68.

The Mixtape 

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

  • Rob Dauster, Terrence Oglesby, and Carter Elliott were on After Dark last night to prepare you for Thursday’s Sweet 16 action. Can Villanova’s culture overcome Michigan’s size? Will Gonzaga keep its march towards a first National Title alive? Can Duke solve Texas Tech’s elite defense? Will Arizona breathe a sigh of relief after their OT win over TCU and take care of Houston? Our guys prepare you for the night’s action.

  •  The Three Man Weave crew - Ky McKeon, Jim Root, and Matt Cox - are rested and ready for the action on Thursday. It’s the Best Bets show for Thursday’s Sweet 16 games. Will Arkansas cover for the first time this tournament? In essentially a pick-em, will Texas Tech’s defense prevail? That and more for tonight’s action.

  • We have to talk coaching hires. The coaching carousel and transfer portal are the other big news items in March. The After Dark crew, including Rob Dauster, Randolph Childress, and John Fanta discuss the latest news. Kenny Payne at Louisville and Kevin Willard at Maryland have to guide their storied programs back to the promised land. Which one is poised to do it?

Tournament Tracker

It’s The Big Dance! Let’s take a look at NCAA men’s basketball tournament action and the schedule for the day.

  • #1 Gonzaga vs. #4 Arkansas (7:09 p.m. EDT on CBS)

  • #2 Villanova vs. #11 Michigan (7:29 p.m. EDT on TBS)

  • #2 Duke vs. #3 Texas Tech (9:39 p.m. EDT on CBS)

  • #1 Arizona vs. #5 Houston (9:59 p.m. EDT on TBS)