and got the ending they wanted. Congratulations to Florida and the SEC and the NCAA and don’t forget the officials. Was the game fixed? No, not fixed. That would have been too obvious. Was the game rigged? Perhaps somewhat… Was the game scripted? Absolutely without a doubt… for Florida to win. The Houston vs. Duke game was also scripted for Duke to win but they choked away all the opportunities they were given and played like the freshmen they were and blew it.
Houston didn’t get any love from the officials, the entire game, and couldn’t pull it off even though they had a late chance to do so. That is how it goes sometimes when the script works and you still have a chance because you outplayed the other team.
Florida only down 3 at halftime after what might have been the worst half of basketball they played all season. They come out second half and absolutely mug and hack Houston and then cry and complain about every obvious and egregious foul. Houston up a dozen. Then the script took over and Florida got every single call until it went from (Florida 5 or 6 fouls to Houston 0 fouls) and all of the sudden Houston starts hacking after being up 12? Nope. The calls that weren’t being made the entire game all of the sudden became fouls on Houston and the switch flips. Now it is Houston with 10+ fouls and Florida at the line while Houston must scrap together a new plan as the teams are tied. What do you do? Everything that was okay for 30 minutes is now a foul if you’re wearing a Houston jersey. Your great defense is now a desperate, foul plagued defense. Sorry, 19-9 in fouls called is ridiculous in a game that was 3-1 in fouls at halftime.
Florida sucked for most of the game but somehow they pulled it out and even though Houston had a chance at the end, which we all know was slim at best, they couldn’t do it. Follow the script NCAA… make sure the SEC has all the opportunities it needs to win and we just might pull one over on the average fan.
Who would that be? Well, the Hopper for one. I told him to not be shocked if Florida won when Houston was up 12 because I knew the script would help them… and it did. It was just enough for them to pull out a thrilling win by making free throws at the end.
What a game! or more like what a joke… a bad joke.
I try to suggest to Jim to not watch sports anymore. Everything is fixed so why watch it. Oops, I used the word fix when he wants to use the word script. Means the same thing.
The thing about fouls from the first half and the second half is the fatigue factor that eludes Jim’s understanding even though he claims he played high school basketball. As the game progresses, the players become fatigue. The player’s arms tend to hack when trying to block a shot or steal a ball. They make contact more frequently than when they are fresh in the first half. So, it makes sense to have more fouls called in the 2nd half than the 1st half. There’s no script. The replays showed the fouls were egregious and must be called. There were less calls on Florida because Houston players became glory hogs with long shots and not inside like in the 1st half. No scripting. It’s a shame people can’t just watch the games and enjoy them.
Houston’s offense got very stagnant and easy to defend late in the 2nd half as the Houston players wore down and jacked up contested shots. Their defense was slow in the final minutes. No scripts and no fix. Florida won and they are the last team standing.
Whatever! The game was the best defensive matchup I have ever seen. Incredible plays by each team. Either team probably deserved to win. Florida led for barely over a minute the entire game, but played suffocating defense when they had too. Kudos to Houston, what a bunch of great players. Kudos to Florida/ they made a habit of never giving up. Officiating, ugh, not consistent from the first half to the 2nd. Really mind boggling, but seems to be the rule anymore. It’s like home plate umpires in MLB, sometimes inconceivable. Sometimes people’s conspiracies are just a part of who they are. I really don’t know, but it somehow takes the joy out of the game. The game was one of the most stimulating I have ever seen. Congrats to Houston and Florida
I completely agree. I was texting the conspiracy theorist expert during the game saying the same things. How can anyone enjoy a game looking for wrong in every play? It’s mind boggling.
I attribute the first and second half officiating to players getting a bit tired and making mistakes on defense. Also, adjustments at halftime and how that affects the game. There were some missed calls like the goal tending. But that happens quite a bit as well. It’s not a conspiracy. But people sometimes expect perfection from others when they are imperfect beings.
It was a fun and exciting game. Houston did what Duke did, choked. Missed key shots and free throws.
Most of the conspiracy theories I don’t buy. If you look at the overall picture, there are 4 teams, That except for a play or two Could have won the national championship. The game has changed from the days of the Wooden era. It has become more brutal and physical. You are seeing the same thing in the NBA. More injuries are a result of more physical play. Not sure it’s better, just evolving
Disagree completely. The NBA game is not even close to being as physical as it was 20, 30 or 40+ years ago. I think you are an older gentleman so I’m not sure where you are getting this from. In the NBA the cheapest, ticky tack fouls are called without hesitation. Back in the day players were clotheslined, knocked to the ground, hacked, mugged with few whistles.
I can agree the athletes are overall probably bigger, stronger and faster and more athletic but as far as the play goes I don’t think it is anywhere close to being as physically abusive as it was in the past.
Lastly, I am glad you enjoy the games like the Hopper does… with a simplistic, blue goggle view that doesn’t see the big picture or the little things that are done to help one team win. Notice I didn’t say fix the game to the point where they determine the outcome. I said help through influence to see that one team has more opportunity to win. I can still enjoy the games as a seasoned, astute player, coach, official and knowledgeable fan who enjoys basketball.
Next time you attend a game, go with the Hopper, take your pom poms and sit in the family section where most of the people enjoy the game without understanding what is going on out on the court. That’s totally fine.
So right after halftime Florida was so tired and exhausted that they committed 5 fouls in the first couple of minutes and Houston didn’t commit any. Okay, just making sure. The fact that is lost on you is that Florida was only whistled for 3 fouls the entire rest of the game while Houston was whistled for 16 over that same stretch. The fact that you don’t recognize the HUGE disparity that had nothing to do with fatigue is alarming. You are blinded by your hope in a false reality.
Your simpleton analysis allows you to “enjoy” watching the game but it leaves you lacking credibility because your analysis is weak and flawed. The evidence of such is clear in your comments. Those comments are only designed to try show how my comments are not valid, not why yours are. I supplied facts and backed it up with analysis of those facts. You did none of that. I could say more but you are blinded by your hope that none of the things I mentioned happened when all of them actually did. Here is the worst of them. You will claim that the officials didn’t see it or they had “bad” angles. I must ask what angle keeps an officials from seeing a ball laying on top of the rim?
It’s so strange but obvious at the same time.
Listen and learn. This guy is a Big 12 homer but he still nails it.
Not even close! Bigger, stronger, faster. Go back and watch games 40 years ago. It’s like every thing else/times change. I get it-it’s a conspiracy era. If the team you want to win doesn’t win, they were conspired against. The refs did them in. It’s amazing how you buy into this garbage. It’s the big guy against the little guy. Unfortunately, officials are just like everyone else. They see things differently and sometimes they are just wrong. There is no perfect system. I guess the only way to deal with error is to computerize everything. You do away with umpires and determine balls and strikes through a computer model. It’s your choice as to how you view life and setbacks. Everything that goes wrong is a conspiracy or you believe that 95% of people are honest and trying to do a good job. Blue goggles have little to do with anything. BYU didn’t lose because of some officials/they lost because their team defense wasn’t good enough to stop Alabama from getting open looks. Houston didn’t lose because of the officials, they lost because they couldn’t execute their last 3 possessions. Nobody sat down with the officials and said we have to make sure Florida wins because they are in the SEC. If you are watching athletics looking for the conspiracy, try watching something else
Those last words were exactly mine to him during the game. Anyone can go back and cherry pick stats to try and prove their points. Jim is as good as anyone for that. But he even messed up the fouls.
I do think some officials have a bias against BYU. But I don’t believe it affects their play calling. If it did, being in the Big12 they would not be refereeing very long.
Houston did what Duke did, choked. I really didn’t think they would because of their senior leadership. But, they did at the end. It was a fun game to watch and a difficult one to referee. People think refs have bad nights or don’t get caught up in the bigness of the game. They do. and, sometimes it interferes with their vision. If any of the 3 saw the goaltending they would have called it. The rule has to change where they can stop the game and look at it. But, that didn’t lose the game. If that one play made the whole team go into a fog over it, they deserved to lose.
Couldn’t agree more! The fan sits there and has instant replay, slow down video. The officials have real time decisions to make. Sometimes they get it wrong. Fact of life, but the reality is, unless you find an alternative, it is what it is. Houston lost, just like Duke lost. They didn’t execute at the critical stage of the game
That is absolutely impossible. You think officials aren’t human? Why would you say something like that.?
Who said BYU lost because of the officiating? You are making the same mistake the hopper makes in assuming that I think every game is fixed or rigged. I DO NOT! so it’s time to stop making that assertion. I provided important facts. They weren’t just a little thing here or there. It was obvious, blatant facts. The difference in the game came at the free throw line and in the second half. Everything else was virtually the same. The only difference was in the number of fouls called on Houston and the resulting number of free throws taken by Florida. I absolutely deny that any other factor had an influence on the outcome. Yes, Houston did some stupid things at the end but you didn’t see them at the free throw line. The guy in the video said it best and he described EVERYTHING that I tried to explain to the Hopper. Why was Houston allowed to play tough defense for most of the game until it mattered. Why was the defense they played okay and then not okay? Florida blatantly fouled early in the second half (they only had ONE foul called in the first, when the game was being won by the better team) in order to establish a position and influence the officials to call the game differently and it worked. Tell me why? Why did the officials stop being consistent like they were in the first half? I will tell you why, because Houston started to pull away and the NCAA couldn’t have that. That is why the game changed to favor Florida instead of evenly and objectively applying the rules to both teams.
Enjoy the pom pom, rah rah nonsense. Houston still could have won yes, but the likelihood went way down (even at the end) because of the way the game started being called after they had the lead. Goaltending call was egregious and inexcusable but the way they called the game was even more inexcusable
You are cherry picking again and your facts are misleading. Florida slightly won every stat except two -Better fg %. Better ft %, more rebounds, more assists, more steals, more points in the paint. Florida shot 7 more free throws-not a huge discrepancy. All in all a very tight game. I was actually hoping Houston would win, but just like Duke they had a double digit lead and let it slip. I didn’t feel bad for Duke and I don’t feel that the game was stolen from Houston
When Duke lost their lead and let it slip did the fouls called have anything to do with it? There was a long stretch where Houston was whistled for 11 fouls to 1 on Florida. The foul discrepancy was a major factor. Florida was completely lost and confused for most of the game except when the officials went on a foul calling rampage against Houston. That is the moment Florida found new life, as teams often do when the officials do things like that, and the comeback was on.
In this game that was a HUGE discrepancy. Combine it with the goaltending call and it made a difference of 10 points. So that isn’t an accurate comment.
I’m not cherry picking. All of my facts are true and correspond with what I am asserting. Once again I will reiterate that Houston still had a chance to tie (in spite of the biased whistle swallow on Florida goaltending) but blew it. The reality is that they had played well enough for the game to not even be close. It was the OFFICIALS that directed the game to be closer with the obviouis disparity in fouls for and against two teams that were EVEN in every other category. It wasn’t even close to the same kind of blown game that Duke made against Houston. Officiating played NO part in that meltdown. So once again, the game was influenced too much by the officials. They did a good job in the first half and were legitimately right at the start of the second half but the switch flipped drastically and it was just enough to allow Florida to not only have a very good chance at winning but enough so that it actually happened.
If I had a jury of 12 knowledgeable basketball fans I would rest my case now and win easily. Unfortunately that scenario doesn’t exist so you can continue to argue but it won’t win my opinion.
Everyone has their biases. That doesn’t mean they can’t do their jobs without cheating. It’s sad that you think this way. I believe that it’s against God’s commandments to have sexual intercourse outside the bounds of marriage. I have some I minister to that are in this relationship. I have those that are married. I treat them exactly the same. I treat their partners exactly the same while having my religious bias.
I have a nephew that is one of Trump’s attorneys working on his cases. His mother still loves him and treats him the same as his liberal brother. I think a referee who doesn’t like the Church can judge a basketball game for his paycheck. Good grief… Sr Burton is right. Most people try to do what’s right. Referees aren’t perfect. If you want perfection then let’s get robots to referee basketball and football.
You can spin it any way you want and it doesn’t matter. I have NEVER seen a perfectly officiated game. Florida was a different team than Houston. Longer, with a lot of action in the paint. Houston, smaller but more athletic. It was one of the best NCAA championship games I’ve ever seen and I couldn’t pull myself away from it. I don’t see a bogeyman behind everything that turns out differently than I thought it should. Florida won the game and pretty much won the statistic battle. Not my favorite team by any measure, but I’ll give them credit for coming back and fighting through the adversity. Duke shot more fts than Houston, yet Houston persevered and deservedly won. It was a great tournament and BYU did exceptionally well. The game was a rough game in the first half. Houston got away with several hacking fouls as Florida probably got away with several rebounding fouls. They just weren’t being called. Maybe the officials decided as a crew they needed to call it closer in the 2nd half-I don’t know. I do know that every video replay that was made in the last five minutes-they got it right
Confirmation Bias - “is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or values.”
I think this describes many, if not most, Latter Day Saints. These are the last days so anything and everything must be bad. And so we look for the bad in everything, “a boogeyman.” It doesn’t have to be the refs. It could be the organizations. It could be the players themselves. And, we give them the evil eye for being boogeymen.
When I decided to go to BYU, I had to talk to the local Bishop. His wife impressed me by her love for life and looking for the good in all things and all people. We knew most of the people in town and I’d say something bad about someone and she would find the good. Over and over she would do that. I still remember it. LeGrand Richard’s spoke at a fireside in the Marriott Center. 90 years old he stood there and said he loves life and doesn’t want to leave it. Talked about all the good and opportunities we had as young people. Then, after the closing prayer, he stood there for about 45 minutes shaking student’s hands one by one. My wife and I got late in line. But we finally got there and as we shook his hands he said with a smile and chuckle, “How many more. I’m getting tired. I love them.” All those bratty kids he saw the good in them. I like your words about how fun and exciting the game was. It was. Especially the first have with the fast pace and few fouls “called.” I really thought both teams were playing with finesse. 4 fouls to 1 foul is not a biased called game. So, why the change at halftime? 19-10 in the 2nd half. Possible Answers:
Houston was more aggressive
Florida was less aggressive
Players were fatigued and were more sloppy
Players were sloppy and caught up in the moment
Fans watching on TV were able to review in slow motion and different camera angles from above too
Refs were paid to follow a script
Refs were prejudiced to follow a script
Refs are evil
Refs are blind
Refs hate BYU and the Church and Houston is in the same league as that school and church
There’s a bunch more. If we love the game, we just watch and enjoy. We take the good with the bad and enjoy. Just like we do with life. Even when it seems like all there is is bad. Confirmation bias is okay to have as long as we still look for the good. The Lord will come in His own due time. Individuality we have to be prepared and we can encourage all to be good to one another and be safe at the same time.
That’s a good post, but you know, everyone has an opinion and sometimes they are different than ours and it’s hard for us to identify with their way of thinking, but that’s the way life goes. I belong to a cycling group and we met in a nearby town. We were talking about the game and one of the guys mentioned he lost $250 on the game. Anyway all of them saw the game and I asked them if they saw anything wrong with the officiating, and none of them had any criticisms of the officiating, even the friend that lost $250. Imo it wasn’t perfect, but it never is and in a few years few will even remember or care about it. Time to move on. For a long time I searched for a short statement that I could pattern my life after and make it as simple as possible. I found it in Matthew it says ”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God”. Although I don’t always agree with people, I endeavor to respect their rights to their beliefs
It may be hard for some to believe but I agree, blessed are the peace makers. It’s why I try to take the other side when people go after people personally. Officials of any sport have a tough time getting as much as they can right. They will make mistakes. When someone says they should have called that goaltending, I ask, maybe none of the 3 referees saw it. We have the advantage angle and replay even in slow motion. I was refereeing a game at Dixon middle school in Provo during my student teaching. I was on the baseline and the ball came my direction and the player was attempting to save the ball from going out of bounds. I was looking at action under the basket with the centers. Apparently, the player trying to save the ball stepped clearly on the line. The other referee didn’t see it. He was on the other side up top watching other action. The play continued and the team scored. The fans and coaches were yelling at me for not calling it. Someone from the other team told me later he had stepped out. I wasn’t trying to help Dixon win or script some conspiracy. I didn’t see it. At a timeout, the coach came up to me and asked me why I didn’t make the call. I told him I was looking at the action with the centers and just didn’t see it. I guess referees are supposed to have extra eyes on the sides and back of their heads.
My opinion is that most officials want to get it right and the NBA has given teams the option of challenging calls and I believe they have the right idea. Sometimes they have personal matters that influence their decisions. An example would have been last night with the Lakers/OKC game. Lakers leading by one with a bit over 7 minutes left and one of the officials hit Doncic with a technical which was his 2nd and he was ejected from the game. The Lakers never recovered and lost by 16. The said official was having a traumatic family issue and probably shouldn’t have been working the game. Today the NBA rescinded the technical on Doncic. However too late for the Lakers. My advice for officials is to keep your egos in check and call the game the best of your ability and most of us fans are pretty reasonable. It’s tough on fans, we want our teams to be successful and with BYU, sometimes there may be religious animosity, but the coaches would just tell you to man up and overcome. Looks like BYU is getting ready to sign a sophomore Baylor guard out of the portal who is really a hot commodity
