The student news site of Bellarmine Preparatory School

The Bellarmine Prep Lion

The student news site of Bellarmine Preparatory School

The Bellarmine Prep Lion

The student news site of Bellarmine Preparatory School

The Bellarmine Prep Lion

NCAA Basketball officiating controversy

On Feb 25, the Kansas Jayhawks traveled to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones in a pivotal Big 12 conference matchup. There was a lot riding on the game. The Cyclones were 9-5 in conference and looking for a big win to build their resume for tournament time. Likewise, the Jayhawks were in need of a win to keep pace with the Kansas State Wildcats for the Big 12 regular season championship. The game lived up to all its hype, coming down to the wire and needing overtime before the outcome was decided. Kansas eventually prevailed with a 108-96 victory behind a stellar performance of guard Elijah Johnson. But what stuck out more than the final score were key mistakes committed by the officiating crew during the game.

Iowa State was clinging to a two point lead when Johnson drove the lane and collided with Iowa State freshmen post player Georges Niang. Niang attempted to take a charge on Johnson as the Kansas guard flew through the air attempting a difficult off-balance shot. No call was made, and the missed shot eventually landed in between Niang and Johnson who were lying on the ground. The two fought over possession of the ball until a phantom holding call was called on Niang. With Kansas in the double bonus Johnson sank both his free throws to tie the game. Eventually the game went to overtime where the phenomenal play of Johnson propelled the Jayhawks to victory.

This end of game controversy brought to the forefront a question concerning officiating. Should officials swallow their whistles at the end of games and let players decide the outcome, or should a foul be called?

The Big 12 conference released a statement the following day, admitting that officiating errors took place during the contest. The conference has reviewed the game film and will limit the number of assignments for the officials involved in the mistakes. Clearly the conference stated that they were in favor of officials blowing their whistles from the beginning all the way to the last seconds of the competition.

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Clearly replay shows that the right call would have been an offensive foul on Johnson. Niang was planted in perfect defensive position outside of the restricted area before Johnson collided into him out of control. A charging foul could have changed the outcome of the game, giving the ball back to Iowa State with 5 seconds to go and a two point lead.

Many people believe that a foul is a foul no matter what time during the game, but then they raise uproar when an official makes a call in the final seconds. Junior basketball player Carson Hollyoak struggled to commit toward either side of the argument, “Obviously if it is just some Hail Mary shot that has no chance of going in the refs shouldn’t make a call. If it comes down to the final seconds you kind of want to let the teams play and decide the outcome on their own without the refs making a call. But, on the other hand, a foul is foul so the refs have to make a call. It’s complicated.”

It is a tough call for any fan to make. Referees are taught to follow the rules of the game and call fouls, but they are also taught to follow the unofficial rule of letting players decide the game.

So the real question remains. Should we let the athletes play, or stop the play?