This board was filled with people, myself included, saying that the officiating last night was horrible. Once Bo opened his mouth after the game the storyline changed. Then it was how dare he complain about officiating after the breaks his team has gotten all season and over the years. All that may be true, and give us a sense that Wisconsin got what it deserved.
However, I think that Wisconsin did get the short end of the stick, and by a decent margin, last night. Not just the foot on the line or the tipped ball, but also calls and non-calls. There were so many plays that I'm certain would have been fouls 95% of the time in any other game. Okafor would have been on the bench even more, and probably Winslow too. All that could have been overcome by better play from Wisconsin down the stretch, but don't assume that officiating didn't have a direct impact on how that game played out (who was able to be on the floor in the final minutes, possessions, etc).
The worst thing Bo Ryan could have done though is exactly what he did - complain about the officiating. I think nationally it would have been discussed plenty, but instead the morning headlines are about him being a sore loser and people are changing their tune, saying that Wisconsin got what they deserved. And to that point, while Wisconsins may not have gotten calls the usually do get, I still wanted to see a cleanly officiated game for the national championship. The fact that the storyline today is officiating and not the play on the court itself, isn't what any of us want.
Seems like people are changing their tune now, based on Bo's response. At the end of the day, I wanted officiating to be a non-story in the national championship game - which sadly it wasn't.
However, I think that Wisconsin did get the short end of the stick, and by a decent margin, last night. Not just the foot on the line or the tipped ball, but also calls and non-calls. There were so many plays that I'm certain would have been fouls 95% of the time in any other game. Okafor would have been on the bench even more, and probably Winslow too. All that could have been overcome by better play from Wisconsin down the stretch, but don't assume that officiating didn't have a direct impact on how that game played out (who was able to be on the floor in the final minutes, possessions, etc).
The worst thing Bo Ryan could have done though is exactly what he did - complain about the officiating. I think nationally it would have been discussed plenty, but instead the morning headlines are about him being a sore loser and people are changing their tune, saying that Wisconsin got what they deserved. And to that point, while Wisconsins may not have gotten calls the usually do get, I still wanted to see a cleanly officiated game for the national championship. The fact that the storyline today is officiating and not the play on the court itself, isn't what any of us want.
Seems like people are changing their tune now, based on Bo's response. At the end of the day, I wanted officiating to be a non-story in the national championship game - which sadly it wasn't.
