Officiating is simply inept and inconsistent now. One cannot begin to predict what will and what won't be called. The freshman big for oswho had a drive to the basket where he blatantly arm-barred the OU defender to ward him off but the defender drew the whistle. He was shocked, showing the arm that the oswho big had extended, but of course to no avail.
In the women's game tonight, there was a call where an OU defender was set while the ISU player drove to the basket. Absolutely set. Flat-footed, and for two or three steps on the part of the Cyclone player, who plowed right into the Sooner defender. There was simply no defense for the call. A near-sighted six-year-old would have gotten it right.
Toby was shocked that Godwin drew his fifth foul from the bench. He said he's been around him plenty, that he was probably the nicest guy in the arena and that he's never even heard him curse. These officials now seem to look for trouble. Again, Moore deserved his, although why not give him a warning? And perhaps Oweh deserved his too, but what could Sam have said from the bench that necessitated or even justified that call? Toby and Kevin said at one point that they thought the officials needed a time-out (and I took it to mean the kind of time-out one gives a three-year-old). They said they just seemed rattled and a bit out of control. I think it's a fair assessment. Toby and Kevin both noted that yes, the game was physical but not nearly as bad as other games they'd seen this season. The officials just seemed to be over-reacting much of the time. It just wasn't all that chippy.