How did we Lose??????

[Paesano]

There are alot of fans in this thread who have made some very good points however UConn had 3 starters with 4 fouls ND none. There ND could play aggressive because UConn could not take a chance on fouling out. This just doesnt happen until the FF and thus UConn fought and continued to make come backs but when you cant play defense on dribble drives and have to let opponents have the lane its almost impossible to win Thats what hurt UConn. It is unfortunate but the refs called it that way. I wouldve liked to see Z play more she was terrific but I would expect the same thing to happen to her foul trouble. I watched SNY special last nite about UConns season and I have to tell you I disagree with some of what was said. If UConn didnt have 3 starters with 4 fouls or UConn had a more dependable bench imo UConn most likely wouldve won. Its a damm shame for a team that doesnt get into foul trouble.

Yep, it was some magic sauce that Muffet used. Turned a non-fouling team into a fouling team AND it enabled a team to "play aggressive defense" without fouling. Magic. The girls need to learn to adjust to magic. We need a go-to player that can block those magic spells.

 

[BostonCanuck]

There are alot of fans in this thread who have made some very good points however UConn had 3 starters with 4 fouls ND none. There ND could play aggressive because UConn could not take a chance on fouling out. This just doesnt happen until the FF and thus UConn fought and continued to make come backs but when you cant play defense on dribble drives and have to let opponents have the lane its almost impossible to win Thats what hurt UConn. It is unfortunate but the refs called it that way. I wouldve liked to see Z play more she was terrific but I would expect the same thing to happen to her foul trouble. I watched SNY special last nite about UConns season and I have to tell you I disagree with some of what was said. If UConn didnt have 3 starters with 4 fouls or UConn had a more dependable bench imo UConn most likely wouldve won. Its a damm shame for a team that doesnt get into foul trouble.

I will say this. After re-watching the game, I now feel that the foul situation was probably the most significant factor (out of a handful of problematic issues during that game) that contributed to the loss for UConn. To the point where I'm now going to have to watch again to assess whether the quality of the officiating really was as bad as many here (including me) seem to think.

 

[Papa33]

Look, I get some of you are pure basketball fans and don't want to believe the game is flawed. Sorry, it is flawed. Refs are human and biased.

A principle called Hanlon's Razor has been expressed thus: “”Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity/incompetence." Refs, being as human as players and coaches, get out of position, miss fouls or "see" non-existent fouls, etc. However, I have not seen a provable instance of "bias." That would be a conscious, deliberate, and how does one assume or prove a ref guilty of that kind of malfeasance? It is too easy to utter the accusations.

What I have seen often— and very often in games featuring drives to the basket— is serious confusion by refs about blocking/charging calls, and drivers who seek and initiate contact with defenders who are penalized simply for occupying space they are entitiled to. Those are the calls that can turn a game around, and there are simply too many of them.

 

[Drivefor12]

How'd UCONN lose? to be fair, the team didn't play as well on Defense as they normally can. They also were very tentative on the offensive end at times, and made some bad mental errors and committed a few turnovers that just can't happen. There were also a couple of headscratching coaching moves. I will also give ND credit for the good things they did, but the bottom line is that officiating also had a huge impact, as others have said. To discount that is really to be unfair, in my opinion.

I don't believe there was a conspiracy, but the calls were decidedly against UCONN. The 4th on Samuelson, which I had a great view of from my seat, was one of the worst calls I've seen. There was bias, whether that was in favor of ND or against UCONN I can't say, but it doesn't matter. The result is the same. 23-6 in attempts in a game UCONN loses by 2.

The really painful truth, however, is also that regardless of all the Ref BS that went on, and it did go on, especially in the UCONN game, both UCONN and MS had chances for the game winning shot and missed. ND had some help from the stripes, but at the end of the day, ND made the final shot in each game.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

The charge/block call should be simple! When the offensive player lowers her shoulder, leaping into the defense driving to the basket that has to be a charge! ND drove to the basket, lowering their shoulder and driving INTO the defensive player, and the refs called UCONN for the block every time! Getting Gabby, KLS, and Kia to play with 4 fouls each and rendering them defenseless to the ND 4th period drives to the basket!
ND has a history of driving into the defense on layups and flopping backwards on defense and the refs let them get away with it, especially inexperienced refs as the 3 that called the UCONN vs ND semi! It made a major difference in the outcome! More experienced refs might have known that ND does that and call that differently!

 

[HuskyNan]

Enough complaining about the refs