NCAA Allows Referee to Officiate Consecutive Gonzaga NCAAT Games

[Spanarkel]

Not sure how it happened, but official Jeff Clark was allowed to referee consecutive NCAAT games involving Gonzaga this season(3/16 vs. S. Dakota St. and 3/18 vs. Northwestern). The NCAAT is a multi-billion dollar event, so funding shouldn't be an issue. There weren't blizzard conditions in Salt Lake City from 3/16-18 preventing different referees from reaching the arena. Usually the officiating crew has at least one replacement ref on site for injury/illness situations. I'm not saying this referee's presence aided Gonzaga in any way/shape/form, although the non-goal tending call and subsequent T on Coach Collins in the Gonzaga-Northwestern game were notable events. I wouldn't think this situation(same referee officiates consective games of the same team)would generally be allowed even in high school competition. Any thoughts? Thanks!

http://natstat.com/mbb/officials/jeff-clark

[MChambers]

But the refereeing in the Gonzaga NU game was awful. All the news was on the missed goaltend and ensuing tech on Collins, but the officiating was bad the whole game.

[Troublemaker]

First, let's establish that this is unusual. I don't know that it is.

[Blue KevIL]

Officials advance in the Tournament also.
Of the initial group of 12 officials at a tourney site in the Round of 64, only the best 6 will advance to the Round of 32.
The first weekend, it is very likely that referees may work the same team twice in those two games.

This is not unusual.

According to http://phillyref.com/basketball/postseasonmen.html there were 13 instances of refs being assigned to the same team twice in the first weekend of the 2017 Tournament.

Jeff Clark - Gonzaga
Ron Groover - Arizona
Gregory Nixon - Wisconsin
Paul Szelc - Notre Dame
Brian O'Connell - Kentucky
Earl Walton - Purdue
Larry Scirotto - Florida
Timothy Clougherty - Florida State
Terry Oglesby - Oregon
William Covington Jr. - Oregon
Verne Harris - Cincinnati
Lee Cassell - Cincinnati
Joseph Lindsay - USC

[Blue KevIL]

But the refereeing in the Gonzaga NU game was awful. All the news was on the missed goaltend and ensuing tech on Collins, but the officiating was bad the whole game.

None of the three officials (Chris Rastatter, Jeff Clark, Brent Hampton) advanced to the next round.

[kAzE]

First, let's establish that this is unusual. I don't know that it is.

There definitely has been an unusual amount of bad officiating in this tournament in my opinion. A TON of games have been poorly officiated, and many of them were decided by bad calls down the stretch. John Higgins' family is still getting death threats from UK fans (that's not a joke). It's been a weird tournament.

[niveklaen]

There definitely has been an unusual amount of bad officiating in this tournament in my opinion. A TON of games have been poorly officiated, and many of them were decided by bad calls down the stretch. John Higgins' family is still getting death threats from UK fans (that's not a joke). It's been a weird tournament.

I think he was asking whether reffing for the same team twice is unusual - turns out that it is not.

[Reilly]

First, let's establish that this is unusual ...

Lenny Wirtz or Dick Paparo refereed every Duke game for my four undergrad years, it seems.

(I don't recall it being discussed on this board that Lenny died in the fall of 2013 -- might've been and it just escapes my recall. Here's a short item about him: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/john-erardi/2014/04/06/erardi-lenny-wirtz-officiated-witnessed-history/7397157/)

[Tom B.]

None of the three officials (Chris Rastatter, Jeff Clark, Brent Hampton) advanced to the next round.

Not surprising. After the obvious botched call on the goaltend by Gonzaga, I assumed that would be the end of that crew's Tournament.

[DU82]

Lenny Wirtz or Dick Paparo refereed every Duke game for my four undergrad years, it seems.

(I don't recall it being discussed on this board that Lenny died in the fall of 2013 -- might've been and it just escapes my recall. Here's a short item about him: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/john-erardi/2014/04/06/erardi-lenny-wirtz-officiated-witnessed-history/7397157/)

I missed that news about Lenny. While we certainly complained about his reffing, I never felt he was biased. Dick or Karl, on the other hand...

(And thanks to -jk for starting the great "Richard, you suck" cheer back in the day.)

[Duke76]

I missed that news about Lenny. While we certainly complained about his reffing, I never felt he was biased. Dick or Karl, on the other hand...

(And thanks to -jk for starting the great "Richard, you suck" cheer back in the day.)

I guess the real question is did the refs from the Duke USC game advance to the next round? i don't think so?

[Spanarkel]

I guess the real question is did the refs from the Duke USC game advance to the next round? i don't think so?

Mike Reed officiated the unc-UK game. Still searching for an appearance of David Hall or Doug Sirmons after the Duke-South Carolina game.

[Blue KevIL]

Mike Reed officiated the unc-UK game. Still searching for an appearance of David Hall or Doug Sirmons after the Duke-South Carolina game.

Sirmons did the Kansas-Purdue game.

Hall did the CBI quarterfinal between UMKC & Wyoming on 3/20.