80-78: The Gutshot of Bad Officiating
by Adam Jacobi on Feb 17, 2010 12:23 AM CST
in Basketball
48 comments
As a fan of a team mired in the cellar of the Big Ten for three straight years and counting, it's been hard to get emotions worked up over losses these days; if I'm not going to spend time caring about Purdue holding Iowa to 40 points in 40 minutes, there probably aren't scenarios in which I care about any loss to any team ahead of Iowa in the standings (which includes every team whose name doesn't rhyme with Schlindiana or Ben's Freight).
And yet, watching Iowa's leads evaporate against Michigan--twice!--it's hard not to be infuriated at the manner in which the Hawkeyes dropped this contest, 80-78. While it's breaking no new intellectual ground to ever complain about the officiating in a game (particularly one worked by Ed Hightower and Ted Valentine), that's still clearly the story of the game tonight.
We're not stupid enough to think that Hightower and Valentine were somehow actively conspiring against Iowa; not only is Michigan plainly unworthy of a conspiratorial effort (see: not a tournament team), but that theory would require the supposition that the two men are actually capable of calling a good game and just choose not to. That's a fantasy.
Further, it's not the case that all the calls went against Iowa for the balance of the game. There were several calls that seemed to be a whistle just blown at random, and a good amount of them were in Iowa's favor. This is what happens in a Hightower/Valentine game.
When the endgame comes, however, one wants the reassurance that the game will, at the very least, be called in an even fashion, that one level of contact either is or isn't a foul on both sides of the court, and that Obvious Calls will be made instead of the all-too-common whistle-swallowing as time expires. Iowa got that in the first half when Aaron Fuller was hacked in the middle of attempting a last-second shot.
Iowa did not get that, however, at the end of regulation--and it cost them the game.
That's not to say that Michigan's comeback in the second half was all the referees' doing, mind you; far from it. DeShawn Sims DeServes credit for drawing the game back within two points on an unconscionable and-1 from Devan Bawinkel, who shouldn't be guarding Sims even if masked men have guns at the heads of sundry Bawinkel family members. Then, after Iowa funneled the ball to a 56% free throw shooter who hadn't been at the line all game long (we're looking at you, Cully Payne) with predictable results, Sims hit a contested three to tie the game with just seconds remaining. Those were Michigan's accomplishments alone.
And yet, there was Fuller driving to the basket with three seconds and ticking, and he seemed to draw contact from two Michigan players, all while Valentine did something other than blow the whistle. We'd have named the Michigan players, mind you, but the BTN didn't provide a single replay between the horn and the first overtime; by comparison, they showed Sims' three (complete with slow-motion and game clock) about seven hundred times. That's rather damning, considering the fact that a clean block on that play would have absolutely been the play of the game--even moreso than Sims' three-pointer immediately prior.
[UPDATE: Friend of the Pants Scott Dochterman says he didn't see a foul from the truck on the play, from multiple angles. If that's true, and we absolutely do not doubt his sincerity, the decision not to air replays is worse for a different reason. Everyone wants to see a game-deciding play more than once. What good does it do not to show it again if it's clean? Also, I'm just grumbly enough to call him a liar until tomorrow morning. Hmph.]
The overtime was equally inconsistent; Fuller drew two legitimate fouls early on that were correctly called, and the foul on Eric May's jumper in the paint late in the OT was a little dicey but not egregious. Still, Matt Gatens' shooting foul on Manny Harris in overtime was a joke--Gatens' hand wasn't anywhere near making undue contact with Harris on the play--and Gatens was denied a much easier call as he drove to the hoop late in the game with Iowa down three. And that was the game.
Credit must go to Fuller and Gatens even before their game-ending shots weren't properly called--they are our men of the match after both turning in their best performances of the season. Fuller had 30 points on 13 shots from the field (and only 11 attempted FTs), to say nothing of his 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, Gatens hit his first five three-pointers--often contested and off his own dribble--and turned in 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists on 13 shots. Fuller played 42 minutes, and Gatens all 45. They are the leaders of this team, succeeding in the face of the defenses' focus, and both deserve captaincy for next season.
At any rate, it was a far better game to watch than the first time Iowa faced Michigan; that was an abomination of the highest order. This, I suppose, is either a function of the game being at Carver or of Iowa's slow improvement. Probably both; the two are hardly mutually exclusive.
But we'll just point out one thing: last season's series between Iowa and Michigan were eerily similar, except Iowa won the overtime game when it was at Carver. The two teams met again in the BTT, and Michigan won by about 80 points. Don't be too quick to rule that out if the teams meet in the conference tourney again; the Wolverines are definitely more talented than the Hawkeyes. Improvement is not linear, after all.
Improvement is, however, dependent on a positive off-season, and Todd Lickliter simply hasn't had one yet. If this is the first, a +.500 season is to be expected next season. Roll your eyes if you must at that, but firing him instead isn't going to accelerate that curve one bit.
And fuck Ted Valentine.
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I got enough complaining about refs from Tim @mgoblog.
Ed Hightower and Ted Valentine are HORRIBLE refs, no matter if you’re winning or losing. I am amazed that they are allowed to call so many games when they are so bad at their jobs. Michigan played poorly. Both teams were aided by HORRIBLE calls.
Send Ed Hightower to the SEC. J Leman demands it.
by formerlyanonymous on Feb 17, 2010 12:41 AM CST reply actions
Send Ed Hightower to the SEC C-USA!
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Feb 17, 2010 11:57 AM CST up reply actions
I thought it was a foul
and I replayed it about 6 times after the fact. They got him with the body, no question.
For a meaningless game featuring two bottom feeders, I can’t believe I get so invested. Fuller was a beast, Gater played well, May’s block on Harris was awesome. We should have won. Also, I would take my chances with Sims on that last shot in regulation, it was good defense. The mooses’ foul on Sims seemed to be on the floor as well. If we would have hit the freebies at the end, we win.
I really do like this team. Even Brommicide played pretty well tonite; one of these days he’s going to finish a shot, or catch a pass, or looks like he knows what he’s doing. I thought he gave some good minutes tonight.
I guess I still care enough to be pissed about blowing this game; should have been a win. What’s sad is, I’m gonna miss not seeing this team for another 9 days.
Ok, it was a foul
Love “brommicide.” Clever!!!
Remember the days under Dr. Tom or Lute when we looked at the ncaa brackets at the end of the season and with some degree of reasonableness assumed scenarios in which IA could conceivably end up in the final four… That’s what i miss. Right now, not seeing this team for another nine days make my Prozac work more effectively! :)
Chupaun
I must be missing something, we never consistently had those type of teams at Iowa.
The last time I ever looked at the brackets and gave us a shot making the Final 4 was the year of the absolute shit-my-pants game that was Alford’s last NCAA team. After BJ, Marble and Horton left, we never had a reasonable chance. I truly believe that people’s view of Tom Davis teams have been totally warped by the years since. His last season was the first year that we made the sweet 16 since his 2nd (don’t forget the crapper we laid to NC State when the trio were seniors).
I remember alot of 7-10 seeds
It’s remarkable that Dr. Tom’s teams won all of those first-round games, but it seemed like they were always drawing second round games against Duke and Kentucky and getting smoked.
by telepathetic on Feb 17, 2010 10:07 AM CST up reply actions
Are we sure that picture
isn’t Todd Lickliter driving a piece of heavy machinery surrounded by tears?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
Okay, I admit
that I have not watched one minute of IOWA basketball this season for mental health reasons. Thankfully, I have WRESTLING for these winter months. But I have to ask:
Did Eddie (fuckin’ look at me) Hightower take his normal timeout to talk to a couple of opposing players and settle everything down for the cameras?
Life is hard. It's really hard if you're stupid.
This ref group is horrible, but saying the story of this game was the officiating is just wrong
The story was us completely giving the game away in the final seconds. With a five point lead and 22 seconds to go, there is absolutely no reason for that game to go to OT. None. This team and coaching staff continue to have absolutely no idea how to deal with close games, and it’s getting pretty frustrating.
For what it’s worth, I didn’t think Fuller was even fouled on that last shot from where I was sitting. I don’t think the Michigan guys really initiated contact, Fuller just kinda jumped into them. It’s also worth noting that allowing a little extra contact on last second plays like that is pretty standard, as most refs don’t want the game to come down to their call. Whether or not that’s the right thing to do is, I suppose, up to debate, but it’s not debatable that it’s pretty much standard operating procedure and not something unique to this particular game or group of officials. I’m sure Iowa has benefited from it in the past.
I agree that firing Lickliter after this season is not the answer...
but I really wish he stop complaining about the schedule after every loss. After the debacle at Purdue, he complained that Iowa was tired after 3 games in 7 days. After last night, he complained that they have 8 days off until the next game. But, rest would be good since they were so tired, right? He also sprinkled in another complaint about not having a practice facility, which is also senseless since everyone is aware of the situation. I’m sure he is feeling the heat but the excuses reflect poorly on him.
The team has improved recently and I think Lickliter deserves credit for that, but the excuses need to stop. I won’t name names, but a couple of prominent coaches whose programs have ranged from very good to excellent recently are not ones to complain about the schedule after every loss. Not that one of them has the word “loss” in his vocabulary.
Hawkeye fan, born and bred. And when I die, a Hawkeye dead.
He probably figures no one is listening to a word he has to say.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Feb 17, 2010 12:03 PM CST up reply actions
In that case...
Why doesn’t he use the voice of the Muppets’ Sweedish Chef?
“Orgitty, borgitty, morgitty, foul.”
“Borgitty, morgitty, orgitty, Ted and Ed can eat the peanuts out of my doo.”
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Feb 17, 2010 12:42 PM CST up reply actions
Has the AP just given up on sending photographers to Iowa games?
I mean, I don’t necessarily blame them, but…
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Huh?
I turned the game off at some point, thinking Iowa had it in the bag.
What? How?
"...there'll be some woman, maybe 45 or 50, she'll come up and give me a hug, and I'll give my wife a wink: See? I'm not that old." - Joe Paterno
Now really
You know better than that
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on Feb 17, 2010 4:45 PM CST up reply actions
Why can't you jerks do that in football?
"...there'll be some woman, maybe 45 or 50, she'll come up and give me a hug, and I'll give my wife a wink: See? I'm not that old." - Joe Paterno
by ReadingRambler on Feb 17, 2010 8:02 PM CST up reply actions
You don't say....
"...there'll be some woman, maybe 45 or 50, she'll come up and give me a hug, and I'll give my wife a wink: See? I'm not that old." - Joe Paterno
by ReadingRambler on Feb 17, 2010 10:46 PM CST up reply actions
I guess I'll cheer for Northern Iowa or something until this blows over in a decade.
"...there'll be some woman, maybe 45 or 50, she'll come up and give me a hug, and I'll give my wife a wink: See? I'm not that old." - Joe Paterno
by ReadingRambler on Feb 17, 2010 10:54 PM CST up reply actions
Bad as some of the late-game calls were...
Iowa’s inability to close out a game at the charity stripe was also a key contributor to this loss. We badly need someone besides Gatens to step up as a reliable free throw shooter so that they can’t just smother him out of the play at the end and force us to hope and pray that one of our 60%ish FT shooters will drain two key free throws. Ideally, that would be Payne, but… yeah, not so much.
I was also a little puzzled by some of the substitutions at the end, like bringing in Bawinkel. Brommer was, shockingly, playing fairly well last night… and I’d much rather have him around for defensive purposes than Bawinkel.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
This is spot on
I was pretty pissed off at the end of regulation with the foul that went uncalled. After that anger subsided, I thought about how poorly we were shooting the ball in the fourth quarter, and the fact that we should have fouled Michigan on that three point attempt. This is what happens when you have an inexperienced team though. Hopefully Lickliter will use the game film as a teachable moment for this squad.
They took the bar, the whole fucking bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Feb 17, 2010 11:30 AM CST up reply actions
Yep
When you have a 5-pt lead with 22 seconds left and lose, you can’t blame the refs.
by salparadise23 on Feb 17, 2010 11:43 AM CST up reply actions
Yeah because when you really don't want to foul, Brommer is the guy to have in there.
(I know what you mean, I’m just giving you shit)
Would you believe...
…the moon is not made of cheese?
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Feb 17, 2010 12:06 PM CST up reply actions
I wouldn’t believe it isn’t not made of cheese…
MORE ZAZZ! I DEMAND MORE ZAZZ!
by Bucketochicken on Feb 17, 2010 1:26 PM CST up reply actions
I only caught parts of the game but the refs were horrible. One play, May played great defense, cut his man off towards the baseline, UM player just jumped out of bounds and Hightower calls a foul on May. Another part was Hightower spending a whole timeout talking to Coach Lickliter about his shitty calls and then the time was up.
Why does Iowa not foul when up 3 with less than 8-10 seconds left? I know there are arguments for and against this type of play but I can only remember a few instances off hand where this backfired compared to a million other where the 3 goes in to tie.
I believe Indiana pulled this off in Bloomington against Iowa earlier in 00s but usually the player misses the first FT or the rim on the intentional miss.
Why did Iowa not attempt a 3 at the end of OT? Lickliter said he was looking for an And One call even after the refs had sucked?
Down, 78-75 with 16.5 seconds left, Gatens had a layup attempt blocked with 4.9 left. They needed three and went for two.
"We thought we still had time to lay it in," Lickliter said. "If he lays it in and gets fouled, three the old fashioned way and we’re in good shape."
Even if the Gatens 2 point shot goes in, 5 seconds is not much time in college basketball to get a good look at a 3 on another possession and it allows Michigan the opportunity to foul. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20 but those 2 plays stand out as ones that can be labeled as questionable.
What is up with Lick and Cougill? Iowa forward Brennan Cougill was a DNP coach’s decision. When asked if Cougill was hurt, Lickliter said maybe his feelings.
Fuller was a beast and Gatens has improved his play. Those are 2 building blocks that give fans a small sliver of hope.
http://gazetteonline.com/blogs/on-iowa/2010/02/16/scrappy-there-winny-not
"You taught me a lesson, I was going to give someone the benefit of doubt, and I almost did, then something said, no don't, don't, its not for you, its not my thing" Larry David,
Two reasons for this
but I can only remember a few instances off hand where this backfired compared to a million other where the 3 goes in to tie.
1) Confirmation bias. Significant events are more likely to be remembered. (As it happens, I can bring up one from just last weekend where the pre-shot hack actually led to a four-pointer: FT, intentional miss, tip-in, and-1.)
2) Most teams don’t foul, thus there are far more instances for a 3-pointer attempted than for the FT play.
As a general rule, I think fouling makes sense in very late situations (under 5 seconds), but not when there’s any more than that (especially if you’re fouling a good shooter): they just make both, hack you, and your best-case scenario is to repeat what you just did – and if you don’t get it to a good shooter and he misses one, suddenly it’s a 2-point game.
We play a Hightower drinking game
I mean, you know the officiating is going to be bad, why not drink to numb the pain?
2 drinks for every terrible call. It is a wonder that any of Hammer and Rails’ readers survive.
Hammer and Rails
The only Purdue blog at that web address.
One sip per terrible call would get you plastered
Two drinks … are you folks on a first name basis with the detox staff at the local hospital?
Just what we need
Another player getting in Lick’s doghouse, then Lick proceeding to play mental games with him until said player transfers. Cougill could take a dump on Lickliter’s carpet, do his wife, then eat Lil’ John for breakfast and it would be less of a crime than what Brommer does to the game of basketball every time he steps on the court.
by south_texas_hawk on Feb 17, 2010 11:34 AM CST reply actions
There is nothing that builds the confidence of a young basketball player
more than playing him inconsistently or occasionally not at all, and then telling the press that your rotations are really good right now, even though you just lost a game you should have won..oh, and and the best part is not really having any “rotations,” other than those of a roulette wheel with players names instead of numbers that you spin before the game. I’m assuming last night Cougill was listed where 0 and 00 usually are usually.
I think we are entering David Palmer time of the year. Should be a fun stretch run. Lickliter doing his level best to twist everyone’s head like a pretzel. Some fun Vegas-like odds:
Odds of transfer at end of season:
Cougill 5-1
Brommer 7-1
Fuller 12-1
Payne 25-1
May 25-1
Gatens 75-1
Cole 100-1
Lickliter Jr. NL
Odds of Devon Archie never seeing the court at Iowa 12-1
Odds of Lickliter being fired before next season 15-1
Odds of Lickliter resigning before next season 10-1
Over/under on number of games from now until Iowa’s next turnstile capacity home crowd – 25 games
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
I read about the "rotations" in the Gazette
Here is the link to the article.
We all know that The Dessert Fox isn’t the greatest at defense, but I would take his pick and popsicles over Brommer’s brick laying.
"You don't become a Hawkeye fan, You're born with Black and Gold in your veins." - Me
by BStylin Hawkye on Feb 17, 2010 1:00 PM CST up reply actions
How did he get that nickname?
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Feb 17, 2010 1:40 PM CST up reply actions
A young, over matched team needs mind games from a coach that can not produce a winning team in 3 seasons? Good Grief. I could not stand the way Alford messed with player’s heads and had a quick hook with young players.
Stoops, I have disagreed with some of your analysis and I apologize for some of my snark ass comments in the past but as a basketball coach, I do agree with your way of thinking.
My money would be on Cougill and Brommer to likely bolt. Fuller should stay but how could you blame him if he did leave? I hope that I am wrong because he showed some elite Big 10 ballin.
Barta is going to ride this out because he will not want to admit that he messed up this hire. It is a natural reaction and I see it all the time in the Corporate world. Bad managers and employees are kept on longer than they should because those that hire them do not want to take public responsibility for the decision to hire them in the first place.
This sad state of Iowa hoops is not all Lickliter’s fault but at some point the buck should stop with him. Year 4? Year 5? Can Iowa make the tourney by Year 6? Honestly, I have no idea. I strongly believe that prolonging this inevitable disaster is throwing good money after bad and at some point, you have to stop the bleeding.
I understand that others think best option for program is just hoping Lickliter can get to a .500 level with new players next season and provide fans some optimism to build from. I am sympathetic to that view and hell, everyone wants to Iowa win or we wouldnt spend time on ranting on fan blogs! : ) I have done my part by following Roy Marble Jr on Twitter and sending him encouraging tweets. http://twitter.com/DMarble4 Yes, Im patting myself on the back.
UVA fired their head coach Dave Leitao after 4 seasons and hired Wash State’s Tony Bennett. UVA went from the worst team in the ACC to the upper division this year.
It is somewhat apples to oranges because of facilities/players and it does not mean Iowa would have the same exact turn around or Bennett will sustain success with his own players but it does display that it can be done quicker than some Hawkeyes fans expect. UVA is no ACC basketball powerhouse.
"You taught me a lesson, I was going to give someone the benefit of doubt, and I almost did, then something said, no don't, don't, its not for you, its not my thing" Larry David,
As a UVa alum
It is definitely not a case of apples and oranges. First of all, you’d need Ohio State to be swooning like UNC and Michigan State to be more unstable in conference like Duke to even get a similar sense of what’s up in the ACC this year. It’s easier to step up when others are lending a hand by choking. Second, UVa has more and better players than Iowa.
And while Virginia hasn’t been a powerhouse in a while, they were the conference regular season champions in 2007 and have a respectable tournament history through the 80s and 90s.
I think the play I'm most upset about was the inbound to Cully toward the end of regulation
It didn’t appear to me there was even an attempt to go the way of Gatens (granted I never saw a replay or anything). I mean why would you want to go with the best FT shooter in the Big Ten, I know I’d rather have a 57% shooting PG coming off a 2 for 8 night not to long ago, shooting my clutch FTs.
It's not that I'm lazy, Bob, it's that I just don't care
You know what else cost Iowa the game?
Payne and Fuller both missing free throws down the stretch, Bawinkel fouling Sims (I don’t care if Devan thought he got him on the floor, just let him lay it in), not getting defensive rebounds late in the game and in overtime, and not fouling Novak.
Stop blaming the officials. They didn’t help the cause any last night, but Iowa was doing a fine job of pissing that one down their leg all by themselves.
Yep. Valentine and Hightower make Earl Hebner look neutral.
Twitter: @scrappled
"When it’s third-and-10, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time" - Max McGee
by Run Up The Score on Feb 17, 2010 8:17 PM CST reply actions
Didja watch Purdue-OSU?
Painter was angry at a horrible call, Valentine got up in his business instead of t’ing him up like a normal ref, and Jim Jackson said “YOU DON’T MESS WITH TEDDY V”.
Note to Jim Jackson: you’re playing his game. Hightower, et al love the spotlight.
"...there'll be some woman, maybe 45 or 50, she'll come up and give me a hug, and I'll give my wife a wink: See? I'm not that old." - Joe Paterno
by ReadingRambler on Feb 17, 2010 10:48 PM CST up reply actions
Ed is at least as bad
What other ref has managed to get a picture like this on national TV?
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