NCAA Officials in Hot Waters as College Basketball Community Stand Unified Against Florida’s Comeback Against Texas

“I hope they don’t f— you like they f—-d us.” Since Dan Hurley gave out this warning about NCAA officials to Baylor players after his own team’s March Madness elimination, the criticism around the referees has seen an increase. From men’s Florida vs. Maryland to the women’s LSU Tigers and NC State Wolfpack, social media has been flooded with outrage. The Gators, who have been caught in the crosshairs twice already, seem to have hit the trifecta now!

The team to confirm its No.1 seeding in the last game of the conference tourney is now the first team to make it to Final Four. The Florida Gators edged out Texas Tech in the final minutes of a complete back-and-forth game to take home the win 84-79 at the Chase Center. Unfortunately, that wasn’t without bumps. Claims of unnecessary calls by referees piled up as Todd Golden’s team battled it out for the first ticket since 2014.

According to reports, the final seconds of the game featured some “questionable decision-making” after Texas Tech’s foul just before a 10-second violation may have been called on the Gators. On top of that, the game was tight most of the way, with neither team able to build a lead of more than 6 points for the first 30 minutes.

While Texas Tech capitalized on turnovers and second-chance points, Florida repeatedly got to the foul line. Gators guard, Walter Clayton Jr. got fouled twice on 3-pointers early in the second half, which led to 5 points on the 6 foul shots. The referees were accused of allowing literal ‘basket interference’ by giving the Gators the 5 points, despite the Texas Tech defender being not close to Clayton Jr. With Elijah Hawkins called for 2 phantom fouls, and the Refs reversing a call that was already reviewed, an impression was created that something was just not right.

This now marks the 3rd March Madness game in which the Florida Gators were involved, and the game was accused of displaying biased officiating. During the UConn-Florida matchup in the 2nd round of March Madness, Dan Hurley’s team had committed 21 fouls to Florida’s 17. However, they shot 19-of-22 from the line compared to the Gators’ 22-of-34- numbers. If Dan Hurley wasn’t already upset enough about the loss, then the calls just made him angry.

Later, during the Gators’ game against the Maryland Terrapins, the latter had 16 fouls to Florida’s 22. Throughout the game, fans took to social media, asking Todd Golden to fight for his players by getting into the referees’ faces.

Despite the alleged biased officiating and Derik Queen racking up fouls on Florida, the Gators took home the win. This time, however, after the Gators secured the win, fans weren’t willing to side with the squad as much as they did earlier.

Basketball fans criticize officiating during Florida-Texas Tech matchup

One social media user wrote, “The refs in this #Florida #Texastech game are horrible. The @NCAA has gotten awful in every sport. This is absurd.” Yikes!

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The criticism against the NCAA being bad “in every sport” may be a belief that might be gaining more traction. Back in 2017, a report by Miami University revealed that one of the biggest findings was that on average, college football referees were 10 percent less likely to throw discretionary flags. Not on everyone, but on teams more likely to go to the playoffs, or that have winning traditions.

Steve Sarkisian accused referees of bias back in December 2024. It was during a Texas-Georgia game after Texas got 8 penalties when the game just crossed halftime. More recently, reports of Kim Mulkey’s Lady Tigers receiving unfair calls ran rampant about 24 hours ago. There may not be a fixed pattern. However, the NCAA is not winning any favors with the claims of alleged bias.

One individual wrote, “You know the Refs specially the elite 8  are not supposed to decide this game it’s becoming bulls**t come on Refs let them play  !!!!!!!!”

Going by the breakdown, the calls were more in Florida’s favor and continuous in number. 15 foul calls were made in the first half itself. 19 more fouls followed in the 2nd half! Florida shot 25-27 (93%) on the foul line, while Texas just went 7-13 (54%).

One social media user wrote, “That last Texas Tech dunk was because of blatant moving screen…..all season @NCAA refs allowed moving screens.”

Unfortunately, no such claims have been made by officials from any of the 2 teams yet. With the game being a close one, fans would be looking for any moves that could count against Florida. Unfortunately, the NCAA itself is yet to confirm the presence of a moving screen in the final minutes.

One individual wrote, “Florida are getting absolutely bailed out by the refs. This should be a 10+ pt Texas Tech lead. Class NCAA. #MarchMadness”. Well, the Florida Gators opened as 6.5-point favorites against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Though Grant McCasland’s squad started with a 6-0 lead, it was given up when Florida rallied ahead 13-11. The battle remained as close as one could get. Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Haugh kept the Gators in the competition. However, the last-minute advantage to Clayton Jr. did help Florida seal the deal.

One social media user wrote, “I will die on this hill: NCAA Basketball refs call fouls like they get bored from not blowing their whistle. Let. Them. Play. #MarchMadness #NCAATournament”. The 34 fouls were certainly more than what one would usually expect to see in an NCAA game. However, at the same time, one has to believe that the NCAA officials know what they are doing. After all, these officials are evaluated after each round and advance to the next round based on their scores.

After the Sweet 16, the scores for Lee Cassell, Michael Greenstein, and Keith Kimbell did not meet the bar. As a result, all three were done for the tournament. The three officials in the Florida-Texas Tech game, Michael Irving, James Breeding, and Steven Anderson, were among those who were deemed good enough to advance to the Elite Eight. The Florida Gators will play in the Final Four for the first time since 2014. Their next opponents are still fighting it out in the Elite Eight stage to see who will reign supreme.