“I hope they don’t f**k you like they f**ked us”. Dan Hurley’s warning to Baylor players a few days ago highlighted the frustration he had developed against on-court officials. Throughout the game, examples had risen of calls not going the UConn Huskies’ way, including when Alex Karaban drove the baseline and missed a layup amid heavy contact and well, no whistle. Only a day later, reports emerged of alleged ‘unnecessary’ foul calls against Azzi Fudd.

All of these incidents surrounding officiating seemed to be unrelated and isolated. Unfortunately, it does not help that fans of a 3rd NCAA team are now dissatisfied with the refs. But this time, they aren’t the only ones on the receiving end of the heat.

During the game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Florida Gators, the latter led 58-49 with 12:54 remaining in the 2nd half. While the Gators were pulling out all stops during this crucial matchup, their opponents were receiving some alleged added benefit. Several of the calls, throughout the game, went in Maryland’s favor.

As reported by OnlyGators, Maryland was able to go on a 21-7 scoring stretch to jump ahead 30-27 as the Gators continuously coughed up the ball and committed fouls. By the time the game was over, the Terrapins had 16 fouls to Florida’s 22.

As Michael Scott would say, “Well, well, well, how the turntables.” After all, it was only a few days ago when the narrative was that the referees were allegedly biased FOR Florida, not against. During the UConn-Florida matchup, Dan Hurley’s team had committed 21 fouls to Florida’s 17. Yet, they shot 19-of-22 from the line compared to Gators’ 22-of-34- numbers. If Dan Hurley wasn’t already upset enough about the loss, then the calls just made him angry. But he did smooth things over later.

“Those are three great officials on that game, although I said something in the heat of the moment,” Hurley confessed. But while coaches have often withdrawn from blaming it all on the officials, do not expect the same from the fans. 

Todd Golden’s squad was on its way to win its ninth consecutive game to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2017. In the process, they’d out-rebound the No.4 Maryland, who had entered as the sixth-ranked defensive team in the country. The bench showed up, too, for 29 points. The Gators were going all in on the efforts. “That’s who we are. That’s our DNA,” Todd told TBS after the game, where his team had managed to overcome 13 first-half turnovers.

But before the victory was theirs, fans weren’t overtly thrilled with the journey. As calls piled up, Golden’s coaching came under question.

Basketball fans ask Todd Golden to take a stance against referees

One social media user highlighted his criticism by writing, “Todd Golden needs to get in those refs faces. If they continue calling bogus fouls for Maryland, they’re practically going to hand the game to the Terps. #NCAATournament #Gators #Terps.”

Florida had a couple of lapses during the first-half. As highlighted by Jeff Eisenberg, Todd Golden’s team blew a chance to hold for the last shot by inbounding the ball too quickly. It was followed by an upsetting turnover, which also happened to be their 13th of the half. As a result, the Gators missed an opportunity to take a multi-possession lead and momentum into halftime. The fact that any referee calls would be breaking the team’s momentum during this crucial stage only added to the fans’ frustrations.

One individual wrote, “I really wish Todd Golden would use his timeouts more often.” Fortunately, timeouts were being called, but Golden did not need to make them. After all, Maryland called a timeout after Florida began the second half on a 10-4 run to take a 50-42 lead. Florida held the advantage and did not want to break the momentum even if players on the court were allegedly getting disrupted by too many foul calls.

One social media user wrote, “Todd Golden should get tossed for how bad a whistle they’re getting in a f**king sweet 16 game. These are the best NCAA has to offer and they are utter f**king garbage.” Not sure about tossing Golden considering he led his team to a 87-71 victory, but the opinion on refs, a few would agree.

As reported by ‘The Washington Post’ journalists Des Bieler, Candace Buckner, and Adam Kilgore, some of the calls did not seem to make sense. “If BYU big man Keba Keita truly wanted to commit a flagrant foul, Alabama’s Chris Youngblood would probably be getting carted off the court right now. Unnecessary? Maybe.”

One individual made a major accusation against Todd Golden by writing, “Todd Golden couldn’t care less if the Gators were any more careless with the basketball. Call a timeout. The entire roster is shook on the court right now.” 

The players would have certainly been shaken amidst these fouls and turnovers. However, Golden had faith in his team. Furthermore, he was utilizing bench roles more than the rival team. This is why, with a little over 3 minutes remaining, the Terps had zero points, zero rebounds, and zero shot attempts from their bench. Meanwhile, Florida’s reserves have 26 points and 11 rebounds. One cannot understand Golden’s lack of timeouts. However, he ensured bench players covered for the starters and kept the offensive momentum going.

One social media user wrote “@GatorsMBK best team. Worst coach. Todd Golden looks helpless against Maryland.”

Sure, Todd Golden made some major misses during the game. However, he also stood up for his players when needed. One example includes Todd Golden calling for a double-dribble after Julian Reese’s up-and-under baseline drive. The replay confirmed that he was right. Furthermore, it was not as if Maryland also wasn’t having a hard night vis-à-vis referee calls.

Terps’ Ja’Kobi Gillespie had fouled out. A flagrant foul was called on Maryland’s Julian Reese, who got tangled up with Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu while battling for a rebound. This reportedly led to a four-point possession for the Gators. They ended up leading 74-57 with under eight minutes to go. However, it was also easy for those calls to get overshadowed when Derik Queen racked up fouls on Florida. Then again, with Florida’s win, it is all a matter of the past now.

The Florida Gators will next face either Texas Tech or Arkansas in the tough fight for the Final Four.