Jay Bilas has spent most of the college basketball season ripping officials to shreds—and deservedly so. As it stands now, the game is borderline unwatchable. On Thursday night, in two separate basketball games, officials took more than eight minutes to sort out technical fouls. That’s both unnecessary and absolutely ridiculous. Additionally, refs have ruined the game with the block-charge call, rewarding lazy defensive players for sliding in at the last second.
But that’s not what got Bilas riled up last night. His issue was an “all eyes on me” ref calling an over-the-back on Ohio State’s Sam Thompson in a game against Maryland. In short, the ref punishes Thompson for being athletic and jumping over another player. That’s the only plausible explanation here.
And sure, this wasn’t actually the worst call in the history of basketball—but who cares, I’m down with Bilas’ use of hyperbole. If it gets somebody to address the myriad of issues plaguing college basketball then yes, “worst call ever” is more than appropriate.
