Despite a torrent of close games and strange plays, all occurring
under greater-than-ever media scrutiny, the referees in the NCAA
tournament are getting it right most of the time, their boss said.
"We've
had 52 games, and I think we're really only talking about plays in two
or three of the games," John Adams, NCAA supervisor of officials, said
Tuesday. "I would tell you I'm very pleased so far. We always strive to
get all of them right in every game, and we'll keep trying to do that."
Adams
says he was caught "a little off-balance" by the speed and volume of
reaction by media outlets during the first full weekend of the
tournament, particularly after controversial endings of the
Pittsburgh-Butler and Texas-Arizona games.
"I don't think the
Pitt-Butler game was over five minutes before my cell started going off
with everybody wanting to know what we thought of the end of the game,"
he said. "I probably got texts and e-mails from 10 or 20 media sources
within five or 10 minutes.
"I can't remember this many games over
the course of the six days that were so close and came down to the last
minute of play. Everybody's focus gets a little sharper, whether it's
fans, coaches or media. The last minute seems to be what everybody
remembers."
The Pitt-Butler game ended after two foul calls in
the final 1.5 seconds that some critics have said should not have been
called.
"All year long, we've asked the officials to enforce the
rules as written," Adams said. "A foul is a foul. If it's a foul in the
first minute, it's a foul in the last minute."
It wasn't the Pitt-Butler game or the Texas-Arizona games, though, that had Adams admitting an officiating error.
Adams
said in a statement issued by the NCAA that a backcourt violation
should not have been called against Syracuse in the last minute of a
tie game Sunday. The ball was awarded to Marquette, which hit a
three-pointer and went on to win 66-62.
