Great Win...in spite of the Refs

[X-Fan]

I really liked how we basically dominated this game throughout. While UMass did get within 5 near the end, it was simply the culmination of the officials efforts to get UMass back into the game. I normally think that officiating is decent, but it has been very bad in A10 play, and especially in this game.

- The Ref not moving his a$$ out of Browns way on that steal
- NO Technical Foul call on Ford when he bounced the ball out of bounds (What is up with that?)
- Countless phantom foul calls in the favor of UMass

In any case, if X shoots better from the line, we would have won by 20 points at least.

What I liked:
- Our Defense. They played great...especially Stanley and D. Brown who was all over the passing lanes and his man
- Our patience on offense. While we didn't always score, I liked that we weren't forcing 3-point shots
- Our growing confidence on the road. We came out very level headed and handled their business. Methodically growing a solid lead and keeping it for the most part.

What I didn't like:
- Graves and Jackson disappearing act. They each only played four minutes, according to the box score (I thought they played more), because they made bad decisions and hurt our offense and defense. Graves continues to have poor shot selection, and the Jackson we saw in the UD game was still at the Cintas.
- Movement on offense. X had MANY opportunities to put this game away in the second half and they froze on offense. Too much dribbling and not enough movement.
- Our FT shooting. A down game for sure, but that cannot continue.
- The Refs. Very poor. Inexcusable.

Great wins like this help a team establish an identity on the road. Get some rest guys because after LaSalle, we have a TOUGH stretch. Let's keep it going!

[joebba]

I agree totally X-fan. Good post.

[xumadman]

I haven't seen a game officiated that bad in a long time. Very poor job by the refs.

[LA Muskie]

I haven't seen a game officiated that bad in a long time. Very poor job by the refs.

Oh, there have been much, much worse. They were bad, but that's just A-10 officiating on the road. We'll benefit from bad A-10 officiating this year as well, I'm sure. (Not that we need it.)

[GBXU]

The no call on Ford's little hissy fit with the ball is inexcusable. Travis even knew what he did was wrong, he was saying "My bad" to the official before he even got over there. T him up!

[LA Muskie]

The no call on Ford's little hissy fit with the ball is inexcusable. Travis even knew what he did was wrong, he was saying "My bad" to the official before he even got over there. T him up!

This is a topic on the other board as well. I really can't believe the #1 thing that people are complaining about when it comes to officiating is something that didn't even happen on the Court. That is such a non-issue.

The officiating was bad because:
1. One of the officials couldn't get the hell out of Brown's way
2. They got carried away with offensive foul calls, but only in one direction
3. They got carried away with "pushing" fouls on loose balls, but only in one direction
4. They got carried away with "pushing" and over-the-back fouls on rebounding, but only in one direction

Still, the officiating wasn't nearly the worst we've seen, or likely will see going forward.

A-10 officiating: You don't gotta love it, but you've gotta beat it.

[bleedXblue]

Gotta jump in on this one.

Worst officiating I've seen in along, long time.

It was obvious that they were trying to get Umass back on the game.

X should demand that the A-10 look into it.

[XLFan]

Officials were bad, but if XU looks to take action with A-10, then the program looks like a bunch of whiners. Drop it and move onto the next game.

[mhettel]

I gotta totally agree with the comments about the refs. Some of those calls were absolutely crazy.

42 fouls today, which is alot to say the least. 32 turnovers, and not many of them due to steals.

Some of the over-the-back calls were so bad, followed by REAL over the back plays that went uncalled.

What aggravates me is that it almost cost us the game. We handled those guys and barely got out of there with a win.

Absolutely terrible.

[muskieman]

We have seen the one Afro-American ref before and he is one of the worst coaches in the A-10(and not getting out of D Brown way was just a sample of his problems) but then with the amount they pay refs it is likely we will not get many that are outstanding refs and they even make terrible mistakes.