Refereeing is part science, part art and, almost always, highly nuanced. Frequently, one athlete’s block is another’s charge. One team’s hacking is another’s “light contact.”
The hope, always, is that the referees do not take center stage in a championship game. But in Sunday’s N.C.A.A. women’s final, the whistles incessantly blew and both Iowa and Louisiana State had players in foul trouble throughout the game, which was won by the Tigers. Iowa star Caitlyn Clark’s fourth foul came on a technical foul for throwing the ball away, which seemed awfully questionable for such a big moment, despite the explanation from a referee after the game that Iowa’s bench had been warned previously for delaying the game by not quickly getting the ball back to officials.
As Connecticut and San Diego State University made their final adjustments before Monday night’s men’s championship, a part of each team’s final scouting report will cover, at least for a few minutes, the tendencies of the referees.
This is routine for teams, several coaches said during earlier rounds of this…
