The Georgia Bulldogs got hosed. Period. The Cinderella story that captured the hearts of America last week in the SEC Tournament came to a premature close this morning in the first round of the NCAA Tourney. The Bulldogs overcame a tornado and a double-header game (let’s play two!) to win the SEC Tournament and receive the automatic bid to the Big Dance last week. The result of their 3 wins in 30 hours and 4 wins in 4 days (Georgia had only managed 4 SEC League wins ALL SEASON) was a 14-seed and a matchup with Xavier in the first round.
Georgia jumped out to an early lead and had an 11-point advantage with just over 12 minutes left to play in the second half. That’s when the officiating decided to affect the outcome of the game. Every single drive to the basket by Xavier was met with tenacious interior defense and yet the whistles kept blowing. Clean block after clean block called fouls by those foot locker dudes. Tight calls for Xavier and NO CALLS for Georgia. The end result was 33 free throw attempts versus 5. I think you can guess who shot the 33.
Sure you might ask did you pick Georgia for the upset win in your bracket? And the answer would be SOOOOO! Could I be bitter over losing 5 of the first 7 games? Yes, but that is neither here nor there. The free throw differential in this game was ridiculous. That is a difference of 28 attempts for you counting at home. That’s insurmountable. And both teams were playing very physical in this game. The lack of consistent refereeing truly cost this Cinderella story. Even my little niece (who is 4 months old) was upset over the hose-job. They upset the baby. And that is unacceptable. Apologize to the baby.
2 comments:
I heard the announcer say, for prally the tenth time this year, "Once when I was coaching I said to Jim Burr, hey we have 22 fouls and they have 2, and Jim said, then tell your kids to stop fouling". I wonder if Georgia tried that.
I don't take anything away from Xavier, but I do think they should pronounce their name "Havy-Air".
Sorry about those Bulldogs, but Viva Toreros!!!
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