March Madness continued to live up to its name Thursday night as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament rolled on.
The first night of Sweet 16 action saw two No. 1 seeds, Gonzaga and Arizona, sent packing, while Houston, perhaps the Final Four participant from last year least likely to return, live to fight another day. Elsewhere, coach Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell tour isn’t over yet, Arkansas is evoking memories of Nolan Richardson’s “Forty Minutes of Hell” era in the 1990s, and another set of Wildcats from Villanova continues its quest for a third title in seven years.
Three key takeaways from Thursday night’s Sweet 16 action:
Officiating matters
We don’t like to talk about officials, particularly in high-stakes settings like March Madness when a key play or two can determine the outcome.
Let us stipulate up front that basketball is a notoriously difficult game to officiate with so many big bodies in close proximity. But it’s an undeniable fact that the officiating throughout the NCAA Tournament has been wildly inconsistent (Baylor-North Carolina, anyone?), and executing a game plan is made even more difficult when players have no idea what does or does not constitute a foul, and that seems to vary from possession to possession.
OPINION: Officials in UNC-Baylor game shouldn’t be rewarded with more NCAA Tournament work
Whistles alone did not sink Gonzaga, but they were a factor, and that is unfortunate. To be sure, Arkansas has reason to complain about a number of…
