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In my opinion, the game was not well-called.
The issue was that it was unclear what level of contact was a foul and what physical play was acceptable. The threshold was not defined well.
Early there were several whistles for minor contact, which probably should have been let go. Unfortunately, this put a few of the starters in foul trouble (especially from LSU) and forced them to the bench. The second quarter also had two (soft) offensive fouls on Clark for pushing the defender away after the defender was allowed to be physical and cause contact. So this seemed out of balance to me. Either whistle the first foul or allow both players to battle.
However, in the third quarter a post player from each team was permitted to turn into the defender while leading with an elbow to clear space. Neither was whistled as a PC. Both were looked at on the monitor without change. (Neither was an F1, but both should have been called PC during live action.) The first play had a defensive foul whistled and the second had nothing.
Then there was the technical foul, which was not a public display and easily could have been ignored given the game situation (time, score, foul count on a top player, etc.). I would fully support whacking a player for clear disrespectful behavior that everyone can see, but this was not that. Clark was huddling with her teammates, and if something was said only a couple of people heard it. (Note: She has been a complainer and displayed poor behavior in prior games this season.) If the T was for throwing the ball away, it came too late and from the official on the opposite side of the court, so I’m not convinced that was the cause.
Finally, what about the taunting by LSU at the end of the game? They have a large lead so a tech here isn’t going to alter the outcome, but it would send a clear message that such behavior is unacceptable, yet this was completely ignored.
Was it poor enough to warrant being blocked from future tournament assignments? No.
Not being assigned another Final Four contest? Maybe
The game management of these three officials didn’t seem to be at the level of a massive Final (media attention, big crowd, large TV audience).
My soccer officiating background has taught me that in such situations, over-calling the game deprives the audience of a show. They are watching to see a performance and the referee should strive to facilitate that. One should only penalize and remove the players when necessary. I’m convinced that being tight early to “set the tone” of the contest only serves to frustrate the players, coaches, and fans. Big games call for raising the threshold somewhat and using management skills to control the players and coaches. These officials just went straight to the whistle. The Iowa coach even commented following the game that she was particularly frustrated because the officials wouldn’t talk to her. So it was clearly a lack of personal skills and people management. Obviously, I wasn’t present in the building or on the sideline, but it seems that the wrong approach was taken by the officiating crew. I would have liked to see them manage the people more and blow the whistle less.
Of course, I’ve never been assigned an NCAA tournament game, let alone a Final.
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