Connecticut/Syracuse
 

Higgins shows up with 6 minutes left in first half and bumps other official out.
Whats up with that? Sucks to be the guy covering for him. Should have waited until half or not at all. What do you all think?

On one hand, that sucks for the guy he bumped.

On the other hand, the school probably requested higgins specifically so they should get him as soon as he's available. Six mins is quite a bit of time. If there were 30 seconds left, that would be different.

What do you mean by "the school probably requested Higgins"??? The schools generally don't even know who will be officiating their games until the day before or day of the game...

It's my understanding that schools can request certain officials. Can anyone shed some light? Is this incorrect?

schools do not get to "request" officials for their games....it doesn't work like that. They "get" whoever Art Hyland assigns to the Big East games.

Not sure about schools / coaches requesting officials ... However, they definitely know who is officiating their games well in advance of one day. In some leagues it is two weeks in advance, in others the entire season.

I dunno. Probably the biggest break that guy has ever gotten. A chance to prove yourself in an ESPN-televised Big East game (UConn-Cuse, nonetheless)? I think most of us on here would jump at the chance to work five minutes of that game.