As a fan and former high school coach, I think the most frustrating thing is how the whistle often changes during the course of the game. Last night's NCAA Championship game was a prime example. Despite being extremely physical from the get-go, there were a total of 4-5 fouls called in the first half. At the end of the first half, I said to myself that the second half would be a whistle extravaganza and, unfortunately, I was correct. I'm not Nostrodamus -- we've all seen it happen far too many times to the point where it becomes the expected norm! In the second half, Florida had 5 or 6 team fouls before the first TV timeout, and both teams were in the bonus and double-bonus pretty early in the second half.
I understand that the intensity picks up in the 2nd half of a hotly contested game which rightly leads to more legit fouls being called, but last night was like watching 2 different games! I didn't have a "dog in the fight" last night, but I would have been furious over the complete 180 in the whistle if UK had been involved in last night's championship game. Whether it be the strike zone in baseball, or fouls in basketball, all a coach and team wants is officiating consistency. When everyone knows what a strike is, or knows what a foul is in each respective sport, the game flows much better, both players and coaches can adjust accordingly, and the fan viewing experience improves.
