UK game pre thoughts…..

[howboutthemdawgs]

With us both being bubble teams with similar records, How are we feeling about the possibility of getting less than no calls from stripes on our home court? Can’t help but think Birmingham wants no part of us winning this game.
having said that….I hope we send cal packing sadly back to Lexington refs be damned.

 

[Captain Ron]

What does the Pack say? I am not talking about an individual official who is biased, but is there really a strong belief that the league office calls the Refs prior to a game and says “ok guys, we need UK to win this one, so make sure you call it to give KY every opportunity to win.”

I would really hate to think that besides that many people in the Birmingham office being that unethical, that you would have a group of officials in any sport that would agree to it and that at some point one would not blow the whistle (ha) that they have been asked to manipulate games?

Not that you couldn’t convince any singular person or that “because it is Bama” they have a unconscious bias or expectation that drives calls, but I would really be disappointed if it is sinister as the above scenario.

 

[KentuckyDawg13]

Cannot control the refs with a blue-collar budget...have to beat both UK's elite athletes and the "unbiased" refs that tend to bail them out and the most timely opportunities.

UK did beat UT @ Knoxville, so they are not a pushover. I think our D will contain them.

 

[thekimmer]

What does the Pack say? I am not talking about an individual official who is biased, but is there really a strong belief that the league office calls the Refs prior to a game and says “ok guys, we need UK to win this one, so make sure you call it to give KY every opportunity to win.”

I would really hate to think that besides that many people in the Birmingham office being that unethical, that you would have a group of officials in any sport that would agree to it and that at some point one would not blow the whistle (ha) that they have been asked to manipulate games?

Not that you couldn’t convince any singular person or that “because it is Bama” they have a unconscious bias or expectation that drives calls, but I would really be disappointed if it is sinister as the above scenario.

I don't think there are any phone calls made to game officials indicating they need to help fix the game for one team or the other. I do think officials can get a bit 'star struck' when calling games involving blue bloods and that has certainly happened with UK. That however didn't seem to help them much against UGA on sat or USC earlier in Jan. SEC officiating will be what it is and that is sub-par but we just have to take care of what we can.

 

[SteelCurtain74]

That's a helluva theory you boys are putting out there. If what you say is true, why did Georgia shoot 16 more free throws than Kentucky on Saturday? Wouldn't the league office want Kentucky to win that game as that would be a bad loss on Kentucky's resume'.

Why has Kentucky had the 3rd fewest free throw attempts in the league this year if Birmingham is bound and determined to get them in the big dance, as you suggest?

How would it benefit the league to keep a fellow SEC member out of the tournament just to get Kentucky in? Wouldn't the SEC want to try and get as many teams in as possible? Seems some of you need to step away from the whiskey and sober up.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

I was surprised at our last game. Hard to keep a streak going esp against pretty good competition. If they beat the Cats count me fully on board as a believer. Honestly I'm not sure they are a better team. At home I have confidence.

 

[peewee.sixpack]

What does the Pack say? I am not talking about an individual official who is biased, but is there really a strong belief that the league office calls the Refs prior to a game and says “ok guys, we need UK to win this one, so make sure you call it to give KY every opportunity to win.”

I would really hate to think that besides that many people in the Birmingham office being that unethical, that you would have a group of officials in any sport that would agree to it and that at some point one would not blow the whistle (ha) that they have been asked to manipulate games?

Not that you couldn’t convince any singular person or that “because it is Bama” they have a unconscious bias or expectation that drives calls, but I would really be disappointed if it is sinister as the above scenario.

Well we know it has happened in the PAC 12 and with some the officiating decisions we have seen in the past across numerous sports it sure seems there is definitely a bias towards some programs.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

I was surprised at our last game. Hard to keep a streak going esp against pretty good competition. If they beat the Cats count me fully on board as a believer. Honestly I'm not sure they are a better team. At home I have confidence.

I think we win but I'm not going to lose faith if we don't. Count me as fully on board already.

 

[mstateglfr]

With us both being bubble teams with similar records, How are we feeling about the possibility of getting less than no calls from stripes on our home court? Can’t help but think Birmingham wants no part of us winning this game.
having said that….I hope we send cal packing sadly back to Lexington refs be damned.

How are we feeling? Well I am feeling like we shouldnt rely on winning any games from the line, regardless of who the opponent is. Thats dangerous as 17 to have as a gameplan. Who knows which version of Tolu will show up on a given night?

I also feel like the simple minds among us who actually think the SEC tells refs how a game should end need to disassociate from my Alma mater, even the athletics side, because their dumbassedry is cheapening my degree.

 

[FlotownDawg]

It seems most people don’t realize that basketball officials aren’t like football officials in that they aren’t tied to a conference. Basketball officials referee in several different conferences. Hell, I saw Doug Shows refereeing a Mountain West game a couple weeks ago. So there are no “SEC refs” when it comes to basketball.