Fansided

Twitter hates the National Championship game refs

By Chris Barnewall

Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Referees review a play during the second half between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Referees review a play during the second half between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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The refs are having a rough night in this year’s National Championship

Last year’s National Championship was arguably the greatest in the history of the sport. Big shots the entire way. Two well matched teams. A buzzer beater finish that will be played on highlight reels for the rest of time. Following that up was going to be impossible, but damn if the refs aren’t making that impossible tonight.

After a pretty solid first half, the refs got extremely whistle happy in the second half leading to some ugly and slow basketball. So ugly and slow that even college basketball’s most hardcore fans couldn’t defend it. Everybody wants the whistle to get swallowed and some pace returned to the game, but the refs aren’t letting that happen. Maybe if the NCAA actually paid their refs full time moments like this wouldn’t happen. These are humans with real lives and normal jobs. This is nothing more than a side gig for them and that leads to imperfection. That said, the only way to describe their performance tonight is yikes.

A few people have compared it to UConn Butler from 2011 which has gone down in history as the worst championship game in history.

Mostly everybody is just saying the game is really bad, and honestly it’s hard to argue with that.

Mainly, because nobody can quite understand the absurd amount of fouls that have been called in just the second half alone. It’s completely ruined the flow of the game, and without a way to clear fouls they’ll remain in the bonus for the majority of the game.

Related: Updated NCAA Tournament bracket

Even LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had something to say about this. When NBA superstars are complaining you know it’s not great.

Next: Gonzaga vs UNC live highlights and updates

Just remember guys. They’re trying really hard.

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