Ball Don't Lie: Duke's first-half referee advantage was evened out in sketchy fashion

The Duke Blue Devils have all the hype around them, as they have a loaded roster, headlined by star and No. 1 overall NBA Draft prospect Cooper Flagg. Of course, considering they won the ACC with relative ease (even without Flagg for most of the ACC Tournament). Now, they are looking to win their sixth national championship in men's basketball as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

On Sunday, Duke clinched their spot in the Sweet 16, as they defeated the No. 8 Baylor Bears 89-66. Before that game in Raleigh, N.C., the No. 1 Florida Gators beat the No. 8 UConn Huskies 77-75. After that game, UConn coach Dan Hurley was filmed walking back into the tunnel complaining about the officiating. Hurley said this in particular to Baylor:

"I hope they don't f*** you like they f***ed us. I hope they don't do that to you, Baylor."

Considering Duke is one of the top college basketball programs in the country, they aren't exactly the most popular amongst fans. With that, complaints and conspiracy theories are sure to fly around, especially when it comes to officiating.

Duke foul difference vs. Baylor raises alert of conspiracy theorists

Well, fans will look towards the foul difference between Duke and Baylor near the end of the first half. Duke had six fouls with Baylor not yet shooting free throws while the Blue Devils were already in the double-bonus as the Bears had 10+ fouls. Granted, Baylor was the undersized team compared to Duke, and had to play a more physical style. So, the fouls came flying.

That was in the first half. But once the second half arrived, there were more fouls called on Duke than Baylor. Specifically, the game ended with Baylor picking up 16 total fouls, while Duke received 13. So, it evened out by the final buzzer. Of course, that only happened with the game out of reach after the Bears had been keeping things competitive for the first 12 minutes or so of action when the foul discrepancy started to become apparent.

That will surely rile up the Duke haters, but the officials called the fouls, and there was nothing that could be done. Besides, Duke dominated Baylor, who looked like they were no match in the Round of 32 matchup. So, it's not like the result would have been any different had a couple of fouls not been called.

That certainly won't stop the anti-Duke viewers from creating their conspiracies, though.