‘West Virginia got jobbed’: Conspiracy reigns as Caitlin Clark, Iowa barely survive

Caitlin Clark and Iowa advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Women's NCAA Tournament on Monday night, beating West Virginia 64-54.

Fans on Twitter think they had some help.

As the No. 8 seed Mountaineers gave the No. 1 seed Hawkeyes everything they could hand, many noticed a massive disparity in foul calls.

Even Bucks star Damian Lillard questioned the officiating, and he wasn't alone.

Damian Lillard, fans question Iowa-West Virginia refs

The refs called 27 fouls on West Virginia. Iowa had just 11. The Hawkeyes attempted 30 free throws. The Mountaineers attempted just five.

The imbalance in the box score doesn't always tell the whole story. Some teams naturally get more fouls because of the style of basketball they play. In this case, though, it wasn't just the box score. It was the way Iowa got soft whistles and West Virginia couldn't seem to draw a foul. It was a knockdown-drag-out battle. The fouls should have been more equal.

I'm not a full-blown conspiracy theorist. As much as ESPN and the NCAA want Caitlin Clark to remain in the tournament as long as possible, the idea that the refs actually rigged the game is too extreme.

Of course, you don't have to rig a game on purpose to impact it as an official. Refs get caught up by home crowds. It's part of why home-court advantage is so powerful.

It's still frustrating when it feels like one team has an uphill battle against a higher seed and the refs.

Clark was as immense as you'd expect. She doubled up any other scorer in the game with 32 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds and dished three assists.

West Virginia valiantly made it a game despite trailing by 10 going into the fourth quarter. They had it tied up at 52 with three minutes to play. There were seven fouls called against the Mountaineers after that point (only a couple of those to stop the clock). Zero were called on Iowa.