No foul on that last play?

[StillWarriors]

Crowder was on the guard at the top of the key and Buycks came to help with a fly-by double team.   Re-wind the tape a few seconds and see if they switched, with Crowder taking the guard and Buycks the big.   Then, when Buycks left to double team, you see that Otule had his guy sealed effectively.   He hadn't opened up to guard both.   When the dumpdown came, Otule left his guy and got there a 1/2 second late.     IMO, Buycks and Crowder should not have switched, leaving DB one on one on top and Crowder down low.    Didn't happen.   If the the Vandy guard rushes his pass, DB swats it with his flyby and we are all singing and dancing.    Ah, well.

With all the justifiable focus on the last two possessions, it's easy to forget just how close we were to having a two pt lead going into that last defensive possession. Buycks' toes just on the line. Seems that's the way it goes for us down the stretch in close game after close game, JFB's heroics last year aside.

[TallTitan34]

The reason we can't see anything on TV is because Blue is blocking our view.  Burr was on the other side, however, with a clear view right in front of him.

[MUfan12]

I will also point out that referees don't have the ability to view it a couple of times, frame by frame.

Well, duh.

You also left out the part where I said it would have been. really tough call to make.

[muguru]

I have said this a million times and I will say it again....a foul is a foul is a foul is a foul is a foul(unless you are UW). I don't care if there is 8:00 to go or .8 seconds to go. You can't NOT give a team a foul call because of the time/situation. DJO should have been at the FT line there. PERIOD.

[avid1010]

Burr has always been a dipstick in our games. He must be pissed at MU for some reason.

Does that remind you of anyone?

[brewcity77]

Doesn't prove anything.  I just thought people would want to see the photo.  I thought the caption was interesting as well.

Why is the caption interesting? Because it doesn't say "Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom (1) was tripped on a no-call by referee Jim Burr"? Unless there is a league-wide uproar, such as that play that cost the Jets a playoff berth a few years back, the media almost never calls out referees on missed or bad calls. And if they do, it will be in a subtle on-air comment, not in the caption of a game photo.

DJO went down. Vandy's defender went down. That's either an amazing coincidence, or he was the reason DJO tripped. And I don't care if he had a clear view, I sure as hell don't trust Jim Burr to make the right call. He's got fewer working eyes than Otule.

[chren21]

Breakdown of the first half plays that were questionable / terrible calls.  If you have TVO or can go to espn3.com and watch the replay go to the times noted below.

-18:49 absolute phantom offensive call on Otule.
-16:15 is that a carry? No call.
-15:40 Buycks gets called for charge on baseline.  Questionable call.
-14:35 JB draws foul on pass to the block.  Phantom call.
-13:10 Crowder rebound off missed 3.  Runs the break and gets MUGGED, no call. 
-10:10 Jae makes a great steal and then gets fouled at half court.  Phantom call again.  He would have had a breakaway layup.
-9:20 Vander rushes down tries to draw contact but no call.  He did not have numbers and should have pulled it out.
-3:50 Buycks nice pressure in backcourt.   Fulce gets called for a PHANTOM call.  Who the F is this guy? Is this the same guy who called the offensive foul call on Otule early?
-2:35 Halarious.  Another phantom call by our guy.  Except this one goes our way. Ezeli is called for holding Otule behind his back.  Terrible.  Otule has no idea what the call is after the whistle blows.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The reason we can't see anything on TV is because Blue is blocking our view.  Burr was on the other side, however, with a clear view right in front of him.

Agreed.  The camera views don't capture in totality what is happening.  In NFL parlance, this would be a classic "inconclusive video evidence".

For the other posters here,  all this conspiracy talk about how he (Jim Burr) hates MU...really??....I'll bet he reads these boards and wants to stick it to some posters. 

For the record, Burr has worked in 16 Final Fours and 7 National Championship games.  No current ref has worked as many and that doesn't happen by accident.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Does that remind you of anyone?

Mark Belling?

[MUfan12]

Mark Belling?

Game, set, match, Bail Bonds.

Well played, sir.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Why is the caption interesting? Because it doesn't say "Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom (1) was tripped on a no-call by referee Jim Burr"? Unless there is a league-wide uproar, such as that play that cost the Jets a playoff berth a few years back, the media almost never calls out referees on missed or bad calls. And if they do, it will be in a subtle on-air comment, not in the caption of a game photo.

DJO went down. Vandy's defender went down. That's either an amazing coincidence, or he was the reason DJO tripped. And I don't care if he had a clear view, I sure as hell don't trust Jim Burr to make the right call. He's got fewer working eyes than Otule.

Actually the media calls out the refs quite a bit on calls...look at the UCLA Kansas game from 2 weeks ago as a recent example.  http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=303362305

There are examples all the time for this stuff.

[Danny Noonan]

For the other posters here,  all this conspiracy talk about how he (Jim Burr) hates MU...really??....I'll bet he reads these boards and wants to stick it to some posters. 

For the record, Burr has worked in 16 Final Fours and 7 National Championship games.  No current ref has worked as many and that doesn't happen by accident.

Chicos,

Just because Burr has been around for quite some time and has worked the big games, does not mean he is a good referee. I'm sure there are worse but I don't like him or Hightower because in my opinion, they always seem to be making questionable calls during pivotal parts of the game (for or against MU). Personally, I prefer it when I do not recognize the referees on the floor at the beginning of the game. While I don't think Burr has any vendetta against MU and in no way am I saying that Burr cost MU the game last night, I did find it humorus to see that a quick search for Burr seems to show quite a bit of hatred for his calls across the boards: 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2009-03-11-referees-tournament_N.htm

http://vuhoops.com/2010/11/27/nova-loses-first-of-the-season/

http://mswisher.blogspot.com/2006/02/referee-jim-burr.html

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=11741

http://www.cardchronicle.com/2010/11/27/1839206/louisville-tops-marshall-80-66

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2010/02/orange_basketball_links_life_o/964/comments-newest.html

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2010/03/mike_kitts_is_one_of_two_refer.html

http://buckyville.yuku.com/reply/432121/t/Re-Big-10-Dumps-Several-Refs.html

http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=471860&pid=6069900#pid6069900

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/dec/13/tigers-fall-georgetown-76-70-overtime/

[chren21]

Chicos,

I'm sure there are worse but I don't like him or Hightower because in my opinion, they always seem to be making questionable calls during pivotal parts of the game (for or against MU).

Hightower is a terrible ref.

[marquette09]

Hightower is a terrible ref.

but at least he is entertaining to watch

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

No intentional foul on the fast break?

There were 2 MU fast breaks fouls and neither were called intentional.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Chicos,

Just because Burr has been around for quite some time and has worked the big games, does not mean he is a good referee. I'm sure there are worse but I don't like him or Hightower because in my opinion, they always seem to be making questionable calls during pivotal parts of the game (for or against MU). Personally, I prefer it when I do not recognize the referees on the floor at the beginning of the game. While I don't think Burr has any vendetta against MU and in no way am I saying that Burr cost MU the game last night, I did find it humorus to see that a quick search for Burr seems to show quite a bit of hatred for his calls across the boards: 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2009-03-11-referees-tournament_N.htm

http://vuhoops.com/2010/11/27/nova-loses-first-of-the-season/

http://mswisher.blogspot.com/2006/02/referee-jim-burr.html

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=11741

http://www.cardchronicle.com/2010/11/27/1839206/louisville-tops-marshall-80-66

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2010/02/orange_basketball_links_life_o/964/comments-newest.html

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2010/03/mike_kitts_is_one_of_two_refer.html

http://buckyville.yuku.com/reply/432121/t/Re-Big-10-Dumps-Several-Refs.html

http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=471860&pid=6069900#pid6069900

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/dec/13/tigers-fall-georgetown-76-70-overtime/

A high profile ref where fans don't like him....color me shocked.  Do the same searches over the years for Ted Hillary, Valentine, Hightower, etc.  NBA fans are the same way toward the officials that work the high profile games or are considered high profile in nature.

What I find equally humorous is the NCAA and their officiating gurus continue put these guys as officials of the biggest games in the country on the biggest stage (NCAA Final Four, Championship games, etc) despite how poor they are.

[IAmMarquette]

A high profile ref where fans don't like him....color me shocked.  Do the same searches over the years for Ted Hillary, Valentine, Hightower, etc.  NBA fans are the same way toward the officials that work the high profile games or are considered high profile in nature.

What I find equally humorous is the NCAA and their officiating gurus continue put these guys as officials of the biggest games in the country on the biggest stage (NCAA Final Four, Championship games, etc) despite how poor they are.

That right there is the problem. The job title doesn't include "high profile." It includes getting the calls right and remaining unknown. For that reason (and others) Burr is not a good referee. I don't care if he ends up officiating every FF and NC game until he dies. Chicos, you know that just because the ruling body says/implies something doesn't make it true. Not to turn this into a political debate, but the Republican party thought Sarah Palin was a good idea, too.

EDIT: I should amend this by saying I'm not convinced there was a foul on that last play either. I'm more interested in the non-intentional foul that prevented a breakaway.

[ChicosBailBonds]

That right there is the problem. The job title doesn't include "high profile." It includes getting the calls right and remaining unknown. For that reason (and others) Burr is not a good referee. I don't care if he ends up officiating every FF and NC game until he dies. Chicos, you know that just because the ruling body says/implies something doesn't make it true. Not to turn this into a political debate, but the Republican party thought Sarah Palin was a good idea, too.

EDIT: I should amend this by saying I'm not convinced there was a foul on that last play either. I'm more interested in the non-intentional foul that prevented a breakaway.

And the DNC thought Obama was.  LOL.

The reason a lot of refs become high profile is because they work a lot of high profile games.  Chicken and egg.

[IAmMarquette]

And the DNC thought Obama was.  LOL.

The reason a lot of refs become high profile is because they work a lot of high profile games.  Chicken and egg.

The "chicken and egg" part conflicts with the first part of this statement. The claim is first that high profile refs become high-profile because they work high profile games. This is followed with "chicken and egg," which implies that: either your first statement is true, OR that high profile referees are assigned to high profile games because they are high profile referees (in which case their high-profile status should be called into question. see Tim Hightower's ridiculous antics), BUT there is no way to tell which is actually true.

What remains uncontested however is that referees should ideally never achieve high-profile status, neither through seemingly appropriate channels (e.g. officiating several high-profile games) nor through inappropriate ones (e.g. Tim Donaghy). The fact that I know and many others know the names of Burr and Hightower is not a credit to their competence.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The "chicken and egg" part conflicts with the first part of this statement. The claim is first that high profile refs become high-profile because they work high profile games. This is followed with "chicken and egg," which implies that: either your first statement is true, OR that high profile referees are assigned to high profile games because they are high profile referees (in which case their high-profile status should be called into question. see Tim Hightower's ridiculous antics), BUT there is no way to tell which is actually true.

What remains uncontested however is that referees should ideally never achieve high-profile status, neither through seemingly appropriate channels (e.g. officiating several high-profile games) nor through inappropriate ones (e.g. Tim Donaghy). The fact that I know and many others know the names of Burr and Hightower is not a credit to their competence.

We'll have to agree to disagree because it's actually a bit of both.  If you look at some of the Final Four refs over the years they often will have 2 "vets" and a newcomer (by newcomer I don't mean rookie ref, but rather a ref that hasn't worked that high profile of a game).  As the newcomeres are added to that rotation they become more and more high profile.  At the same times, time they certainly do pick those high profile vets as well.  So I guess I don't see why you label it as an either / or, when it can be both.  We are talking about 3 refs for each of these games and they don't all have to be high profile at the time of their slection for that game.

[77ncaachamps]

Maybe MU should have tried this...

http://www.youtube.com/user/NBA#p/u/12/01_yKYAGJew