[81alum]

I should have been more clear, I guess. I thought both teams committed a number of fouls that weren't called. It seemed pretty even to me. There were also several moves by both teams that are often called fouls when I think it should be play on. Again, pretty even. It was indeed a physical game. I'm probably in the minority but I prefer letting them play to a ticky tac foul game. I do agree this game was a bit extreme on the physical side, especially in the 4th when SC was trying to catch up.

It could very well be that both sides were called evenly, although in both games against USC, USC shot and made more free throws than we did.  That does seem odd to me.

But even if both sides were called evenly, it did not have the same effect on both sides.  "Letting them play" favors defense over offense, and thus the officiating reduces the advantage of a good offense and accentuates the advantage of a good defense.  The results are what we saw.

[81alum]

I should have been more clear, I guess. I thought both teams committed a number of fouls that weren't called. It seemed pretty even to me. There were also several moves by both teams that are often called fouls when I think it should be play on. Again, pretty even. It was indeed a physical game. I'm probably in the minority but I prefer letting them play to a ticky tac foul game. I do agree this game was a bit extreme on the physical side, especially in the 4th when SC was trying to catch up.

It could very well be that both sides were called evenly, although in both games against USC, USC shot and made more free throws than we did.  That does seem odd to me.

But even if both sides were called evenly, it did not have the same effect on both sides.  "Letting them play" favors defense over offense, and thus the officiating reduces the advantage of a good offense and accentuates the advantage of a good defense.  The results are what we saw.