The end of the Final Four between UConn and Iowa will be remembered for some time — and not just because of the players on the court.
Instead, the ending will be remembered mostly by Officials call it a mobile screen on Huskies forward Aaliyah Edwards with four seconds left. The foul robbed UConn of the ball while the Huskies had a chance to score the game-winning shot.
The foul led to numerous calls from spectators that the match was “rigged” and that the NCAA was trying to organize the championship game between South Carolina and Iowa. Those observers may have missed that there have been several officiating controversies in the 2024 NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament so far.
Here’s a look at some of the most notable officiating issues that arose during this year’s March Madness.
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March Madness Officiating Controversies
Official replaced at half-time
When the Chattanooga-NC State game began, few people could have imagined that there would be issues with the referees on the field. As it turned out, someone had to be replaced before the game was over.
During halftime, the NCAA removed a referee from the game after it was revealed she had earned a master’s degree from Chattanooga, presenting a conflict of interest.
“They literally … welcomed me into the locker room and told me they were making a change,” Chattanooga coach Shawn Poppie said. According to the Associated Press“I don’t know what happened. I didn’t see anything special. It’s maybe the second time in my career that this has happened. But the other time there was an injury, so we knew. But this time I’m not really sure.”
According to the AP, officials are asked to disclose any potential conflicts of interest before being appointed, but that ultimately did not happen. The referee, Tommi Paris, was replaced by Angelia Suffren, who was already at the Raleigh, North Carolina, site after working the Green Bay-Tennessee game.
The NCAA had a reserve referee, Danielle Jackson, available, but decided to use Suffren for the second half “because it provided the greatest amount of on-field experience and allowed the game to maintain a full crew of officials, plus a reserve,” the NCAA statement said, according to the AP.
Hannah Hidalgo Nose Ring
It’s an NCAA rule that players aren’t allowed to wear jewelry during games, but Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo had worn a nose piercing throughout the 2023-24 season and wasn’t asked to remove it.
He also wasn’t asked to remove it before the Sweet 16 game against Oregon State. It wasn’t until the second quarter that the Notre Dame freshman star was asked to remove the nose piercing.
Hidalgo worked with team officials to remove the cleat, but it took 4 minutes and 9 seconds of play to remove it. While she was on the sidelines, the Beavers held an 8-7 advantage and extended their lead to 25-22 before Hidalgo returned. The Fighting Irish ended up losing 70-65 to the Beavers.
“I didn’t know what happened, so I guess it was a big deal in the Sweet 16 with the jewelry. She’s had a nose ring all season,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said after the game. “I just wish we had known about it before. You can’t control that, so we had to move on. But yeah, game shutdown is never a good thing when you’re trying to get some flow.”
MORE: Why Hidalgo Had to Remove Her Nose Ring Against Oregon State
In a pool report after the matchThe NCAA simply reiterated the rules that players are not allowed to wear jewelry or other head decorations or head coverings, unless they are religious head coverings. The NCAA said that when Hidalgo was found wearing jewelry, the rules stated that she must remove the jewelry immediately or leave the game and not return until she removes the jewelry on the next dead ball.
Part of the NCAA rulebook states that officials “inspect and approve all player uniforms” before games. If there was an inspection, maybe that would have been the time to notice the nose piercing, not in the middle of the game.
Incorrect field measurements
It’s one thing to not have a nose piercing or to learn too late that there’s a conflict of interest. It’s another to not realize it. field measurements are incorrect.
Before NC State and Texas played an Elite Eight matchup, both coaches were informed that the court at Portland’s Moda Center had different 3-point lines on each end of the court.
NCAA officials measured the arcs at the request of both coaches and discovered that one side of the court had a three-point line that was about a foot shorter than the other side. After some discussion, the coaches decided to keep the lines as they were since the players had already warmed up and it would take an hour to adjust them.
“I wasn’t going to be the guy who said, ‘No, I don’t want to do it,’” Texas coach Vic Shaefer said after the game. “You want to know if I think it had anything to do with the game? Probably not. But I definitely wish I had done what I normally do in my last 12 minutes before a game instead of walking around the field trying to see if the floor was in bad shape.”
MORE: Why USC-UConn Game Had Two 3-Point Lines at Portland Arena
NC State coach Wes Moore said he thought the Wolfpack shot better 3-pointers from the right line than from the wrong line, but noted he wasn’t going to “lay the blame on that.”
“These kids sometimes pull so far back these days, who knows where the line is?” Moore said. “It’s an unusual situation. But, like I said, I don’t know if it was an advantage or a disadvantage one way or the other. We both played a half on each side.”
The NCAA concluded in a statement that the center hole was placed 9 inches from the center of the basket, meaning the arc was 9 inches from where it should have been. The governing body concluded that it was human error.
However, the court had this problem over several games, and it was clear to anyone watching the game that one side was clearly different from the other.
How do they realize now that the field was rigged in Portland? It was the same for every other game there.
It was Baylor/USC last night. You can clearly see that it is the shortest distance on the left. pic.twitter.com/baGkWLRIMk
– Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) March 31, 2024
Aaliyah Edwards Illegal Screenshot
It is perhaps the most controversial decision of the tournament, in part because there is not necessarily a clear answer as to whether it was the right or wrong decision.
The Huskies had possession of the ball with a one-point deficit in the final seconds. If there had been no foul, UConn would have had a chance to shoot and leave Iowa with no time left to counter. UConn tried to open the scoring from Paige Bueckers with Edwards setting a screen and Nika Muhl making the pass to the star guard on the wing.
Authorities determined that Edwards was still moving when she made contact with Gabbie Marshall, which by rule is a moving screen. While the contact was close in both cases, it is possible to understand authorities’ theory that this was a moving screen.
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If there’s one thing sports fans hate, it’s when the game ends because of the referees rather than the players on the field. If there had been a moving screen, it could have been insignificant enough that it could have just as easily been left unanswered. It would have allowed the game to come down to a potential UConn shot rather than Iowa taking possession and time running out.
UConn players didn’t make excuses, with Bueckers saying games aren’t won or lost on one play. Coach Geno Auriemma took the opportunity to share his frustration, though.
“There’s probably an illegal screen you could set on every possession,” he said. “I just know there’s been three or four that have been called and I don’t think there’s been one. So I guess we just have to do a better job of not setting illegal screens.”
