Eddie Hightower

Donate To GopherHole
T

tjgopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
5,423
Reaction score
1,440
Points
113
First off, I'm stunned no one has talked about the absolute BS foul call on Blake with :27 left. No way can you make that call there in a tie game when the MSU guy is literally throwing the ball to a Gopher. If you watch the play (and you can do so here at the 2:20 mark), Blake really doesn't do much, Appling fires the ball right to Chip. Whistle! Foul! MSU up 2 after the 91% FT shooter swishes both.

I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. But, according to my calculations with help from here, here are some interesting numbers to chew on.

Eddie Hightower has officiated 18 Big Ten Conference games that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 18 Big Ten games:

5-13 (.278 %)

Eddie Hightower has officiated 8 Big Ten Conference games in the last two years that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 8 Big Ten games:

1-7 (.125 %)

Tubby Smith's record in all other Big Ten Conference games (those not officiated by Eddie Hightower):

27-23 (.540 %)
 

tjgopher said:
First off, I'm stunned no one has talked about the absolute BS foul call on Blake with :27 left. No way can you make that call there in a tie game when the MSU guy is literally throwing the ball to a Gopher. If you watch the play (and you can do so here at the 2:20 mark), Blake really doesn't do much, Appling fires the ball right to Chip. Whistle! Foul! MSU up 2 after the 91% FT shooter swishes both.

I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. But, according to my calculations with help from here, here are some interesting numbers to chew on.

Eddie Hightower has officiated 18 Big Ten games that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 18 Big Ten games????

5-13 (.278 %)


Eddie Hightower has officiated 8 Big Ten games in the last two years that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 8 Big Ten games????

1-7 (.125 %)
Tubby Smith's record in all other Big Ten games (those not officiated by Eddie Hightower):

27-23 (.540 %)
Click to expand...

Really?
 



tjgopher said:
First off, I'm stunned no one has talked about the absolute BS foul call on Blake with :27 left. No way can you make that call there in a tie game when the MSU guy is literally throwing the ball to a Gopher. If you watch the play (and you can do so here at the 2:20 mark), Blake really doesn't do much, Appling fires the ball right to Chip. Whistle! Foul! MSU up 2 after the 91% FT shooter swishes both.

I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. But, according to my calculations with help from here, here are some interesting numbers to chew on.

Eddie Hightower has officiated 18 Big Ten Conference games that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 18 Big Ten games:

5-13 (.278 %)

Eddie Hightower has officiated 8 Big Ten Conference games in the last two years that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 8 Big Ten games:

1-7 (.125 %)

Tubby Smith's record in all other Big Ten Conference games (those not officiated by Eddie Hightower):

27-23 (.540 %)
Click to expand...

Sorry- I didn't like the call either but bringing the refs into the discussion when you blow a game that badly doesn't make much sense to me. We blew the game. Period.
 


bga1 said:
Sorry- I didn't like the call either but bringing the refs into the discussion when you blow a game that badly doesn't make much sense to me. We blew the game. Period.
Click to expand...

Trust me, my point isn't to blame the officials and I'm not trying to make sense of the loss. The defeat is 100% on Minnesota. I'm just pointing out some interesting numbers and a specific terrible call that was a key part of the game. But, for sure, the Gophers tanked the game. It wasn't Eddie's fault that Ralph didn't block out and grab the rebound right before he whistled Blake. Although, one could argue Ralph drew a charge on Lucas on the first shot attempt in that possession, it still doesn't change the fact that the Gophers blew it. Agreed.
 

That call was the key to the game. It was bogus. What happened to the supposed home court cooking?? I swear, it seems like we get more favorable calls on the road than in the Barn. There was a couple of other calls that really went against us as well.
 

I don't want to make another thread about officiating in a game the Gophers clearly choked away, but what about the Austin Hollins attempted dunk? I never got a second look at the play on tv, but I thought he got fouled and was shocked that such a strong move was not rewarded with a trip to the line. At the time the Gophers were up 7, and Hollins would have had a chance to put them up 9. I didn't Dvr this game, so I can't go back and look. FWIW, I did think Blake committed a reach in on the play being discussed here, but I'll take another look at it on your link.
 

EG#9 said:
I don't want to make another thread about officiating in a game the Gophers clearly choked away, but what about the Austin Hollins attempted dunk? I never got a second look at the play on tv, but I thought he got fouled and was shocked.
Click to expand...

Not sure there was that much of a foul there.

EG#9 said:
FWIW, I did think Blake committed a reach in on the play being discussed here, but I'll take another look at it on your link.
Click to expand...

Boy, that's a terribly tough call to have go against you on your home floor in a tie game with under :30 left when the other guy just threw the ball to someone on your team, ten seconds after another guy on the other team ran right over your center taking a charge in the middle of the lane.

The flop on Colton's elbow was an embarrassingly bad call, too. The worst call of the night came when Mbakwe was trying to dunk a rebound and got trounced by two Spartans, ended up on his back, and Tom O'Neal just watched like it was a Big Ten football game.

And, of course, MSU had several go against them, too.

But, that one late in the game on Blake was especially dicey, in my opinion.
 



I see the frustration but the Hightower call isnt what cost us the game. There were several faults on our own in the last 3 minutes of the game. Dont think these words are used to often but we played down to michigan states level.:
 

I can't remember exactly how the play transpired, but the one that seems to stick in my mind is the play where Trevor had went up for a put back, looked to have had possession and was undercut/shoved. I had troubling understanding how they could have missed such an obvious foul. Not sure if anyone else agrees but that's just my opinion. Definitely no excuse for blowing an 8 pt lead with 4 min to go though. Time to sweep the last 3 and get 2 wins come B10 tourney time
 

tjgopher said:
First off, I'm stunned no one has talked about the absolute BS foul call on Blake with :27 left. No way can you make that call there in a tie game when the MSU guy is literally throwing the ball to a Gopher. If you watch the play (and you can do so here at the 2:20 mark), Blake really doesn't do much, Appling fires the ball right to Chip. Whistle! Foul! MSU up 2 after the 91% FT shooter swishes both.

I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. But, according to my calculations with help from here, here are some interesting numbers to chew on.

Eddie Hightower has officiated 18 Big Ten Conference games that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 18 Big Ten games:

5-13 (.278 %)

Eddie Hightower has officiated 8 Big Ten Conference games in the last two years that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 8 Big Ten games:

1-7 (.125 %)

Tubby Smith's record in all other Big Ten Conference games (those not officiated by Eddie Hightower):

27-23 (.540 %)
Click to expand...


Thanks for the information. I had actually just been talking with some friends about this exact thing and was trying to decide if I wanted to chart it out to prove out my theory (that the Gophers generally lose games that Hightower is officiating).

I will not further discuss last night's game, as I definitely don't think one single call decided the game. The Gophers are simply not a great team right now (w/out a PG) and it was just an overall ugly game that we lost.

My point on Hightower is that in almost every game he officiates when the Gophers are playing, he makes a bad call at a critical point in the game (as referenced above in Colt's "offensive foul"). These calls don't necessarily decide the game, but they do impact it.

I can't even describe how annoyed I get when he makes a call, and then has to have a 15 second conversation with the player to explain the call. Maybe I wouldn't notice the bad calls as much if he didn't make them such a show.

I won't say it is a conspiracy theory, but these numbers are pretty crazy - and were in line in what I was thinking they might be.
 

The horrible calls by the officials and play of the Gophers were synonymous.
 



Not calling a foul when Mbakwe had position and tried a tip-dunk was brutal. He got ran over by two guys, but no whistle.
 


Those #'s with Hightower are ridiculous and sadly believable. It seems like every 'big' game we've had the last two years, there he is.
 

I feel like Hightower, more than other refs "caves in" to whining and complaining and starts giving more calls to the coach that rides him the most. Tubby doesn't lobby with officials as much as other coaches, therefore doesn't get as many calls from Ed. That's my theory anyway.
 

Hightower's crew are an absolute joke. They should keep him out of this conference to show him that he and the two idiot kiss-ups on his crew are incompetent. I swear they were making calls on the other end of the court to make up for ones they blew. So sick of refs that think they are the game...
 

MattyH said:
Hightower's crew are an absolute joke. They should keep him out of this conference to show him that he and the two idiot kiss-ups on his crew are incompetent. I swear they were making calls on the other end of the court to make up for ones they blew. So sick of refs that think they are the game...
Click to expand...

Officials are assigned as individuals and not crews. Tom O'Neil worked the NCAA Championship game in the last couple years, so I think he would not need to kiss-up to anyone.

I think the call on Blake was weak and Hightower might have got caught anticipating a bit. However, both Gophers got beat to the ball and then made swipes at the player. Again slow-motion replay is something the refs don't get.
 

EG#9 said:
I don't want to make another thread about officiating in a game the Gophers clearly choked away, but what about the Austin Hollins attempted dunk? I never got a second look at the play on tv, but I thought he got fouled and was shocked that such a strong move was not rewarded with a trip to the line. At the time the Gophers were up 7, and Hollins would have had a chance to put them up 9. I didn't Dvr this game, so I can't go back and look. FWIW, I did think Blake committed a reach in on the play being discussed here, but I'll take another look at it on your link.
Click to expand...

I love Hollins but I would have liked to have seen a reverse lay-up there. We needed the points. You don't want to take away a players agressiveness, but... those 2 pts. would have been huge, and the miss led to a run out, foul, 2 FTs, 5pt. game, at which time I knew we would lose.
 

Hollins dunk attempt was an obvious foul, including him being knocked to the ground, then they give Lucas two shots on the other end when he barely gets touched. They called about 4 reach-in calls on us - none on them - down the stretch, including in a tie game. Hightower definitely tries to be the most important ref no matter who he's with. Which guy is Tom O'Neil - the greaseball with the gold chain who can't run or the guy who looks like he's been underground for 2 years?
 

MattyH said:
Hollins dunk attempt was an obvious foul, including him being knocked to the ground, then they give Lucas two shots on the other end when he barely gets touched. They called about 4 reach-in calls on us - none on them - down the stretch, including in a tie game. Hightower definitely tries to be the most important ref no matter who he's with. Which guy is Tom O'Neil - the greaseball with the gold chain who can't run or the guy who looks like he's been underground for 2 years?
Click to expand...

Your local rec league I'm sure is in need of officials. That is a great place to start.

O'Neil is the greaseball. I saw more Gopher panic than bad officiating.
 

gopherfan3 said:
I can't remember exactly how the play transpired, but the one that seems to stick in my mind is the play where Trevor had went up for a put back, looked to have had possession and was undercut/shoved. I had troubling understanding how they could have missed such an obvious foul. Not sure if anyone else agrees but that's just my opinion. Definitely no excuse for blowing an 8 pt lead with 4 min to go though. Time to sweep the last 3 and get 2 wins come B10 tourney time
Click to expand...

I was livid after that no call, I have never seen such an obvious foul not get called. My poor wife had to hear my b!tch for about that one for awhile.
 

Hightower definitely always gets the other guys to defer to him (i.e. decides how to call the game), and it always causes problems. Too much ego out there for sure. Is O'Neil the sleazy-looking guy with the gold chain or the guy who looks like he's been undergound eating chalk for two years?
 


I never like to blame a loss on the refs unless there is a blatantly horrible call right at the end which I don't think was the case in this game. That being said, I've never seen a game that Hightower called that I thought was well officiated.
 


My friends and I call it The Ed Hightower Affect. I have never seen one man control and blow so many basketball games. It seems whenever there is a controversial call....Eddie Hightower is on court. It's not just Gopher games. The guy is terrible and has no reason to be on the court.

At the beginning of the season, I found Hightower's schedule and made sure not to attend any of the game he had the whistle. Sad, but true.

However, last nights loss was more then The Ed Hightower Affect. The Maroon and Gold are on a fast track to the NIT Tourney.

Hopefully it's not to late to turn the season around.

Go Gophers!
 

GophersInIowa said:
For your enjoyment:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=172&f=3725&t=1884620
Click to expand...

Yes. Good perspective. How can a guy focus on a ballgame when he's out fighting video Dragons in his spare time. Let's win three and hope old Ed and some carpetbaggers don't show up. My favorite part is how they blow a blatant call against you, give you three or four meaningless make-ups, and then decide they had better even it up toward the end of the game in your opponent's favor. Make the right call in the first place. A very frustrating one last night all around, but let's go.
 

I yelled so loud after that call. Unbelievable. I love the bailout jump into a guy that seems to always be called against us (especially by Hightower). The noncall on the Trevor putback was comical. There aren't many players in the BT stronger than Trevor. You'd think common sense would tell you that if he goes up, gets hit by someone, and then goes flying, that probably means it was a foul.

If those numbers are accurate, that's pretty damn scary. I'd like to say I'm surprised but I'm actually not. Hightower has to be the most consistently awful ref in any sport at any level that I've ever seen.

tjgopher said:
First off, I'm stunned no one has talked about the absolute BS foul call on Blake with :27 left. No way can you make that call there in a tie game when the MSU guy is literally throwing the ball to a Gopher. If you watch the play (and you can do so here at the 2:20 mark), Blake really doesn't do much, Appling fires the ball right to Chip. Whistle! Foul! MSU up 2 after the 91% FT shooter swishes both.

I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. But, according to my calculations with help from here, here are some interesting numbers to chew on.

Eddie Hightower has officiated 18 Big Ten Conference games that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 18 Big Ten games:

5-13 (.278 %)

Eddie Hightower has officiated 8 Big Ten Conference games in the last two years that Tubby Smith has coached in. Tubby's record in those 8 Big Ten games:

1-7 (.125 %)

Tubby Smith's record in all other Big Ten Conference games (those not officiated by Eddie Hightower):

27-23 (.540 %)
Click to expand...
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom