# Why did Brian Zoubeck intentionally miss his second foul shot at the end of the Duke/Butler game? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 6, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154 "2010-04-06T16:19:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154/21 "2010-04-06T23:58:24Z")
> [@Doctor\_Who](#): > > Snipped. The referees were ridiculous. I’m not a Duke or a Butler fan, but both teams’ fans could be legitimately pissed about the number of either (a) no calls or (b) wildly inconsistent calls. At one point there were like five bodies on the ground and the referees were acting like they weren’t issued whistles. I mean come on, I don’t care what you call, but you gotta call something. It was fairly obvious from the beginning that they were going to let them get physical, but I thought it was a huge issue. If the refs aren’t enforcing basketball rules, it’s basically Calvin-ball. > > So there you go, Duke fans, National Collegiate Calvin-ball Champions!!! 😉 I’ve got to agree with you here. Both teams were just clubbing each other. I know we want “the teams to decide it, not the refs,” but once in a while, you’ve got to call a foul a foul! I thought all the no-calls took away from the game for both teams. Probably ended up helping Butler a little more, as it kept the score down, but didn’t do much for the fans. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154/22 "2010-04-07T12:24:38Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > I’ve got to agree with you here. Both teams were just clubbing each other. I know we want “the teams to decide it, not the refs,” but once in a while, you’ve got to call a foul a foul! > > I thought all the no-calls took away from the game for both teams. Probably ended up helping Butler a little more, as it kept the score down, but didn’t do much for the fans. I didn’t actually see the final game, but some of us appreciate college basketball because defense isn’t a dirty word, and the referees don’t act like they’re getting paid per point scored. As a fan, the NBA-style, ‘if LeBron/Kobe/Wade/Pierce didn’t score it must have been a foul’ doesn’t do much for me. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154/23 "2010-04-07T15:55:25Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I didn’t actually see the final game, but some of us appreciate college basketball because defense isn’t a dirty word, and the referees don’t act like they’re getting paid per point scored. As a fan, the NBA-style, ‘if LeBron/Kobe/Wade/Pierce didn’t score it must have been a foul’ doesn’t do much for me. If there’s no defense in the NBA, why do so many guys who scored 20-30 points every night in college turn into busts in the NBA? Defenses are MUCH tighter and MUCH more complicated in the NBA. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154/24 "2010-04-07T23:28:25Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > If there’s no defense in the NBA, why do so many guys who scored 20-30 points every night in college turn into busts in the NBA? > > Defenses are MUCH tighter and MUCH more complicated in the NBA. This. I tried watching this tournament since i love basketball but college ball is just so BAD that i can’t stand watching even the best teams play. Its nothing but passing the ball around the perimeter then putting up a horrible shot. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154/25 "2010-04-07T23:45:42Z")
> [@Doctor\_Who](#): > > Snipped. The referees were ridiculous. I’m not a Duke or a Butler fan, but both teams’ fans could be legitimately pissed about the number of either (a) no calls or (b) wildly inconsistent calls. At one point there were like five bodies on the ground and the referees were acting like they weren’t issued whistles. I mean come on, I don’t care what you call, but you gotta call something. It was fairly obvious from the beginning that they were going to let them get physical, but I thought it was a huge issue. If the refs aren’t enforcing basketball rules, it’s basically Calvin-ball. > > So there you go, Duke fans, National Collegiate Calvin-ball Champions!!! 😉 You watched a game that I didn’t. Refs were pretty good. I happen to be an ACC fan, so I wanted Duke, but Butler was my 90% next choice for being so good. They played better in the final than I ever thought they could. College ball is a totally separate sport from the NBA. Totally. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154/26 "2010-04-08T16:21:58Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > This. I tried watching this tournament since i love basketball but college ball is just so BAD that i can’t stand watching even the best teams play. Its nothing but passing the ball around the perimeter then putting up a horrible shot. Agreed. It reminded me of hockey- just flailing the ball all over the place and eventually take a wild shot. Yes, I realize that hockey is far more sophisticated than that, and that if I’d give it a chance, I’d learn to appreciate it. But I haven’t yet, so that’s what it looks like to my uneducated eye. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154/27 "2010-04-08T16:36:34Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > You watched a game that I didn’t. Refs were pretty good. Snipped. Well, I can’t argue with your opinion. But, I guess there were some people who watched the same game I did: [link.](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ggg2xpi-fJS5Aydb9nDxOunjrrDwD9ET9B800) [link.](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/374323-2010-ncaa-championship-worst-ever-or-just-bad-for-college-basketball) Can you please point me to a couple of links praising the officiating crew for doing a pretty good job? Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-brian-zoubeck-intentionally-miss-his-second-foul-shot-at-the-end-of-the-duke-butler-game/535154.md?page=1)