Inexcusable 1st half officiating mistake put Tennessee in a huge bind

I mean, this is just very unfortunate for Tennessee. Going up a great team like Michigan they cannot afford any extra  help and the refs made a huge blunder that just completely screwed over the Vols. 

Justin Gainey in the mix for the NC State job, and Rick Barnes is pushing for him to get it

What happened was, Tennessee forward DeWayne Brown II got his second foul on a play down low. This forced Rick Barnes to take him out of the game and put Felix Okpara back in. Well, Okpara had two fouls and then boom all of the sudden he picks up No. 3. Then, the refs at the media timeout switch the foul on Brown to Amari Evans.

So to put it in perspective, the refs messed up the foul call on Brown, which forced Barnes to go with Okpara and then he picked up his third foul, but he shouldn’t have had to go in ways cause the foul wasn’t on Brown. Just ridiculous from the refs. 

Another missed call on the play

There was also another missed call on the play where Okpara got his third foul. Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg got an and-1 on a reverse layup. The opportunity happened because Roddy Gayle came in and dunked the ball while it was still on the rim, and it still counted despite a clear goaltending. I mean, come on. The officials in this game need to get a grip. It’s been a free-throw contest the whole first half, with the whistle blowing non-stop. 

The reality is, Tennessee is not losing this game because of the refs, but they certainly aren’t doing the Vols any favors. Missed calls and blunders are hurting Tennessee vastly today.