Officials Kentucky fans love to hate were on college basketball’s biggest stage

Random notes:

▪ A few of the officials Kentucky basketball fans have the most problems with worked the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four and national championship games last weekend.

Terry Oglesby, Ron Groover and Keith Kimble were the officials for Connecticut’s 76-59 win over San Diego State in Monday night’s title game.

Oglesby and Kentucky Coach John Calipari had their run-ins this season during the six UK games Oglesby worked — Michigan State, at Tennessee, Kansas, Arkansas, at Florida and versus Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.

Groover and Kimble each worked two UK games this season. Groover worked Kentucky wins vs. Louisville and Mississippi State. Kimble worked the Cats’ losses at Missouri and at home against Vanderbilt.

Doug Sirmons and Roger Ayers worked alongside Jeff Anderson for UConn’s win over Miami in Saturday’s national semifinals. Calipari and Ayers have had their moments. And Calipari objected to Sirmons’ calls in UK’s 2015 Final Four loss to Wisconsin and 2016 overtime loss at Kansas. Two weeks after that Kansas loss, Sirmons ejected Calipari less than three minutes into Kentucky’s win at South Carolina.

Last but not least, John Higgins worked San Diego State’s 72-71 win over FAU in Saturday’s semifinal alongside Bert Smith and Kipp Kissinger. Higgins has not officiated a Kentucky game since UK lost to North Carolina on a last-second shot in the Elite Eight of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

After that game, Higgins filed suit against Kentucky Sports Radio, claiming KSR incited death threats against him. Fans left bad reviews on social media regarding Higgins’ roofing business in Nebraska. In 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a 2019 decision by a Kentucky judge to dismiss the case.

▪ Basketball officials have impossible jobs, but I agree with CBS Sports writer and analyst Gary Parrish who says the sport has a “foul trouble” problem. There were too many games during both the men’s and women’s tournaments in which key players were sitting the bench in foul trouble.

Examples: South Carolina women’s basketball star Aliyah Boston was hampered by foul trouble throughout the Gamecocks’ loss to Iowa in the Final Four. Then in Sunday’s national title game, Iowa’s Monika Czinano suffered the same fate in the Hawkeyes’ loss to LSU.

I’m not for adopting the NBA guideline of six fouls before a player fouls out of a game, but the problem needs to be addressed.

▪ Speaking of a very entertaining women’s Final Four, I’m not going to be the old guy who objects to the trash talking/gestures of LSU’s Angel Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. As Clark said, “I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk in the entire tournament. It’s not just me and Angel.”

Also, I’m glad first lady Jill Biden backed off her initial statement that both LSU and Iowa should visit the White House. That’s not for runners-up. To the winner go the spoils.

▪ Speaking of Parrish, Gary has Kentucky ranked 13th in his never-too-early Top 25 for 2023-24. That sounds about right to me.

▪ NFL Network draft analyst Bucky Brooks has ex-Kentucky quarterback Will Levis falling out of the first round on April 28.

To me, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19 could be an interesting fit for Levis.

▪ Probably wrong, but I don’t get the fascination with Florida’s Anthony Richardson as an NFL quarterback.

▪ Keeneland’s Spring Meet begins Friday. The track is offering free digital programs throughout the meet. Visit Keeneland.com/program.

▪ Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze has proposed that teams play local teams in spring games. Troy Coach Jon Sumrall likes the idea. “I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I’d go play,” said the former UK linebacker and assistant coach.

Sumrall said a better idea would be for programs to conduct joint practices, a la NFL teams in training camp. Kentucky could hold practices with Eastern Kentucky or Western Kentucky or even Louisville.

▪ Joe Burrow ended the five-year run by Fiona, the beloved hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo, as the No. 1 Cincinnatian in the 27th annual Best of Cincinnati poll.

Move over Kentucky and fellow college basketball blue bloods, UConn is in the club

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