There were 46 fouls called in Duke's Sweet 16 victory over Arizona. Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

After botched flagrant foul, Arizona-Duke officials don't advance to Elite 8

Originally posted on Arizona Wildcats on SI
By Ben Sherman | Last updated Mar 29, 2025 3:39 PM ET

How bad was the officiating in Duke's 100-93 victory over Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament?

Bad enough that not a single one of the three officials has been selected to call an Elite Eight game this weekend.

Officials in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament are evaluated after each round and advance to the next round based on their scores. The scores for Lee Cassell, Michael Greenstein and Keith Kimbell did not meet the bar, and all three are done for the tournament.

Here are the officials who advanced to the Elite Eight:

Jeffrey Anderson
Steven Anderson
Roger Ayers Jr
James Breeding
Don Daily
AJ Desai
Courtney Green
Ron Groover
Michael Irving
Gregory Nixon
Terry Oglesby
Doug Sirmons

Your Elite 8 Officials….

Jeffrey Anderson
Steven Anderson
Roger Ayers Jr
James Breeding
Don Daily
AJ Desai
Courtney Green
Ron Groover
Michael Irving
Gregory Nixon
Terry Oglesby
Doug Sirmons
— OfficiatingObserver17 (@RefObserver17) March 29, 2025

It's surprising not to see Kipp Kissinger on that list. He has consistently been one of the best officials in college basketball. But college basketball fans are no doubt relieved that Cassell, Greenstein and Kimbell are no longer involved.

The Arizona-Duke game featured 46 fouls — 24 on Arizona and 22 on Duke — and 50 free throws. There was no consistency in the calls, with multiple obvious fouls being ignored, while soft, touch fouls were whistled.

And the rules weren't consistently applied. A flagrant 1 foul was called on Arizona when Jaden Bradley pulled Duke's Kom Knueppel to the floor in a "hook-and-hold" play. Just minutes later, Duke's Patrck Ngongba II clearly pulled Arizona's Henri Veesaar to the ground, and should have been assessed a flagrant 1 foul. After reviewing the play, the officials left it as a common foul.

The non-call left fans and media members baffled.

Such a big point of emphasis a couple years ago. It’s disappeared.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) March 28, 2025

It is not an easy job and these officials are under a lot of pressure and scrutiny. It’s also much easier to make calls from the couch with replays.

But, they had the monitor and the opportunity to review that clear hook and hold. There really isn’t an excuse. Textbook Flagrant
— OfficiatingObserver17 (@RefObserver17) March 28, 2025

How is this a common foul when he hooked him and swung him to the ground lmao duke getting bailed out again pic.twitter.com/WFOOHAe5ZZ
— John (@iam_johnw) March 28, 2025

I'm not sure I've seen a worse reffed game in a while. These #Duke #Arizona officials are ALL over the place. Wildly inconsistent. Phantom calls. Blatant no-calls. Etc.
— Justin Kinney (@justinr_kinney) March 28, 2025

Here's the Elite Eight schedule for the NCAA men's basketball tournament:

Saturday, March 29

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, 3:09 p.m. PT/MST - TBS/truTV

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Alabama, 5:49 p.m. PT/MST - TBS/truTV

Sunday, March 30

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 2 Tennessee, 11:20 a.m. PT/MST - CBS

No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 2 Michigan State, 2:05 p.m. PT/MST - CBS