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Auburn-Florida Referees Under Fire For Controversial Final Four Decisions

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 8:57 PM ET

The first of the two NCAA Tournament Final Four games took place between the No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers and fellow No. 1 seed Florida Gators.

Both teams had been as hot as they come, but it was the Gators who survived and advanced. They went on to win 79-73 to advance to the program's fourth title game in its history, but one of the biggest discussions amongst fans throughout the game was regarding the game's officiating.

With a trip to the championship on the line, the officials called 37 fouls in total. While they didn't necessarily benefit one team more than the other, many fans were upset with how involved they were in a game of this magnitude.

Two unbelievably bad calls vs Florida late here keeping Auburn right in this thing.

Richard hammered by Broome — called a travel.

Haugh clean block on Baker-Mazara is called a foul.

Gators lead by 4. What a game. Refs hopefully don’t ruin it.
— Neil W. Blackmon (@nwblackmon) April 6, 2025

"These refs can’t be allowed to ever do a Final Four again," wrote one user.

"Man these final four refs are some of the worst I’ve ever seen," added another.

These refs are a joke," chimed in another.

"Ref show, NOT NOW," implored another user.

"I’m not a blame the refs guy but this is INSANE," said another.

Unfortunately, the officials are just as important to a game as the players as they can create swings or kill momentum. However, in an era where fans are always going to complain about officiating it appears that the officials in Saturday's game got a bit too involved in the action.

With the win, the Gators will take on the winner of the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars and No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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