I’ve always complained about the officiating in college basketball. For example, the criteria for calling a blocking versus a charging foul varies all over the place… Well, a couple of professors at Indiana University watched some college basketball games and came to the conclusion that the home fans do have a great impact on games, and officials often are not objective in their efforts to be fair to both teams.
The researchers noted a clear pattern of an increased probability of a foul on the team with fewer fouls, the visiting team, and the team that is leading.
If you want an interesting companion piece to go along with these officiating insights, check out this excerpt from the book by former NBA referee Tim Donaghy. He indicates that the individual personalities of NBA referees have had a great impact on the game…