Ten days ago, I pointed out, on the occasion of a dispiriting Gopher basketball loss at Purdue, that the home team had so far this season won 15 of 16 Big Ten conference games. Since then home teams have gone 17-4, so for the season to date their winning percentage has dipped to 0.865.
Two more games today, both featuring unranked teams (Purdue, Minnesota) hosting a ranked opponent (Michigan State, Michigan). The home team won them both. I almost said both were upsets. Probably more accurate to say that the favored team, the unranked "underdog" playing at home, prevailed twice.
My theory of the case, which was that the home team is the beneficiary of unconscious bias on the part of the officials, may have arisen—I admit—from a rooting interest in the outcome of the Purdue-Minnesota game. I noticed today, while Purdue was dismantling Michigan State, that I don't much notice the officiating when I don't much care who wins. Still, for what it's worth, Purdue shot 18 free throws in the game, compared to just 6 for Michigan State. It seems that Purdue does not commit fouls when playing at home. In today’s Gopher game, the home team shot 27 free throws, the visitors 6, but that's because Michigan was hacking us all game long.
Seriously, though, if it's not officiating, what is it? Sleeping in your own bed makes you play better?
The first half was nearly over before it occurred to me that the voice of the Big Ten Network's play-by-play announcer belonged to Cory Probus, who broadcasts 162 Twins games during the baseball season. He has all the jobs I should have! Don't know where my life skidded off track.
I kept the TV on after the Gophers had won, and next up was a women's game between Minnesota and Illinois. First thing the announcers said was that two of the Gophers best players wouldn't play: one because she'd been suspended for "conduct unbecoming," the other because "she did not travel with the team." It'll be a sign that women's athletics is coming into its own when you can discover, with the help of Internet search engines, what specific variety of intemperance is blighting the lives of these female student athletes.
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