0n the whole I thought the officials did a good job of letting the teams play in a very physical game. Did I agree with every call? H#ll no! But having been a basketball official in a former life I' d give these guys a passing grade. To put it in prospective don't you think the Georgia faithful are wanting a call on Alexander's slapping of the ball away which effectively won the game for Tennessee? Referees make mistakes just like players and coaches but the 3 guys working this game just wanted the best team to win..i guarantee it.
I'm 28 years old. I played college sports and also have umpired softball and baseball since I was 16 (don't ask why they let me ump, blame Tennessee AAU) and have done basketball games since I was 19. I've probably called at least 200 games in both sports since I was 16 between college and work.
#1 rule is: Do not make the game about you unless it is impossible not to (see Malice at the Palace)
Guess what? We are even talking about them. They failed. They didn't just fail, they did so on levels not expected of NCAA refs.
You say they passed? I say they shouldn't work again in a power 5 conference. They missed enough calls, on both sides, that it DID impact the game. The end.
Did the team who should've won win? Maybe. But both teams best players fouled out, and realistically, neither should have based on the calls. Multiple missed travels. Multiple ticky tack fouls (which are judgement calls, but were not consistent), and multiple "lets got to the replay" calls that were not replay worthy.
The job is hard, yes. But it is not for cowards. And the amount of make up calls and refusal to call fair in this game showed what the NCAA is. A joke.
And that's why the FBI is investigating the sport as a whole.