Foul disparity helped ISU beat UI

Two excellent Iowa basketball teams (Iowa State and the University of Iowa) met and played at Ames Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 13. It was a tossup in who might win.

From my perspective, it wasn't that Iowa State won the game, but the University of Iowa lost the game. I believe there was one big factor why the University of Iowa lost - fouls called on the behalf of each team were way out of proportion. Iowa State had 36 foul shots vs. the University of Iowa's 21 foul shots.

One could look at this and see Iowa State earned 23 points vs. the University of Iowa earning 14. Had there been a close balance in “calls” going into the final minutes, the University of Iowa may have been more than 5 points ahead with a little over a minute to play.

You cannot play the game over, but I believe this was a big factor in the University of Iowa's loss. Coach Fran McCaffrey might have thought it wouldn't do our team any good bringing this to the attention of the referees at this point in time.

David H. Burke

Cedar Rapids