Officiating.

I contend the state of that craft was such this season that critics were ready to pounce. They got their opportunity after the gaffe at the Big East Tournament. The incident wasn’t good for the game, but maybe the outcry was. Many questions were asked of the entire operation and a lot of eyes were directed to what most believe is a problem.

Well, here comes the NCAA Tournament, which is where you really see some incongruity in games governed by three guys who may have never worked together before.

“Those are hard games,” Brigham Young Coach Dave Rose said. “There’s no relationship at all, and you’re trying to get some kind of interaction. Some are good by nature. Others are like: ‘I’m in the tournament here. My call is the right call, so leave me alone.’ But those are real issues, and I don’t know how you address them.”

The 98 top officials selected for the N.C.A.A. tournament are randomly assigned, which often means an adjustment for coaches, players and the officials themselves.

There is a chance that a coach will not know all three officials and that the officials themselves have not worked together.

And with seasons, coaching careers and millions of dollars at stake, a delicate process must be played out under intense pressure on college basketball’s biggest stage.

“You have to quickly know what you can and can’t do and adjust,” Fisher said.