NCAA Basketball: 2021-22 season preview based on quotes from the “Sopranos”

"“I’m like King Midas in reverse here. Everything I touch turns to s**t.”"

The offseason is great. Everyone talks about all the new talent their teams added without ever seeing any of said talent play a game and how Player X is in the best shape of his life after going vegan and doing 5:00 AM Pilates sessions on the beach. No one can actually win or lose any arguments which makes it awesome.

But you know who doesn’t get any attention in the offseason? The refs! For a part of the game that garners so much attention during the season, college officiating gets a needed reprieve in the summer months.

I’m not letting Bo Boroski and Big Ten referees off the hook, though. There is nothing more nauseating than watching a great game become a ref show in the waning minutes. Remember the Iowa-Wisconsin game late this past season? An awesome game turned into an unwatchable, drawn-out hour of replay reviews.

I just don’t want everyone to go into the season naively thinking that their team controls their own destiny. They don’t. The refs will cost your team at least three games this year simply because they hate you personally, or the other team is paying them. Sorry for telling the truth.