College basketball officials had some issues Monday night to say the least.

The scenarios have been well discussed, so I won't waste time going into detail about the actual plays.

Instead I'll give my take on them.

First of all, the situation here in Knoxville was at best questionable.

I thought there should have been no time left on the clock.

There is no doubt it stopped momentarily at 0.2, and I believe that bought the Lady Vols the time needed to draw a foul.

Was there an inadvertent whistle that went unheard on television?

Was it just a clock malfunction?

Was there something else going on in this game?

I'm not sure we'll ever know exactly what happened.

What I do know is both of these teams will be playing deep into March.

They will both probably be top two seeds.

And knowing what I know of women's college basketball, there is a great chance these teams will meet again in late March or even early April.

Therefore, the fuss over the finish is a little bit silly to me.

Still, anytime the players aren't allowed to decide the game's outcome it is bothersome to me, and that was the case in the game. 

However, the officiating at the end of the Georgetown-Villanova game left much more to be desired in my eyes than what occurred at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Villanova is a team that has talent.

They are going through some struggles right now, though.

A win at Georgetown could have put them back on the right track.

The officials didn't give them the opportunity to do that

Calling a foul 75 feet away from the basket in a tie game with under a second left is completely and utterly ridiculous.

I really don't care if Villanova's player had picked up Jonathan Wallace and thrown him into the fifth row.

A foul should not have been called in that situation.

I just hope Villanova doesn't end up one win out of the Big East tournament, or worse yet, one quality win off the NCAA tournament bubble.

Look out for a free fall

Georgetown

Georgetown came in at No. 7 in our poll this week, one spot higher than the AP or coaches put the Hoyas. This team needed overtime to beat Syracuse at home and needed the officials to beat West Virginia and Villanova. They've also lost all three of their road games against tournament-caliber teams. They did blow out Notre Dame and squeak by UConn weeks ago, but something tells me if either of those teams got another shot it wouldn't be the same story. With the teams left on the regular season schedule Georgetown will probably stay in the top ten the until tourney time. When it comes to the postseason, though, don't expect the kind of performance a top ten team should provide.

Michigan State

I've been saying the No. 9 Spartans have been overrated since November and it looks like they're finally starting to prove me right. Last week they lost to a sub .500 Penn State team and Tuesday they lost to a very young Purdue team. Two games with Indiana and trips to Ohio State and Wisconsin still remain on the schedule. There is no way this team should be the highest-ranked team out of the Big Ten, and I don't think they will be again this season after this week.

Butler

No. 10 Butler hasn't really played anyone of note this year. Ohio State is the only team with a chance of making the Big Dance on the schedule for the Bulldogs. The team's two losses this year came at Wright State and at Cleveland State, the other top teams in the Horizon League. Butler has risen to the top ten by winning a lot of games against bad teams, and that won't serve them well against the big boys in March.

Teams that will come charging

UConn

Our poll has the Huskies at No. 15, which is higher than the AP and coaches rank them. I think that's still too low. They've run off seven straight wins including victories over Marquette, Indiana, Louisville and Pittsburgh. Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price have powered the streak, and with a remaining schedule that does not appear too daunting the Huskies have a solid chance to enter the postseason on a 15-game winning streak. That is if they can get through another underrated team Wednesday night against Notre Dame.

Purdue

The No. 20 Boilermakers are a team that might have burst onto the national scene with their past two wins. It shouldn't have taken that long. The wins at Wisconsin on Saturday and against Michigan State on Tuesday extended Purdue's win streak to 10 games and improved the team to 11-1 in conference. Freshmen Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore lead a team that's top four scorers are in either their first or second year of college. Road trips to Ohio State and Indiana will be tough, but might be the only possible losses left before the postseason.

Notre Dame

The Irish came in at No. 21 this week, lower than either the AP or Coaches rank them. With five straight wins it appears Notre Dame is peaking at the right time. Sophomore forward Luke Harangody averages a double-double, while junior guard Kyle McAlarney has returned from a suspension last season to average 15.2 points per game this year. Sophomore point guard Tory Jackson gets the offense rolling with his 6.2 assists per game, tops in the Big East. Wednesday's match-up at UConn gives the team a shot for a marquee road win.