Five Questions for March Madness Fans -- #3

3) Will non-Big 10 officiating help Maryland and Michigan?

In an effort to boost scoring, some of the rules emphases were adjusted prior to this season. The 2015 season had featured a miserable 67.74 point per game average for teams. The effects of the changes have been marginal, and in fact scoring in non-overtime games has dragged in the last few weeks.

Historically, the Big 10 has been a rough and tumble conference that has allowed more bumping and grinding than other conferences. Two teams that were highly touted this season, Maryland and Michigan, have had their problems in-conference this year. Maryland had been considered a national title contender with an array of offensive stars.

Now that the Big 10 season is ending, might Maryland and Michigan benefit from quicker whistles once the national tournament starts? Both teams have players with great individual skills and open court firepower. Both have underachieved somewhat in the Big 10.

Is this an angle worth considering, or should we anticipate the officiating in the national tournament to be not much different than we've seen in the Big 10 this year?

Up until about three weeks ago I thought Maryland was the best team I'd seen all year, not sure if they can regroup, but excellent point guard play. Michigan looks like a team with a surprise run in them.