NORTH TEXAS -- The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has approved 10 game officials recommended by John W. Adams, the national coordinator of officiating, to work Saturday’s two national semifinal games and Monday’s national championship game. A three-man crew will work each Final Four game, while one official will serve as the standby official for all three contests.
The NCAA has notified these 10 individuals selected to work the 2014 Final Four, which will be played at AT&T Stadium in North Texas:
• Pat Adams, Mobile, Ala.
• Joe DeRosa, North Canton, Ohio
• Verne Harris, Denver, Colo.
• John Higgins, Omaha, Neb.
• Michael Roberts, Atlanta, Ga.
• Doug Shows, Rome, Ga.
• Doug Sirmons, Virginia Beach, Va.
• Michael Stephens, Cranston, R.I.
• Mike Stuart, Maryville, Tenn.
• Terry Wymer, North Baltimore, Ohio.
“The 10 men selected to officiate in this year's Final Four have been evaluated after every game in the tournament, and all of them consistently graded out as excellent in play calling accuracy, communicating with coaches and players and officiating the games according to the rules as written,” Adams said. “They represent the best in NCAA men's basketball officiating.”
Harris will officiate his seventh Final Four, while Stuart and Higgins are both calling their fifth and Shows is calling his fourth. This will be the third Final Four for Stephens and Adams, and will be the second for DeRosa, Sirmons and Wymer. Roberts will be calling his first Final Four.
Saturday’s first semifinal features South Regional champion and overall No. 1 seed Florida facing Connecticut, the No. 7 seed and champion from the East Regional. The Gators are in their first Final Four since winning back-to-back national championships in 2006 and '07, while the Huskies are in their fifth Final Four and are searching for their fourth national title in the past 15 years. Tipoff is set for 6:09 p.m. ET. The second game, which will begin 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first game, pits West Regional champion Wisconsin against Midwest Regional champion Kentucky. The second-seeded Badgers defeated top-seeded Arizona to reach its first Final Four since 2000, while No. 8 Kentucky defeated three of the top four seeds in the region to advance to their third Final Four in the past four years.
The officiating assignments for each semifinal game, as well as Monday night’s national championship game, will be announced Saturday morning.
