With this year’s edition of March Madness coming to an end, the biggest source of “madness” continues to come from the referees.

Players and fans alike have cited controversial decisions that ultimately decided games, such as a possible missed charge against NCAA poster boy Zion Williamson that allowed Duke to narrowly avoid a massive upset loss to Central Florida.

Viewers of that game surely had some deja vu watching the Tennessee-Purdue game, an exciting one that saw the Volunteers’ comeback ended by a questionable foul that allowed Purdue to force overtime. And then there was this weekend’s Virginia win, which was due in large part to a missed double dribble followed by three free throws.

All the negative headlines regarding blown calls certainly are not a good look for the NCAA, let alone the fans and athletes who have to endure heartbreaking losses from outside assistance.

There is a solution to this problem, but it remains to be told if the NCAA would bother considering it.

The ideology of refereeing needs to be changed throughout the sport. Other sports like hockey see refs completely swallow the whistle, allowing the talent to settle the score and decide the outcome of the game.

While basketball obviously involves many more infractions than hockey, this precedent needs to be set. Fans are not watching games to see referees decide games. They want the players who have rehearsed the game-winning shot to go and perform in the clutch.

This tournament has been very reminiscent of the debacle that was the NFL conference championship round, with the Saints being robbed on a pass interference call that helped decide their losing outcome and the Patriots gaining some calls like a phantom pass interference call on their way to a victory.

Referees are always going to make mistakes and cause controversy; they are still human beings after all. The problem is that too many games today are being unfairly affected by non-players.

Something has to be done about the persistent refereeing problem that has plagued an otherwise exciting tournament. Let’s hope that the NBA prospects like De’Andre Hunter and Jarrett Culver, the ones who will be earning millions in a few months to play, can decide the championship game — not the guys taking up a part-time job on the floor with them.