Who are the Final Four refs? Duke-Houston, Florida-Auburn get top officials

The Final Four is locked and loaded.

Four great teams (Duke, Houston, Florida, Auburn) and incredible players on display.

And oh yeah, those referees are the best in the business, too. It's a huge honor for the men with the whistles who are chosen to officiate the national semifinals and championship game.

In all, 11 were chosen, accounting for three in each game and a couple of standbys in case of need.

Who are the Duke-Houston refs?

The three officials in charge of refereeing the Duke vs. Houston Final Four game are Roger Ayers, Tony Padilla and Courtney Green.

The crew has AJ Desai on standby.

Ayers is in his seventh Final Four as an official. It's the fourth trip for Padilla, while Green is at his second Final Four.

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Who are the Florida-Auburn refs?

The three officials in charge of refereeing the Florida vs. Auburn Final Four game are Keith Kimble, James Breeding and Doug Shows.

Their standby official is Michael Irving.

Kimble is in his seventh Final Four, followed by Shows in his sixth and Breeding in his fourth.

Who will ref the national championship game?

The national championship officials are different than those chosen for the Final Four games.

The head referee for the national final will be Ron Groover, accompanied by Doug Sirmons and Terry Oglseby.

Sirmons is in his 10th Final Four, while Groover is in his seventh and Oglesby is in his sixth.

How are the Final Four refs chosen?

The officials for the Final Four are announced at the start of the week, although their game assignments aren't released until Saturday afternoon.

They're considered the best of the best in college basketball.

“Collectively, this group of officials have done an exceptional job officiating in the tournament,” said Chris Rastatter, the national coordinator of officiating. “Similar to how teams advance in the tournament with exceptional performances, these officials have been deemed the best amongst their peers and therefore advance to work on the biggest stage at the Final Four. Among the many officials who have performed well in the tournament the last two weeks, this group separated themselves.” 

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