Don't Hold It Against St. John's For Victory Over Rutgers

There were still a few defiant Rutgers fans at Madison Square Garden this morning wanting to get their money's worth and waiting to for the final 1.7 seconds to run out in the second round game against St. John's.  Somebody ought to gently tell them the Scarlet Knights team will not be seeing any more action at this year's Big East Tournament. 

While bitter Rutgers fans--and authority figure haters-- have plenty to gripe about after yesterday's controversial 65-63 loss to the Red Storm, don't let it ruin one of the best feel-good-stories in college basketball--St. John's basketball.

Sure, the officials blew a couple of foul-calls against St. John's down the stretch and swallowed the whistle when Justin Brownlee grabbed a bobbled in-bounds toss with 4.9 seconds left in a frantic scramble for the ball.

Sure, the St. John's forward took three long steps (an obvious walk), planted one foot out-of-bounds and tossed the game ball into the stands with 1.7 seconds remaining while the officials scurried off the court, eliminating any chance for the pleading Rutgers players to tie or win the game. 

Sure, the officials, Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton, refused to take a look at the video-tape which clearly showed everyone--including a national television audience--there was still time on the clock, but don't blame the St. John's team.

It's too bad the St. John's team, no matter how far they go in the tournament, will be known less for their win streak and return to prominence, than the tarnished victory.

The blame must be squarely laid on the referees and not the St. John's players.  But others are not immune to the blatant non-calls.

The three veteran officials announced they were voluntarily stepping away from the rest of the tournament.  An admission of guilt?  Maybe.  An admission by the Big East that the three lost control of the game in the waning moment?  Not yet.

A lot of people have to wonder how 19,375 spectators at the Garden saw the infractions and the clueless refs didn't even let out a tweet from their whistles.

Home crowd favoritism--maybe?  It is Madison Square Garden and not the Garden State.

Tim Higgins looked like the grumpy old guy in "Up" as he scampered off the court through the tunnel.  The other two scattered like rats in an alley too.

Many others saw the final gaff by the officials.  One St. John's assistant pulled his jacket over his head in disbelief when Brownlee tossed the ball into the red seats.  Nobody does a victory cover up.

St. John's head coach, Steve Lavin, who was passed over for Big East Coach of the Year, but may have an Academy Award in his future.  Brownlee was walking right at Lavin with an outstretched hand when he touched the sideline. What coach isn't looking at the clock in a close game like this.  Right after the game,  Lavin just said, " Both teams played their fannies off."

It sounds like the majority of Johnnies' fans didn't see the infractions either. It looks like the confessional booths on St. John's campus could be a harder ticket than the tournament quarterfinals at the Garden today.

Blame Rutgers head coach, Mike Rice too.  He saw the whole fandango and bashed his forearms like it was some sort of spastic cheerleading move.  Most Big East coaches would have been over those officials like white-on-rice.  Instead Rutgers fans got Rice-on-Rice.  He should have pulled a Charlie Sheen and dragged those refs backs to the video review table. Even the Rutgers players pleaded with the refs before they brushed past them and ducked off the court.

Give Rice credit though.  He took the high road after consoling his disappointed players.  At a press conference he said, "Would I love to not have it happen?  Of course.  But I made so many mistakes in the game, it's unbelievable."

Chances are slim that the Scarlet Knights could have pulled of the comeback but they deserved to get that 1.7 seconds back.  Now,  St. John's tries to avenge a 76-59 loss in a quarterfinals game against Syracuse.

It would only be fair for the senior-laden St. John's team to get credit for their play after four years of stumbling.  The players deserve credit blending into a cohesive, winning squad and not be labeled fortunate or beneficiaries of a St. John's/Syracuse match-up conspiracy.

 Sometimes tournament play is all about getting a little help along the way.  A tipped ball or a missed call is part of the game.

As Lavin said after the game," We dodged a bullet."  More like four of them.

Officials Leave Court Before St. John's-Rutgers Game Ends. Big East: Game Is Over

In what has to be one of the most embarrassing moments in Big East Tournament history, game officials left the Madison Square Garden court with 1.7 seconds remaining in the game after a player traveled,  stepped out-of-bounds and then threw the game ball into the air.   St. John's was the lucky recipient of the missed call and won the second-round game over Rutgers, 65-63.

The bizarre sequence of events began on a full-court Rutgers inbounds pass, with 4.9 seconds remaining, which was tipped away to St. John's forward Justin Brownlee who dribbled towards the Red Storm bench to shake head coach Steve Lavin's hand but took three steps, touched the sideline and hurled the ball into the air on the way.  While the clock should have been stopped with 1.7 showing on the clock, two veteran officials, James Burr and Tim Higgins, rushed from the court as Rutgers players pleaded and pointed at the clock.  Nothing was discussed.

The non-call which would have given the ball back to Rutgers by either Brownlee stepping out-of-bounds or a travelling call was not the real issue.  Throwing the ball into the stands with time on the clock is a technical foul and would have given the Scarlet Knights two free throws AND the ball.

Lavin, said he didn't see the clock and none of the opposing players or coaches said anything to him during the final handshakes and the frantic play of both teams during the final seconds made it easy for the refs to miss a call.  He would only say that both teams "played their fannies off."

The Red Storm escaped with the win and Rutgers was basically robbed on a couple of other non-calls during the sloppy final minutes.

What's more amazing is the fact that the officials scurried off the court while Rutgers players stood in front of them and pointed out the discretion.  The officials didn't even consider looking at the videotapes.

Conspiracy theorists are having a field day.  Some are accusing the Big East of trying to set up a dream quarterfinal re-match between #4 Syracuse and the local favorites #5 St. John's.  It would be the Red Storm's first Big East quarterfinal game since 2003.

Others are looking at the over/under of 127.5 as a reason for the "muffed" calls, as if Tim Donahay was calling the game and the fix was in.

For now it looks like St. John's will move on in the tournament while Rutgers fans scream and protest the swallowed whistle.  The Big East will not put the two teams on the court tonight and said the game is over.

According to the Mike Francesa Show, the Big East released a statement after the game which said there were "two separate missed calls which occurred during the game...neither error is correctable or reviewable.  The two missed calls were traveling and stepping out of bounds."

Big East Tournament Worthy Tribute to Ali-Frazier 40 Years Later

It seems apropos that the Big East Tournament starts today at Madison Square Garden, 40 years to the day of the "Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.  An unprecedented 11 Big East teams could possibly be headed to this year's NCAA tournament and there will surely be plenty of slug fests over the next five days on the Garden floor.

On March 8, 1971, on the same Garden floor Ali and Frazier, two undefeated heavyweights, faced each other in what many consider the greatest fight ever in the Garden or the modern era.

It's hard to believe that 40 years have passed since that night when over 20,000 fans sitting in the seats and over 30 million watching on closed circuit TV saw Frazier drop Ali in the 15th round with a left hook.  It changed fight history and how it was broadcast forever.

Just like the boxing match, which boasted two great fighters and touched on political and sociological opposites of the day, this year's Big East Tournament is loaded with talent and great back stories--if not as explosive as four decades ago.

If men's college basketball could ever be compared to boxing, it would be measured against the Big East.  The next five days should provide plenty of slipping, sliding, jabs and hooks.

Winning the tournament, on the biggest stage of all, is an exhausting feat.  The quarterfinals could actually pit eight top-25 teams pounding each other to a pulp, only to have to go another round in Friday's semis and another in the championship game on Saturday.  It says something about the toughness of the conference and it's a worthy tribute to the Ali-Frazier masterpiece.  The finalists in this smoker could be as spent as the two great pugilists were after their fifteen rounds.

Put this tournament in perspective.  Today's first-round games feature three teams who could get an invitation to the Big Dance.  A #9 seeded team like Connecticut or a #10 seed like Villanova is looking at playing five games in five days if they make the championship game.  Then the NCAA tournament begins on Thursday.  It's a killer route, with no cupcakes on the schedule.  The Final Four must be the furthest thing from player's minds during and after battling through the Garden.

While 1971 had the pall of the Vietnam War dividing the nation, each fighter had his own demons.  It was Ali's third fight, since his exile from boxing for his stance as a "conscientious objector," and, in some circles, Ali was a pariah.   Frazier had to deal with Ali's popularity and showmanship.  Frazier was never able to escape the cloud of Ali, even after winning the Ali-Frazier 1.

The tournament, while not as political, brings in it's own sub-plots, heroes and villains.

#1 seeded Pitt is playing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA's.  #4 Syracuse and #3 Louisville are two of the hottest teams in the conference and should make good runs.  Can Villanova and Georgetown get over slumps and injuries to make a statement?

#5 St. John's--which faded a bit in the last week--is back on their home court.  The senior-filled team is 8-1 at the Garden and steamrolled six top-25 teams during that streak.  Their play during that run was the talk of college basketball and the Red Storm's return to prominence makes a tournament ticket an even hotter commodity this year.  If they roll like they did in February, a basically home court Big East Tournament Championship could be theirs for the taking. 

While the Big East is lacking a dominating force this year, there are still plenty of players worth watching.  Marshon Brooks (Providence) leads the conference in scoring with 24.8 points a game.  Kemba Walker (Connecticut), Ben Hansbrough (Notre Dame) and Dwight Hardy (St. John's) follow and can all light it up.  Brooks holds the conference single-game scoring record with 52 points he dumped on Notre Dame earlier this year

The World's Most Famous Arena shined like never before forty years ago.  Celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dustin Hoffman lit up the ringside.  The big names this week will be Pitino, Boeheim, Calhoun and Lavin.  Worthy names all,  but none bigger than Ali-Frazier  that one magical night.