In case you have not heard about the biggest story the past two hours, it was how Rutgers University got robbed of a chance to tie or possibly win in their first-round matchup against St. John's at the famous Madison Square Garden; I'll also discuss how this game reminded me of the "Ruffin the Puffin" problem that took place nine years ago.
First, some background:
The referees at this game, Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton, have been calling a very inconsistant game - or so I have heard. I just tuned in the last 17 seconds left of the game. But what happened in the last seven seconds will live in infamy.
Rutgers is set to inbound the ball from the opposing end and no timeouts left. They are down by two points with seven seconds left in the game. The player throws it to their own three-point-line, where the ball is deflected by one Rutgers' player and two St. Johns' players (mistake #1) into the hands of Rutgers forward Justin Brownlee. Brownlee, not knowing how much time is left on the clock, streaks down the left side of the court - without dribbling (mistake #2) - and steps out-of-bounds (mistake #3) with 1.7 seconds left.
The referees at this point are: a) Talking to the Rutgers' head coach about mistake #1; b) Looking half-heartedly at Brownlee; c)Not paying attention to the game.
The refs called nothing as the buzzer sounded - walking into the tunnel immediately while the coaches and players were shaking hands. As one of my friends would say: "Un-F***ing-believable."
Here's the last seven seconds, in real speed:
The referees should NOT be allowed to ref any Big East tournament game in the near future (basically, they should be suspended indefinitely), based on what they did in this important first-round match. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas also agrees with me:
Here's what ESPN's Scott Van Pelt and Bill Simmons also tweeted:
@notthefakeSVP: To be fair, Rutgers still would have needed to make a bucket with 1.7 but my God - the refs just stopped working the game. Pitiful
@sportsguy33: Tim Donaghy thinks the 3 Rutgers-Johnnie's refs were superb today.
This Big East game reminded me of a game that occurred in the NBA nine years ago - the infamous Michael Ruffin game. In this case, the Raptors, down by 3 (99-96), were inbounding in a similar situation to the Rutgers game. Washington Wizard power forward Michael Ruffin immediately caught the pass at the similar spot, then flung the ball straight up in the air. Ex-Toronto Raptors' guard Morris Peterson then flung a miracle three-point shot that banked in to tie the game. (The Wiz, out of bewilderment, ended up losing badly in OT)
In both cases, there was some stupidity involved with a certain person on the court, and that there was a terrible, egregious ending for one team (the Wizards and the Scarlet Knights).
So, that's the Controversial Sports News of the Day.
Signing off, Sameer.
First, some background:
The referees at this game, Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton, have been calling a very inconsistant game - or so I have heard. I just tuned in the last 17 seconds left of the game. But what happened in the last seven seconds will live in infamy.
Rutgers is set to inbound the ball from the opposing end and no timeouts left. They are down by two points with seven seconds left in the game. The player throws it to their own three-point-line, where the ball is deflected by one Rutgers' player and two St. Johns' players (mistake #1) into the hands of Rutgers forward Justin Brownlee. Brownlee, not knowing how much time is left on the clock, streaks down the left side of the court - without dribbling (mistake #2) - and steps out-of-bounds (mistake #3) with 1.7 seconds left.
The referees at this point are: a) Talking to the Rutgers' head coach about mistake #1; b) Looking half-heartedly at Brownlee; c)Not paying attention to the game.
The refs called nothing as the buzzer sounded - walking into the tunnel immediately while the coaches and players were shaking hands. As one of my friends would say: "Un-F***ing-believable."
Here's the last seven seconds, in real speed:
The referees should NOT be allowed to ref any Big East tournament game in the near future (basically, they should be suspended indefinitely), based on what they did in this important first-round match. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas also agrees with me:
Here's what ESPN's Scott Van Pelt and Bill Simmons also tweeted:
@notthefakeSVP: To be fair, Rutgers still would have needed to make a bucket with 1.7 but my God - the refs just stopped working the game. Pitiful
@sportsguy33: Tim Donaghy thinks the 3 Rutgers-Johnnie's refs were superb today.
This Big East game reminded me of a game that occurred in the NBA nine years ago - the infamous Michael Ruffin game. In this case, the Raptors, down by 3 (99-96), were inbounding in a similar situation to the Rutgers game. Washington Wizard power forward Michael Ruffin immediately caught the pass at the similar spot, then flung the ball straight up in the air. Ex-Toronto Raptors' guard Morris Peterson then flung a miracle three-point shot that banked in to tie the game. (The Wiz, out of bewilderment, ended up losing badly in OT)
In both cases, there was some stupidity involved with a certain person on the court, and that there was a terrible, egregious ending for one team (the Wizards and the Scarlet Knights).
So, that's the Controversial Sports News of the Day.
Signing off, Sameer.
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