Associated Press
The college basketball roundup …
NEW YORK ó Madison Square Garden has been a special court for St. Johnís in its return to national prominence.
The latest win there for the Red Storm ó 65-63 over Rutgers in the second round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday ó was achieving legendary status within minutes of the game ending.
It wasnít great plays by St. Johnís that will make this a memorable game. Rather it was two turnovers that werenít called and this wasnít just the losing team complaining about a tough loss.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto issued a statement about 40 minutes after the game ended admitting there were two errors made by the veteran officiating crew.
A wild last minute that had two lead changes, two turnovers that were called, the two that werenít and two missed free throws finished with Justin Brownlee of St. Johnís taking a couple of extra steps, stepping out of bounds and throwing the ball into the stands while the final 1.7 seconds ticked off the clock.
ěThe Big East Conference acknowledges that two separate officiating errors occurred at the conclusion of the St. Johnís vs. Rutgers game,î he said, referring to the travel and stepping out of bounds. ěBoth missed violations should have caused the game clock to stop and a change of possession to occur prior to the end of the game. Neither error is reviewable or correctable under NCAA rules.î
The result will stand. The 17th-ranked and fifth-seeded Red Storm (21-10) advanced to the tournament quarterfinals for the 20th time overall and first since 2003.
Under first-year coach Steve Lavin, the Red Storm closed the regular season winning nine of 11 and all but one of the six wins against ranked teams came at the Garden. The lone loss was 79-56 to Syracuse on Jan. 12.
Rutgers (15-17) puts the balls away now, the first season under coach Mike Rice in the books with the questionable ending.
ěWas there a mistake made? I saw it on YouTube. There was a mistake made,î he said of the veteran officiating crew of Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton. ěIím sure theyíll admit it. I made several mistakes, my players made several mistakes. Iím sure our staff made several mistakes.
ěIt has to be a mistake. Itís got to be. I just saw it on YouTube. … Itís unfortunate. Believe me, thereís going to be blood coming through my tongue right now, but it is what it is. Weíre going to control how we respond.î
No. 21 Connecticut 79, No. 22 Georgetown 62
NEW YORK ó Kemba Walker scored 28 points in another stellar performance, leading the 21st-ranked Huskies past No. 22 Georgetown 79-62 and into the conference tournament quarterfinals.
No. 25 Cincinnati 87, S. Fla. 61
NEW YORK ó Yancy Gates was nearly perfect from the field, scoring a career-high 25 points and leading 25th-ranked Cincinnati to an 87-61 rout.
Marquette 67, No. 20 WVU 61
NEW YORK (AP) ó Darius Johnson-Odom scored 11 points, including two big 3-pointers in the final minutes, and Marquette beat No. 20 West Virginia 67-61.
CONFERENCE USA
EL PASO, Texas ó Darrius Morrow’s double-double propelled East Carolina to a 75-60 victory over UCF in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.
Morrow had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Pirates (17-14), who will face top-seeded UAB (22-7) in the quarterfinals today.
NORTHEAST FINAL
NEW YORK ó No need to wait for Jay-Z and the Nets to arrive. Long Island University has already brought big-time basketball back to Brooklyn.
Jamal Olasewere scored seven of his 31 points in overtime and LIU earned its first NCAA tournament bid in 14 years with an 85-82 overtime victory against two-time defending champion Robert Morris in the Northeast Conference title game Wednesday night.
BIG SKY FINAL
GREELEY, Colo. ó GREELEY, Colo. ó Devon Beitzel scored 13 of his 27 points over the final 5 minutes, helping top-seeded Northern Colorado earn a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history with a 65-60 win over Montana on Wednesday night.
The Bears (21-10) have only been postseason-eligible since 2007 after moving up from the Division II ranks.