For anyone who watched the New Jersey Fiasco on Wednesday, you know that the referees of that game missed a crucial call in the closing seconds of the game. A St. John’s player stepped out of bounds and threw the ball away, even though there were 1.7 seconds left on the clock, yet the refs blew the whistle only to signal that the game had ended and not to give the ball to Rutgers.
What you don’t know is that I used Minority Report-like technology and discovered what would have actually happened had the correct call been made.
1. Rutgers inbounds the ball, their guard (the technology doesn’t know/acknowledge players from New Jersey, so he’ll just be referred to as “guard”) catches the ball and shoots it over his shoulder from half court. Swish. Rutgers wins.
2. The refs who voluntarily withdrew from the Big East tournament no longer withdrew since the correct call was made.
3. Syracuse plays Rutgers on Thursday and destroys them easily. Instead of being a bit winded after a close game against St. John’s, they’re ready and raring to go against UConn.
4. Syracuse takes on UConn in the semifinals. Instead of tying the game with four seconds left, Scoop Jardine is fouled on his 3-pointer, and makes the free throw (in a world with Minority Report technology, Syracuse makes free throws occasionally). Kemba Walker attempts a basket for the win but misses after being slapped in the face by Brandon Reese. The refs don’t make the call. Calhoun is furious.
5. The refs acknowledge that they made a mistake and NOW they withdraw from the tournament.
6. A new set of refs officiate the finals between Syracuse and Louisville. The new refs hate Rick Pitino because he wears a white suit and looks like he just stepped off the set of The Sopranos. They don’t give Louisville any calls. They would give Syracuse extra calls, except they know that putting Syracuse at the foul line essentially equates to a loss.
7. Preston Knowles is called for charging and every player on Louisville gets ejected after arguing the call. They may have a point, since he was sitting on the bench when the foul was called. Nevertheless”¦
8. Syracuse wins the Big East!
Sure, it may seem far-fetched. But it’s more likely than Syracuse beating Louisville straight up, since that hasn’t happened in years. Congratulations, SU! We’re hypothetical Big East Champs!
