Officials Cost Rutgers Win in Big East Tournament

St. John's defeated Rutgers today, 65-63, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Check that; St. John's and the officials defeated Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights had possession with 4.9 seconds and chance to tie or take the lead, but the inbounds pass was dropped and the Red Storm's Justin Brownlee picked up the loose ball. Here's where it got interesting.

Brownlee took three steps without dribbling, stepped out of bounds and tossed the ball into the air, all with time still left on the clock. See for yourself:



And prior to this, St. John's appeared to commit two fouls on consecutive possessions, but neither were called.

Notice how quickly the refs walked off the court. Checking for traveling or stepping out of bounds is not reviewable, but checking the game clock is. Was the game over when Brownlee threw the ball in the air? No.

And who were those refs? Tim Higgins, Jim Burr, and Earl Walton.

Tim Higgins and Jim Burr have called big games. They have also made their share of bad calls. So many, in fact, that critics have made Higgins and Burr fake Twitter accounts.

I'm normally not one to complain about the officials. I prefer the looser style of officiating in the Big East that allows the players to determine the outcome, to an extent. Obviously, this is a different situation. This was not a decision of foul or no foul, this was a case of clear violations (traveling, out of bounds) not being called.

It's happened before, and it'll happen again, but that doesn't make any single bad call less important. This call influenced St. John's seeding in the NCAA Tournament, which in turn influences other team's seeds. It also ended Rutgers' season.

What do Higgins and Burr have to say for themselves? Cheers!

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