Syracuse - Duke Postgame Reactions OR Did That Really Happen?
0 Comments Published on 2.24.2014 by Brian Harrison
Not sure I could take off and put on a suit coat as quick as Jimmy.
The highly anticipated rematch happened. Yes, Syracuse was still #1 but they had lost on Wednesday so we knew Syracuse wasn't going to stay there. And Syracuse lost to Duke. Now 1-1 on the season, most of the game was great to watch. The end stunk for a lot of reasons. We'll get to that. But meanwhile, Duke beat Syracuse 66-60. Officially at least.
- Jeremi Grant was the leading scorer for the Orange. He was 8-15 for 17 points and 8 rebounds. Unfortunately he was only 1-4 on free throws. However he had a few big time plays, including a couple spin moves in the lane. A good game overall.
- CJ Fair was the only other Syracuse player in double digit scoring. He finished with 12 on 6-12 shooting and added 7 rebounds. He also led the team with 4 turnovers.
- Trevor Cooney was 1-5 on the day and 0-3 from behind the arc. You aren't having a good day with those numbers. He was pretty well covered most of the game, but still he missed open looks he had all day.
- Rakeem Christmas was 3-6 on the day with 6 points. The three his missed were point blank bunnies. So frustrating.
- Tyler Ennis also didn't have the best night with 9 points on 2-13 shooting. He did earn 5-6 from the free throw line. Otherwise he had 6 assists to only 2 turnovers, and 4 steals with a block.
- Baye-Moussa Keita played 20 minutes off the bench and went 2-6, also missing a few bunnies. He finished with 4 points but he did collect 9 rebounds. A solid defensive night, but not so much for offense, but what else is new.
- Let's get to it. I think the officiating for the most part was good all night. No way did I think there was an intentional foul committed by Duke early in the game. However Jaime Luckie who called it called a tight game from the start, even if his co-workers didn't. So that's fine. Consistent from start to finish is fine. Roger Ayers was the one that called the block on Michael Gbinije. Clearly feet planted. You can see it in the Vine below. But that's a call that is pretty quick, and I'd rather the officials air on the side of block over charge, as I've stated for the past few years. Right on p. 7 of the rulebook for "Major Officiating Concerns" is block/charge calls. I know these guys do pretty extensive film study. I'm a little more forgiving of Roger because it was called a block, even though it pretty clearly shows Gbinije set. But obviously we're here to talk about Tony Greene's call of a charge on CJ Fair. CJ starts his motion up, the defender isn't set, and then contact and CJ makes the basket. It should probably be called a block, but even if you don't think that's the case it should have been a no call then. You can see Greene is actually a bit screened from seeing the point of contact due to CJ's body in the way and he's walking away from the play at the time. But the defender's feet are never really set. They are still shuffling before and during the contact. And on the baseline angle he's actually moving into CJ. It's the critical point in the game. Most officials would have no called that unless it was pretty severe contact. You can judge for yourself with the Vine here. The rule book defines legal guarding position below.
- It was only due to the bad call that Jim Boeheim goes apeshit. Then he got the technical fouls. But chances are, after the charge call, Syracuse wasn't winning so I don't think Boeheim hurt the team's chances in the least. After the call Duke now had the ball, the lead, and the clock on their side. It was probably over unless some magical 3s happen and/or Duke misses free throws. Both were unlikely in the game. But hey, it got is some awesome .gifs and some great memes of Boeheim.
- I'll also say that I don't think Boeheim should have been tossed. Could he be tossed for what he did? Yes. But should he have been. As a 3 sport official, my gut in that situation is hit him with the one technical and then let him vent. After you bang him for the one and you head to the scorer's table to report it you have one of the other officials walk him back to the bench. This was the most critical play in a top 5 game. Even if you're Greene and think you got that call perfectly right you have to understand that that essentially seals the game for Duke so of course Jim is going to be mad. You give him the one Tech for coming off the sideline, let him vent, have your partner walk him back. That should have been it. It seems like Boeheim is just yelling "bullshit" a lot. You'll have to expect that and let that slide at the D1 level. But unless Boeheim gets personal I don't think you toss him in that situation. But, I can't really fault Greene for tossing him with that kind of fury in your face. Like I said though, you're a veteran official and you essentially just decided the game. You need to expect that and give respect to the coach and let him vent after you give him the one Tech, which could have easily sufficed.
Labels: ACC, Basketball, We Hate Duke
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