Mike Rice Remains Classy About Refs Screw Up In Big East Tournament Loss To St. John's

In case you haven’t yet heard what happened during Wednesday night’s game between Rutgers and St. John’s familiarize yourself with the back story and watch the video footage to see what the fuss is all about. Now, Rutgers likely wasn’t going to make the NCAA Tournament unless they won the entire Big East Conference Tournament, which obviously would have been an extreme shock. Heck, Rutgers wasn’t even going to qualify for the NIT without beating St. John’s as well as Syracuse on Thursday. But that doesn’t diminish the anguish that head coach Mike Rice and the Rutgers squad must be feeling. Rice though to his immense credit, is taking the high road and not making a huge fuss about the disappointing lapse in judgment by the referees. Frustrated, yes. Petulant and outraged, no.

Rice joined Mike Francesca on WFAN in New York to talk about what happened, when he saw that the refs had screwed up, how under no circumstance did he expect his team to be allowed to replay the final moments of the game, and how he still believes that the conference’s officials are some of the best in the business. (Partial transcription via: SRI)

When did you become aware that [Justin] Brownlee did step out of bounds at the end of the game and there should have been time put back on the clock?

“Actually the SID [Rutgers Sports Information Director] has an iPhone. We watched it on YouTube. I mean again it clearly is a mistake. They clearly are some of the best, most veteran referees in the Big East [Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton]. Again, I tell my guys every day you can’t control what happens. You can control how you respond and I made a lot of mistakes today Mike. Hopefully they go back and review the procedures of that because it was very interesting if somebody could look with 1.8 seconds and we get the ball with a chance.”

Did any of the calls the referees may have missed in your opinion there in the last minute specifically outrage you?

“Yes and no. Mike, it’s a judgement call. Every time they blow the whistle and show. Every coach wants it to go their way, so yeah I thought maybe there was a couple of times where Mike, especially on the last play where he drove, but again that’s a judgement call. These [officials] are the best we have. Those veterans guys that we have, so I have to believe they made the right calls. I haven’t gone back to it, but again I’m confident these guys are the best referees in the country.”

You don’t expect under any circumstance expect the Big East committee will give your team a chance to replay the last 1.6 seconds remaining?

“I under no circumstances do I think that the Big East will let us go back on the floor with 1.7 seconds.”

Stay tuned here throughout the rest of the week and weekend for more updates about the ongoing Big East Conference Tournament.

Big East Basketball Tournament Scores And Results: Marquette Upsets WVU, 67-61

West Virginia 36, Marquette 29 Halftime Score: Mountaineers Use 12-2 Run To Take Advantage

Junior forward Kevin Jones has netted a game-best 13 points to help the No. 6-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers take a 36-29 halftime advantage over No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles in a second-round contest of the 2011 Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The winner advances to play Thursday in the quarterfinals against No. 3 Louisville Cardinals (9 p.m. on ESPN).

The Mountaineers (20-10) used a 12-2 run in the half's final five minutes to earn a seven-point margin heading into the locker room. Senior guard Joe Mazzulla has five points, three rebounds and three assists. Teammates senior guard Casey Mitchell and sophomore guard Dalton Pepper, each have four points off the bench.

Senior forward Jimmy Butler has scored a team-best 8 points for Marquette (19-13), which earned a first-round victory, 87-66, over No. 14 Providence Friars on Tuesday. Teammate sophomore center Chris Otule has scored a team-best 7 points.

Big East Tournament 2011 Results: Cincinnati Eases Past USF, 87-61

Cincinnati 32, USF 24 Halftime Score: Cincinnati's Late Run Helps Earn Lead

Junior forward Yancy Gates has netted a game-best 11 points to help the No. 7-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats collect a 32-24 halftime advantage over No. 15 USF Bulls in a second round Big East Conference Tournament contest at Madison Square Garden. The winner advances to play No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

The Bearcats (24-7) led 24-22 with about four minutes to go, but used a 8-2 run, which included two 3-pointers by junior guard Dion Dixon, to take an eight-point advantage heading into the locker room. Dixon finished the half with eight points, while teammates, senior forward Rashard Bishop and freshman guard Sean Kilpatrick, each have four points.

Sophomore guard Saun Noriega has a team-best 6 points for USF (10-22), which earned a first-round victory, 70-69, over No. 10 Villanova Wildcats on Tuesday. Teammate junior forward Augustus Gilchrist has chipped in with 4 points and 4 rebounds.

-- Visit SB Nation New York's Big East Conference Tournament 2011 page for complete coverage.

Big East Tournament 2011: St. John's-Rutgers Referee Controversy (Video)

Big East Conference Tournament referees Jim Burr and Tim Higgins, who are each known for their questionable whistle blowing, might have finally crossed the line Wednesday when St. John's edged Rutgers, 65-63, in second-round game that wont be remembered for its gritty play, but its atrocious late-game officiating.

If you haven't heard from hearsay, an exploding Twitter feed or Facebook posts, Burr, Higgins and Earl Walton failed to call a travel or an out of bounds turnover on St. John's senior forward Justin Brownlee, who prematurely celebrated the Red Storm's victory after picking up a deflected desperation in-bound pass from Rutgers with under two seconds remaining.

Controversial Ending Of St. Johns/Rutgers Big East Tournament 3/9 (via AwfulannouncinBGreen)

The replay clearly shows the ball being deflected, then Brownlee scooping it up, walking with it and stepping out of bounds with about 1.7 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for Rutgers fans, Higgins and Burr were running the show and basically gave up on the game (the replay also shows Higgins speed walking to the locker room). If there was a call then the Scarlet Knights would have had another inbound around mid court, a position much more favorable for a game-tying or game-winning basket. And, if you're a college basketball fan you know 1.7 seconds is plenty enough time to get off a quality shot from that spot on the court.

"Unacceptable," said John Adams, who is in charge of selecting and managing the 98 officials for the NCAA tournament, to ESPN.com's Andy Katz about the Rutgers-St. John's officiating.

Adams admitted that he could not confirm that Burr or Higgins will or will not work the NCAA Tournament. Adams said a decision will come on Sunday.

Even more interesting is that Rutgers head coach Mike Rice, who was screaming at the referees for a foul on the inbound pass, missed the entire thing. He shook hands with St. John's head coach Steve Lavin and left the court. However, he did respond to the media after seeing the replay.

"Was there a mistake made? I saw it on Youtube," Rice said. "There was a mistake made. There's no question. I'm sure they will admit it. I made several mistakes. My players made several mistakes. ... We have the greatest officials in America. ... There's going to be blood coming through my tongue right now, but it's what it is. We're going to control how we respond."

After the game, Lavin was asked about the no-call by ESPN analyst Doris Burke, but the slick-talking coach brushed off the question. However, it maybe that Lavin had no idea what was going on because everything was so nutty.

"I'll have to go back and watch," St. John's coach Steve Lavin said. "It was kind of chaotic, you know, flurry of sequences ... Until I can actually review the game and the closing moments, I wouldn't be informed enough to speak about it."

Kudos for ESPN announcers Burke, Dave Pasch and Fran Fraschilla for almost immediately point out Higgins and Burr's gaffe. I hope this officiating crew is held accountable because this game shouldn't have been remembered for this and the Big East is better than Higgins or Burr.

Check back for updates on this story as SB Nation New York receives more postgame information.

St. John's Red Storm 65, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 63: St. John's Outlast Rutgers In Wild Finish

The St. John’s Red Storm outlasted the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 65-63 to advance in the Big East Tournament. The ending of the game was, honestly, horribly officiated. Rutgers, down two points with four seconds left, turned the ball over to St. John’s’ Justin Brownlee, who appeared to run the ball downcourt and prematurely celebrate, stepping out of bounds and whipping the ball into the crowd with 1.6 seconds left on the clock. But the officials didn’t notice, anticipating the time running out, and let it slip. St. John’s goes home with a win and has a date with the Syracuse Orange tomorrow.

Rutgers made a furious comeback in the second half, and appeared at one point as though they might pull off the upset. Mike Coburn converted a three-point play to put Rutgers up by one, but St. John’s answered with four free throws. Coburn then knocked down two freebies of his own before St John’s gave the ball back to Rutgers when Dwight Hardy lost the ball out of bounds on the ensuing inbound.

On the next possession, Coburn drove and appeared to be fouled by D.J. Kennedy, but it was not called, and St. John’s got the ball back, before the game ended in controversy.

St. John’s was led by Dwight Hardy, who scored 17 points but was erratic, making just five of his 17 shot attempts. Sean Evans gave the Johnnies 13 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Rutgers’ leading scorer Jonathan Mitchell scored just eight points, while guard James Beatty led the way with 15. Rutgers’ season comes to an unfortunate end, while St. John’s will try to avenge their only loss of the year at the Garden against the Orange tomorrow.

Big East Tournament 2011 Results: UConn Advances to Big East Quarters With 79-62 Win Over Georgetown

The Connecticut Huskies entered the 2011 Big East Tournament having not won a game in the conference's postseason tourney in six years. On Wednesday, they won their second game of this year's edition, knocking off the Georgetown Hoyas 79-62 to set up a date with the top seeded Pitt Panthers tomorrow. UConn's Kemba Walker led the way with 28 points on an efficient 10-19 shooting. Walker also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists. 

Georgetown is now officially limping into the NCAA Tournament. They've lost four in a row now, including two losses to Cincinnati and a home loss to Syracuse. Without starting point guard Chris Wright, junior Jason Clark stepped up and led the Hoyas with 23 points, but the team shot just 42-percent from the field and a dismal 22-percent from beyond the arc. Only five Hoyas actually scored, including just five points off the bench. Georgetown is in the NCAA Tournament but will be sweating on Selection Sunday, and it will be interesting to see how their seed is affected by their recent slide. 

This is the type of win that could propel the Huskies into a big run this week at the Garden. Yes, they do have the top-seeded Pitt Panthers coming up tomorrow, but Connecticut also has arguably the best player in the tournament in Walker. Walker has carried this UConn team on his back, and there's no reason to think he can't continue to do so, and lead them to another big win tomorrow.