By Mel Greenberg
A day after top-ranked Tennessee's narrow and controversial 59-58 victory over No. 5 Rutgers Monday night, reaction, and reaction to the reaction, came in the form of some parties slipping and sliding around the issue of the stalled time clock at 0.2 seconds at the end of the game in Knoxville, Tenn.
The passage of 1.3 seconds of real time, according to television replays, was enough for Rutgers' Kia Vaughn to be charged with a foul, allowing Nicky Anosike to get to the line and give Tennessee the win with a pair of free throws.
The actuality is the game should have been over before the foul was assessed, which would have allowed Rutgers to become the first team ever to beat top-ranked opponents in successive contests.
A week ago, the Scarlet Knights upset Connecticut _ in the first of at least two Big East contests against the Huskies, which enabled Tennessee to regain the top of the Associated Press women's poll earlier Monday afternoon.
It didn't take long after the end of Monday's contest for a firestorm to flare about the outcome, especially from fan message boards such as the one at Rutgers.
Some comments were thoughtful, others extreme. For example, one remark criticized Tennessee coach Pat Summitt over not commenting on the controversial finish in her postgame press conference.
It was clear from the Hall of Fame coach's reaction to the first question that she was totally unaware of the building controversy.
By Tuesday morning, explanations were being made or still being sought as to what precisely happened to effect the outcome and who was responsible.
The Southeastern Conference issued an imprecise statement, in terms of accountability, claiming "there is no indication that anything improperly was done by anyone involved."
That flew in the face of Precision Time, the corporation that makes the device used by the officiating crew to control the clock.
The corporation contended that it was quite possible that an official erred or that the Thompson-Boling Arena timekeeper may have stopped the clock. That's contrary to a statement handed out after the game, saying the scorer's table did not have control of the clock in the final minutes.
Furthermore, the SEC statement appeared to have concurrence from Rutgers officials and the Big East Conference, which also uses Monday night's crew - Bob Trammell, Tina Napier, and Bonita Spence - in their contests.
Rutgers athletic director Robert E.Mulcahy III, who claimed he had not been called by the SEC, went further in describing how the timing sytem functions.
Mulcahy suggested an error had been made by either the officiating crew or others.
"It appears to be a case of one of those involved not accepting responsibility," he said in a statement.
The Big East also denied concuring with the SEC statement, and while the conference was not going to issue any public statement of it's own, the denial can be taken that the Big East is not very happy about the way things were handled.
In fact, on Tuesday it was revealed by Mulcahey in his statement that the officiating crew erred when they "did not ask the timer about the stoppage of the clock, nor did the lead official use a stop watch with the replay monitor, something officials are instructed to do in these types of situations."
One place where footing was sound was in Indianapolis where Sue Donohoe, the NCAA's Vice President of Division I women's basketball, spoke of the effect of the defeat on Rutgers, which is one of five teams, including Tennessee, in play for a No. 1 seed in next month's NCAA women's basketball tournament.
"The game, itself, is a conference matter," Donohoe said of the Southeastern and Big East Conference investigations into the game officials' actions or lack thereof at the finish.
"But when it comes to the basketball tournament committee's deliberations in making up the field and the seeds, they are aware and made aware of situations impacting the final score in close outcomes," Donohoe said.
"What happened is unfortunate, but the season hasn't ended," Donohoe said. "There's a month to go with a bunch of important games across the country still to be played. Those contests will be added to the bodies of work for determining not only bracketing and seeding, but also inclusion into the field of 64."
A week ago, a group of media representatives, including the Guru, and several former coaches met in NCAA headquarters to undergo a mock bracket exercise, described in earlier posts on this blog, using data, most of which was current through last Wednesday's games.
Had we been performing the same function a week later, Monday night's controversy would be part of our deliberations, as they eventually will when the real committee meets next month.
. Based on how we determined the No. 1 seeds, perhaps the only difference would be whether Rutgers would now be considered the second No. 1 instead of the third, which would place the Scarlet Knights in the New Orleans bracket instead of the Oklahoma City regional.
A bump of Rutgers ahead of Connecticut, which was made the second No. 1 by the mock group, could occur by the closeness of the Scarlet Knights to Tennessee, the head-to-head win over UConn, and, here we go again, the lack of a Huskies-Volunteers game for comparison as would have been available in the past.
However, as Donohoe said, there's still a month left and Rutgers must still meet Notre Dame, Syracuse, a faded DePaul team, and the second of the UConn matchups.besides the rugged Big East tournament.
Tennessee still has several major encounters, including Thursday night's SEC clash with LSU.
And in Atlantic Coast Conference country, North Carolina and Maryland still have key games, including the tournament, involving Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Duke.
One place where some of the fallout could land is in the next balloting of the Associated Press women's poll.
Had Rutgers officially beaten Tennessee, assuming a Saturday win at South Florida, the Scarlet Knights would have been in position to make a leap to their first-ever No. 1 ranking.
It could still happen.
If LSU upsets Tennessee, the top spot becomes open, making it possible for Rutgers' rise.
As it is, in private conversations Tuesday between some media voters who covered the game and others who were asking about it, there was a sense of giving the Scarlet Knights a consideration for the top spot, anway, depending on results through Sunday.
In Tuesday's coaches' poll, which included Monday's game -- the writers vote Sunday nights -- Rutgers received a first-place vote from Pittsburgh's Agnus Berenato, a rival in the Big East.
Officiating Crew's Postgame Comments
The media, admittedly, were slow to thinking of having a "pool" reporter chase down the officiating crew for a comment after the game on their decision -- it was the ever-sharp Rutgers spokeswoman Stacey Brann who first mentioned to the Guru if one had been sent.
By then the officials had long high-tailed it out of the arena.
The Tennessee PR department was aware a comment might be needed and sent someone in, but the answer addressed the moments after Anosike's foul shots -- not the "frozen" clock.
In reality, we probably woudn't have gotten much anyhow.
The reason we weren't quicker to the task is these situations occur much less in the women's game, especially in high-profile situations, than in the men's game.
Often, writers who also cover local men's teams and the women are more aware of the "pool" interview with a crew involving controversy and will think a little quicker.
Usually, we are more in tuned in NCAA tournament situations, because someone is instructed to have us identify a pool reporter before tip-off.
But, given all that, the Guru will get on the soapbox for a rare little speech, because it is good this has come into discussion.
In a little hang-around-the-eating facilities last March at the Regional in Greensboro, the Guru was involved in a discussion with a well-known referee from this part of the country, and it was mentioned that no one every really writes about the officials and they care as much about this game as anyone.
So following up on that, the Guru says this to anyone of important affiliation regarding officiating crews who might be reading this marathon work:
If we want to grow this game together, and a situation arises such as it did Monday, and the crew has an awareness there's an issue, it wouldn't hurt for the lead official of the group to find the host PR or send a message to the host PR asking, "Does a pool reporter want to talk to us?"
It doesn't mean you have to go against the grain -- you may say nothing or you may have something to offer that will enlighten the situation - but at least the housekeeping will have been taken care of quicker. It's just a thought.
Hit the "jump" link to keep reading.
Bad Memory Lane
Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer gave a further statement Tuesday besides her postgame comments over the controversial ending.
"The controversy at the end of the game (Monday) night at Tennesee was an unfortunate incident and Rutgers deserved to win," Stringer said in a statement that was included with Mulcahy's remarks.
"I am saddened because my team played a hard-fought game and to have it finish in such a manner overshadows the accomplishments of two exceptional teams," she continued.
"The one thing I have learned over my 36 years of coaching is in the waning moments of a game you can never allow officials or others to determine the outcome. It is the unpredictability of those situations at an opponent's court that allow for those kind if errors and unfortunately Rutgers was on the losing end this time," Stringer commented.
"It is clear when team's work as hard as they do that all other entities that affect the outcome of a game demonstrate the highest level of integrity and competence. Clearly, that was not what happened in Knoxville (Monday) evening."
Stringer promised her team will learn from the experience and, while hurting at the moment, will regroup and prepare for Saturday's game at South Florida.
During Monday night's postgame session, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach called out the Guru, reminding him of a similar occurence back in 1983 against Penn State in the NCAA regional final in what became Stringer's last game at Cheyney.
"You were there," she looked down as the Guru slid down in his chair embarrassed at not having the same precise memory, though we both are about the same age.
Of course, there have been other situations the Guru has remembered that also resulted in narrow defeats, which otherwise would already have ensured Stringer's 800th careeer win in combined stints at Cheyney, Iowa, and Rutgers.
Since she's four short of joining Summitt and former Texas coach Jody Conradt as the only women's coaches at 800 or more, here are four to consider.
(1) Monday night's game.
(2) In the game referenced the Guru, the final score was Penn State 73, Cheyney 72 on March 24, 1983, a year after Stringer led Cheyney to the first-ever NCAA Women's Final Four.
There probably was some controversy but a check in the electronic archives produced only the Guru's advance of the contest. Perhaps his story might exist wherever the former "spy" tapes of the New England Patriots have been dumped by the NFL.
Ironically, the other side of the regional semifinal featured Old Dominion, coached by one Marianne Stanley who now happens to be one of Stringer's assistants.
The Guru does remember something else associated with the contest.
Several weeks earlier in a phone chit-chat, Stringer asked the Guru what he knew about the Iowa job -- understand the Hawkeyes were nowhere on the map at that time.
The Guru responded -- You mean the one that comes with a shrink -- "Everybody says you have to be crazy to take the Iowa job." And remember, these vacancies weren't followed or spoken much of then, considering the lack of media coverage at the time.
Several weeks later the Iowa women's spokesperson called the Guru _Athletic drectors and their spokespersons were not as communicative with each other back then - asking if he knew anyone involved in the search -- "They say they're talking to somebody still in the tournament."
The Guru couldn't think at first who that might be -- until a bell went off with a flashback of that inquiry by Stringer. He placed a phone call to the coach, dragging up the remark and asking if she happened to have been approached. She paused and said, "We'll talk in a week or so."
Deciding to wait until Cheyney would be eliminated from the NCAA tournament or win the title, the Guru then mentioned in the game coverage that it might have been her last game at the tiny school in the Philadelphia suburbs.
(3) Again, we could not find coverage, but this score from the 1993 NCAA national semifinal in Atlanta and it was a great game, featuring Buckeyes freshman Katie Smith -- Ohio State 73, Iowa 72 in overtime.
(4) And one the Guru certainly remembers and found in the archives: In December, 1984, Stringer came "home" with her second Iowa team and played a St. Joe team, with freshman Debbie Black, in La Salle's tournament after the Hawks, coached by Jim Foster, had upset Western Kentucky.
St. Joe rallied from a deep deficit, with some questionable officiating, and Foster found himself into the AP poll a few days later with the first of three ranked teams including Vanderbilt and Ohio State.
Here's that coverage from the archives. I'm sure Stringer remembers this one because she took a "business as usual" stance after the game, knowing she had a very young squad who could learn. In fact, that Hawkeyes team had one Michelle Edwards as part of the roster and the Rutgers assistant was named the MVP.
ST. JOE'S STAGES ANOTHER COMEBACK TO BEAT IOWA, 61-60
By Mel Greenberg
Special to the Inquirer
St. Joseph's women's basketball team has now reached the level where its achievements are almost beyond belief.
The Hawks' come-from-way-down 61-60 victory over Iowa last night for the La Salle Invitational title at Hayman Hall extended the theme of second-half miracles to a third consecutive night.
The winners' first-period shooting was so pitiful - at one point late in the half they were 5-for-19 - that Iowa was able to roll to a 36-16 lead 3 minutes, 6 seconds before halftime.
But somewhere during the time the crowd was quietly admiring the way coach Vivian Stringer had drilled her defensive zones into the Iowans, St. Joseph's once again bouned off the floor.
Terri Mohr's jump shot with 4:16 left gave St. Joseph's its first lead of the game at 52-50.
The Hawkeyes fought back for a 56-56 tie, which was broken by Trish Brown's three-point play at the 2-minute mark.
Tracy Washington brought the losers to within one, but fouled Debbie Black, who once again closed the door with two free throws with seconds to play.
Michelle Edwards, the tournaments most valuable player, got Iowa's and the game's final two points at the buzzer.
While some were wondering how the Hawks had managed to win yet another game that had seemed out of reach - they started the tournament with a come-from- behind upset of Western Kentucky - Iowa fans were scratching their heads over how their team managed to lose it.
Well, there was the fact that the Big 10 contenders converted only four field goals between the 17:10 mark of the second period and the 3:53 milestone.
Lisa Becker, Iowa's 6-foot-4 center, who was bottling up the inside, got into foul trouble and ultimately used up the quota. Three of her teammates also ran into difficulties with four personals apiece.
"I was very calm at halftime," said St. Joseph's coach Jim Foster. "I just told them if we continued to get the shots we would be getting, we would be fine . . . If we played with composure and held Iowa to one shot and played tougher defense, we would be fine. "
Mohr and Brown each led the winners with 14 points, while Teresa Carmichael added 11.
Becker scored 14 for Iowa while Lynn Kennedy and Washington, the latter player a graduate of University City High School here, each had 10 points.
"I'm getting those good feelings we used to have all over again," said Mohr, whose first two years were spent at Auburn when the Tigers were becoming a national power. "I don't know if we're a miracle team or what to call us. "
The Hawks are hoping to break into the top 20 for the first time since 1978 in the wake of the victory.
"The facts," said Foster, "are that we beat Wagner which won the Cosmopolitan Conference regular season last year, we beat a Northeastern team that some people say is the best in New England, we beat a La Salle team that could win the Metro Atlantic, we beat Towson, which won the East Coast Conference, we beat Western Kentucky which is ranked, and we beat Iowa, which people think could win the Big 10.
"If winnning teams is a criterion for being there, we belong in the top 20. "
The Hawks also are unbeaten at 10-0, another little statistic that wil be helpful to their cause.
Meanwhile, while this heartbreaker may be the first for the Iowans, Stringer went through the same kind of defeats on the way to building Cheyney into a terrifying force. As her Lady Wolves once learned from their losses, so will her Iowans get educated from this one.
And if St. Joseph's and the Hawkeyes both show up in the NCAA tournament in March, the people who watched last night's game will not be the least bit surprised.
La Salle's Linda Hester, who set a tournament record with 74 points in three games, made the all-tournament team with Mohr and Brown of St. Joseph's Aronji Johnson of Southwestern Louisiana and Vonda Middleton of South Carolina State.
-- Mel
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