College Hoops: When Is A T.O. Not A Timeout?
After Syracuse beat UConn at the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night, there was some debate about that late timeout call. If you didn't see the game, let me set the scene: The game was tied at 65 with under 40 ticks left, and Cuse's Rick Jackson just got an offensive rebound off an Andy Rautins miss. He passes the ball to Scoop, who instead of milking the clock, he races to the hoop for a layup that gets blocked. UConn gets possession, but what a minute, whistles are blown and play stops. The ball is given to Syracuse. On TV, most viewers were like, "Huh, it's UConn ball, right?" In the Dome, most folks were like, "hey what about the TO that Boeheim was screaming for?"
When they replayed it, you could see that as soon as Scoop started his move, Boeheim started jumping and screaming for a TO. For some reason, the ref, Cahill, called it late. Why? You're gonna have to ask him.
Does UConn have legit beef? I guess so. If you follow the letter of the law, then the ref made a mistake with the late whistle. If you follow the spirit of the law, then the right call was made because a coach whose team had possession clearly called for a timeout.
Both fanbases have legit reasons to whine or crow. As a Cuse fan, I loved the call of course. But as someone who can understand the sting of a weird/bad call, I cannot be mad at any UConn fan who will blame this play for the reason they lost the game.
I'm flattered by the call. Championship caliber teams get that call at home. If Cahill, who is not a favorite of any Cuse fan, was willing to make that call, it means that we are being looked at in a different light this season. You need some breaks and favorable whistles if you are going to make it to April.
And besides, as every Cuse fan knows, no timeout by Syracuse gets ignored.
(If you don't understand the video, then go here)
