GAME - Syracuse vs. North Carolina in New York, NY; Friday, November 20, 2009
LINE - North Carolina -1
RESULT - Syracuse covers, winning 87-71
Tony Greene's 8th officiating outing of the 2009-2010 basketball season occurred tonight in the finals of the 2K Sports Classic in New York City. Since he worked last night's semi-finals, ITGOTT was confident he would be working either the championship or consolation tonight, and we were prepared to watch closely.
North Carolina, according to the Las Vegas Hilton Sportsbook, was a 1 point favorite in this match-up. The game opened as a pick-em, so there wasn't a lot of movement of the line.
With A Small Spread, Keep The Team You Are Helping Close Early
Use Calls To Stop Momentum Of The Team You Are Not Helping
Get Major Players On The Team You Are Not Helping In Early Foul Trouble
The game opened with a quick Syracuse run, as they pretty efficiently (and without any close calls) opened an 8-0 lead in the first 3 minutes. Tony Greene then asserted himself, calling a very questionable blocking call on Syracuse's Andy Rautins as North Carolina's Will Graves lowered his shoulder driving to the hoop. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was incensed, and after North Carolina took a 13-11 lead on an "and one" by Ed Davis with 15 minutes to go, the early momentum that Syracuse had was totally evaporated... and it all started on that questionable blocking call on Andy Rautins.
This call served two masters: 1. The call stopped Syracuse's early momentum, preventing them from running away with the game. 2. The call put an early foul a good Syracuse player, Andy Rautins. When Rautins was called for a legitimate charge with 16 minutes to go, he was thusly in early foul trouble. Getting a star in early foul trouble is a great strategy for officials who may be on the take, and Tony Greene did this without even making the second call, made by the execrable Mike Stuart when Rautins legitimately charged!
(Note: Mike Stuart's absurd histrionics in making that call with 15:55 to go in the first half - blowing the whistle multiple times to draw attention to himself before making his indication, and then running in to flamboyantly point at Rautins, laying supine in the lane, is VERY bad officiating form. Stuart should know better, and this peacock-esque preening for attention not only has no place in college basketball, it should cost him post-season assignments if he continues to do it throughout the season. Consider yourself warned Mike Stuart: ITGOTT will have its eyes on you, too, from now on.)
With 14:11 to go, Tony Greene called a second foul on Syracuse's Wesley Johnson, meaning that TWO Syracuse stars were now in early foul trouble.
Use Calls To Stop Momentum By The Team You Are Not Helping
Syracuse went on another quick run, with Rautins and Johnson each draining threes, to take a 10 point lead midway through the first half. But Tony Greene went to work again, first giving a 50/50 ball out-of-bounds under the North Carolina basket to Syracuse, then calling a cheap foul on Syracuse that ESPN's Dan Shulman actually called a "late whistle" and that Shulman also said had "incensed" Jim Boeheim. The subsequent North Carolina run, uninterrupted by Tony Greene, erased the Syracuse lead and the Tar Heels actually led by 2 at the half.
For clarification, North Carolina attempted 15 free throws in the first half; Syracuse only attempted 4.
The second half began with a quick Syracuse spurt, and within 90 seconds, that 2 point North Carolina halftime lead became a 4-point Syracuse advantage, which the Orange extended to 12 following an "and one" call, made by Roger Ayers, on North Carolina about 6 minutes into the second half. Having stopped Syracuse's momentum twice in the first half, it appeared now that a Syracuse rout was inevitable.
As Kenny Rogers Said, "Know When To Fold 'Em" and Swallow The Whistle
Syracuse's 22-1 run to open the second half made it totally clear that this was not the Tar Heels' night. The Tar Heels didn't make a single shot until 8 minutes into the second half, they made repeated turnovers, and they were absolutely out of the game before the second half reached its midway point. Even though the Tar Heels made a brief run to cut the Orange lead to single digits, Syracuse pulled away to win by 16, 87-71.
There is no way to know whether Tony Greene is "on the take" or not. But ITGOTT noticed odd officiating patterns by Greene during the 2008-2009 season, and has chosen to monitor his games throughout the 2009-2010 campaign, seeing how many calls he makes that fit the profile of an official as we'd imagine if that official were "on the take." Tony Greene didn't make any calls to help Syracuse tonight, but he did make a few early calls that helped North Carolina - attempts to stop Syracuse momentum, early fouls on Syracuse stars, etc. But tonight was clearly not North Carolina's night, and additional questionable calls to stop more Syracuse momentum could only draw attention to Tony Greene, and if he were "on the take", the last thing he would want is attention.
So, as Kenny Rogers said, "Know when to fold 'em." When you're an official "on the take", sometimes there is just no helping a team cover the spread, so just throw in the towel and be comfortable in the knowledge that you can only turn the tables so often and you did your best.
Perhaps that's what we saw tonight.
Showing posts with label Syracuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syracuse. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Game 7 - Syracuse v. California - Nov. 19, 2009
GAME - Syracuse vs. California in New York, NY; Thursday, November 19, 2009
LINE - California -2
RESULT - Syracuse covers as an underdog, winning by 22
Tony Greene worked his 7th game of the year tonight, but only his second televised game of the year. Thus, this is ITGOTT's second opportunity to monitor Tony Greene's officiating.
The game, part of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic from Madison Square Garden in New York City, featured two ranked teams - perhaps Tony Greene's highest profile game of the short season. The game, which opened as a pick'em (no favorite), went off with Cal as a 2 point favorite according to the Las Vegas Hilton Sportsbook. Officiating a game with a short spread, like this game, is very different than officiating a game with a large spread for an official who might be "on the take."
With A Small Spread, Keep The Team You Are Helping Close Early
With a short spread like tonight's game, an official "on the take" has more options. First, he could work to keep the team he's not favoring from running away early, counting on his ability to make close calls at the end, thus helping the team he's favoring as time winds down. Sometimes just "keeping it close" early may result in the team he's expected to help gain some momentum, and build themselves a lead that helps them cover the small spread.
If The Team You Are Helping Is Doing Well On Their Own, Lay Low
Additionally, an official "on the take" could help the team he's helping to build an early lead, then let the game progress pretty uneventfully with that large lead maintained throughout the game and the team covering its short spread.
This game provides an example of how both of these scenarios could happen in the same game.
Early in tonight's matchup, California streaked to a 5-0 lead, but the officials appeared to want to stop that runaway from happening. A few early calls went against Cal, and Syracuse reversed course to turn that 5-point early deficit into a 13-point lead. Pretty quickly, Cal was in foul trouble and Syracuse was not. As an example of this discrepancy, Syracuse shot 11 free throws (as a typical Syracuse team, they only made 6), before Cal went to the line even once. With that kind of early free throw differential, Tony Greene and his officiating colleagues (Bernard Clinton and Roger Ayers) were able to see Syracuse build a big lead, something an official "on the take" for Syracuse would want to happen.
After Syracuse built its lead, the half wound down with little change in the margin and little noise from the officials, and Syracuse took an 11-point lead to the locker room. An uneventful end of the first half.
In an uneventful second half, Syracuse extended its 11-point halftime lead organically (with no apparent officiating help), to 19 with about 13 minutes to go.
With The Spread Easily Covered, Make Calls Favoring the OTHER Team To Draw Attention Away From Yourself
At one point, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was yelling about a call at Tony Greene, but with a 19 point lead for the 2 point underdog, an official on the take for Syracuse can afford to make a couple of close ones go against the Orange, which could draw attention away from his bias, if it existed.
The remainder of the game was simply an exercise in Syracuse running out the clock. Even with a brief Cal run in the final minutes, the final score was 95-73, and all the while, the officials laid low.
SUMMARY
There is never any way to know if officials are "on the take", but from early on in this game, it's clear that if these officials, including Tony Greene, WERE on the take, they were favoring Syracuse. Cal spurted early, and foul trouble stopped them. Syracuse extended its lead, and the officials never stopped their momentum. And once Syracuse had the game (and spread) in hand, the officials laid low, except for one call AGAINST Syracuse that got the ire of Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim. Lots of "on the take" rules were followed here, whether intentionally or not, and Syracuse easily covered the spread, their 22 point victory meaning that the 2-point underdogs covered the spread by 24 points.
LINE - California -2
RESULT - Syracuse covers as an underdog, winning by 22
Tony Greene worked his 7th game of the year tonight, but only his second televised game of the year. Thus, this is ITGOTT's second opportunity to monitor Tony Greene's officiating.
The game, part of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic from Madison Square Garden in New York City, featured two ranked teams - perhaps Tony Greene's highest profile game of the short season. The game, which opened as a pick'em (no favorite), went off with Cal as a 2 point favorite according to the Las Vegas Hilton Sportsbook. Officiating a game with a short spread, like this game, is very different than officiating a game with a large spread for an official who might be "on the take."
With A Small Spread, Keep The Team You Are Helping Close Early
With a short spread like tonight's game, an official "on the take" has more options. First, he could work to keep the team he's not favoring from running away early, counting on his ability to make close calls at the end, thus helping the team he's favoring as time winds down. Sometimes just "keeping it close" early may result in the team he's expected to help gain some momentum, and build themselves a lead that helps them cover the small spread.
If The Team You Are Helping Is Doing Well On Their Own, Lay Low
Additionally, an official "on the take" could help the team he's helping to build an early lead, then let the game progress pretty uneventfully with that large lead maintained throughout the game and the team covering its short spread.
This game provides an example of how both of these scenarios could happen in the same game.
Early in tonight's matchup, California streaked to a 5-0 lead, but the officials appeared to want to stop that runaway from happening. A few early calls went against Cal, and Syracuse reversed course to turn that 5-point early deficit into a 13-point lead. Pretty quickly, Cal was in foul trouble and Syracuse was not. As an example of this discrepancy, Syracuse shot 11 free throws (as a typical Syracuse team, they only made 6), before Cal went to the line even once. With that kind of early free throw differential, Tony Greene and his officiating colleagues (Bernard Clinton and Roger Ayers) were able to see Syracuse build a big lead, something an official "on the take" for Syracuse would want to happen.
After Syracuse built its lead, the half wound down with little change in the margin and little noise from the officials, and Syracuse took an 11-point lead to the locker room. An uneventful end of the first half.
In an uneventful second half, Syracuse extended its 11-point halftime lead organically (with no apparent officiating help), to 19 with about 13 minutes to go.
With The Spread Easily Covered, Make Calls Favoring the OTHER Team To Draw Attention Away From Yourself
At one point, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was yelling about a call at Tony Greene, but with a 19 point lead for the 2 point underdog, an official on the take for Syracuse can afford to make a couple of close ones go against the Orange, which could draw attention away from his bias, if it existed.
The remainder of the game was simply an exercise in Syracuse running out the clock. Even with a brief Cal run in the final minutes, the final score was 95-73, and all the while, the officials laid low.
SUMMARY
There is never any way to know if officials are "on the take", but from early on in this game, it's clear that if these officials, including Tony Greene, WERE on the take, they were favoring Syracuse. Cal spurted early, and foul trouble stopped them. Syracuse extended its lead, and the officials never stopped their momentum. And once Syracuse had the game (and spread) in hand, the officials laid low, except for one call AGAINST Syracuse that got the ire of Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim. Lots of "on the take" rules were followed here, whether intentionally or not, and Syracuse easily covered the spread, their 22 point victory meaning that the 2-point underdogs covered the spread by 24 points.
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