Notes and Opinions About Loss Vs. St. John's

I was at both games of today's session (Gtown vs. Uconn, Stj vs, RU) and I have some comments I'd like to make. It became too long of a comment, so I decided to make it into a fanpost. Any arguments and/or opinions are appreciated in response to this post.

I'll start with the beginning of the Rutgers game, and work my way to the end.

-In the first half the crowd was unbelievably quiet. Not just the Rutgers fans, even St. John's.

-The calls seemed inconsistent from the start, and no one really understood half the calls that were made.

-In the beginning of the second half it started to get louder, but only from the St. John's side.

-When Rutgers started coming back there was still very little cheering and/or support from the crowd.

-Even at the end of the game I only noticed me, two men near me, and another man sitting in a nearby section that were Rutgers fans. When I walked through the city to get my tickets I saw the least fans from Rutgers out of the schools playing today. Even West Virginia had more fans and they weren't even playing until the night session!

-I understand Rutgers doesn't have exactly the largest fanbase AND St. John's playing at MSG is basically a home game, but I was honestly very disappointed by the turnout.

-There was a non call on a Carroll 3 pointer, in which he literally got slapped in the face while attempting a three that perplexed even the St. John's fans. Awful. It seemed like the refs decided the whole game, not just the last two seconds.

-Finally, the end of the game.

I have heard so many different comments and I would like to address some.

First of all, I feel like I was the only fan that noticed any problem with how the game ended when it was live. I sat there for ten minutes after the game ended waiting for some kind of announcement, but everyone had already fled the scene.

-Those calling for the refs to be fired should think about what they are saying. Maybe transferred to a smaller conference, or suspended for the main tournaments, or something, but firing is a serious thing to do that could ruin lives. Demotion is more acceptable.

-On ESPN I heard that the refs "work hard every night and are worked TOO hard and were too tired to make the right call." Well, if that's the case that is PATHETIC reasoning. First of all, that's not Rutgers or St. John's fault. They shouldn't have a competitive game's outcome decided by work schedules. The Big East needs to fix it.

-Second of all, even with tough work schedules, the refs have to make the right calls. Pretend you are a student taking a test, and you took tons of tests during the school year already. Could you use that you were "tired from all the previous tests" as an excuse to ask for your grade raised?

-The refs made a horrible call, but the system is flawed. That they couldn't see a replay after the game is a terrible rule.

-How the refs managed to not see any of that still amazes me.

-Rice displayed why I love having him as a coach after the game. He's intense, but he also sets an amazing example for the players. Mistakes happen, some bigger than others.

-Nothing will change this game to a win, but people are noticing Rutgers. I think we're on our way, fellas. I'm excited for the future.