The referees were blowing their whistles like traffic cops at busy intersections in Ohio State's 77-70 win against Syracuse last night in the East Regional final at the Garden.
There were 48 total fouls called and the teams combined to shoot 67 free throws. Though Syracuse supporters will likely cry foul because Ohio State had a 42-25 edge in free throw attempts, it's worth nothing that 14 of those came in the final 1:08 as the Orange intentionally fouled to try to mount a comeback.
Jim Boeheim made his displeasure with the officials known frequently until the Syracuse coach was called for a technical foul with 6:28 remaining in the first half. He was disputing a charge call on guard Brandon Triche.
Crew chief John Higgins issued a statement on Boeheim's technical, explaining that the coach "was assessed for being out of the coach's box and gesturing about a call." Higgins said fellow official Tom O'Neill warned Boeheim three or four times prior to issuing the technical.
Boeheim declined to comment when asked about the impact the abundance of fouls had on the flow of the game. He said he didn't receive an explanation for the technical.
"First one in about three years, I think," Boeheim said.
Orange guard Scoop Jardine took the high road when asked about the officiating.
"I want to give Ohio State a lot of credit," Jardine said. "They won the game. Without the referees they played a good game and that's all I've got to say about that.
"We're not going to blame it on the refs. I think we had a chance to win the game no matter what, with or without them giving us any calls."
Smith bleeds red
It's a good thing for Ohio State that sophomore Lenzelle Smith Jr. isn't fazed by the sight of a little blood.
After taking a blow to the head early in the first half, Smith checked out of the game with a deep cut above his right eye. Four stitches and four minutes later, he returned and produced one of the biggest games of his career, an 18-point effort.
"I was just guarding a guy early in the first half, I think he spun back into me," Smith said. "I was moving my feet real well and fortunate enough, I guess, I was there to try and take a charge and his head ran through my eye."
Smith's payback was scoring 16 second-half points, including three crucial 3-pointers.
"I came through and couldn't think about (the injury). You've got to be tough," Smith said. "Things like that happen but you can't get down. The whole first half and halftime I was like, 'Are you going to let your team down?' This is bigger than me. I couldn't worry about myself.
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