Rutgers on clock flap: ‘We won that game in regulation’
Associated Press
Updated: February 12, 2008, 8:07 PM EST
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The inventor of the timing device used in No. 1 Tennessee’s 59-58 win over No. 5 Rutgers, suspects human error led to the disputed ending of Monday night’s game.
The game clock appeared to pause for more than a second just before reaching zero, and Tennessee made a pair of foul shots with two-tenths of a second remaining.
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Precision Time Systems inventor and president Michael Costabile said there is plenty of room for human error in running the game clock. At issue is whether or not Rutgers’ Kia Vaughn fouled Nicky Anosike before time expired.
“The system works really, really well,” said Costabile, who watched the game on TV. “Have we had somebody hit the wrong button? Yes.”
The Southeastern Conference and Big East said Tuesday that both leagues’ coordinators of officials spoke with the game officials and clock operator.
“The officials discharged their duties properly and there is no indication that anything improperly was done by anyone involved,” the SEC’s statement said. “There will be no further comment on this issue as the leagues, institutions, coaches and teams look to move forward.”
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The Precision Time device, which keeps time for all NBA games and many at the college level, uses small microphones attached to the referees’ whistles that communicate wirelessly to devices worn on the referees’ belts which stop the game clock. When the device picks up sound from the whistle, the clock stops.
The official must hit a button on his belt pack to restart the clock.
At the same time, the official timekeeper manually controls the clock. Whichever signal is picked up first – the sound of the referee’s whistle, the click of the belt pack button or the pressing of the timekeeper’s button – officially controls the clock.
Costabile said because the clock seemed to pause before reaching zero indicates to him that either an official or the timekeeper may have stopped the clock, anticipating Anosike would be fouled, and then restarted it when that wasn’t immediately the case.
“That can take as much as 0.8 seconds to 1.5 seconds,” he said. “That’s telling me people froze up. It’s only as good as someone pushing the button.”
Barbara Jacobs, assistant commissioner in charge of Big East women’s basketball officiating, said the officials were not aware that the clock had stopped.
“I believe that they thought they reviewed it and got it right,” she said. “In other words, they were not aware that the clock had stopped.”
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Costabile said his Bolivia, N.C.-based company offers a system that can track whose whistle or button is responsible for clock stoppage, but Tennessee doesn’t use that system.
“There is a way to track every play. If somebody does something, we know what happens,” Costabile said. “They don’t have it set up there, but I’m certainly going to recommend it to them.”
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Well clearly, imho, there was SIGNIFICANT human error here.
And for the NCAA and SEC to say in effect “no big deal” is clearly unacceptable.
(Wonder what would be happening if Tennessee had lost? Loose the hounds of hell maybe.)
Clearly, if you’re going to televise it, then I would think that ESPN would want to have VISUAL indications that stuff is happening. Three refs and the clock operator could have little visual cues on the video feed.
But then I’m a techie that hates loose ends.
And, why does the NCAA have a tax and anti-trust exemption anyway?
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