I saw that- it was very close!Originally Posted by dawg80
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I saw that- it was very close!
Just like the Iona game after Speedy’s put-back
Good point. Both were very, very close.
But we won!
Hopefully great momentum going into next year.
I just rewatched. We had about a 6 minute stretch in the second half that was abysmal. A half dozen turnovers and we couldn’t buy a bucket. Fortunate to not be down 15-18 points with about 5 minutes to go in the game.
After Lofton's shot went in, the clock read .3 seconds. The CSU player caught the ball and shot it before the clock ever started. Turns out it would not have counted even if it went in due to the "Trent Tucker" rule. Rule 5, Section 1, Article 19 of the 2020-21 NCAA Rules Book states "Art. 19. In any period, when the game clock displays 10ths of seconds and play is to be resumed by a throw-in or a free throw when 3/10ths (.3) of a second or less remains on the game clock, a player may not gain control of the ball and attempt a try for a field goal. Such player can only score a field goal by means of a tap of a pass or of a missed free throw."
The grass is not always greener on the other side. I have no idea how happy Junior is to be at Tech. I don't know how true it is but several TV announcers have said the players like playing for Konkol. I could be way wrong because what I see during games and hear Konkol say during interviews may not reflect reality, but he seems to treat the players with respect. Some may not get as much playing time as they would like, but I can't envision Konkol ever getting up in a player's face and cursing him out. Junior seems to come from a well-rounded salt of the earth type family which I think would favor him not looking to transfer. He is getting a lot of publicity so he is getting a lot of exposure even though he is at Tech. Maybe it's time for Karl Malone, Randy White, P.J. Brown, Paul Millsap, and perhaps others to let Junior know playing for Tech can still lead to the big stage.
That's assuming, of course, the refs were familiar with the rule. Surely they are.... I know it scared me at the time.
I was pretty blinded after Lofton's shot went in.... I had to go back and watch the last heave shot from CState. It was close and I am glad I didn't see it at the time of my jumping out of my chair yelling "We did it!". Who knows if the refs would have gone by the rule or not, I am just glad it didn't go in....
So glad for the media attention around Lofton. Too bad many people don't get that the snub was about non P5 conference schools, though. The NCAA and NIT show more than ever this year that the made up term of "mid-major" needs to go away and it is time to stop giving some conferences 6 bids to the tournament, while some get 1 bid. CUSA had 3 teams deserving of NCAA bids, but the rpi is rigged toward the P5 football team schools based on their schedule of playing each other. I would just like to remind them that what they call a "mid-major" won the NIT and the NIT 3rd place. Houston and Gonzaga have a chance to make it to the Final Four (with Gonzaga - from a non P5 football conference - having a good chance to win it all). It is time to end this separation and get rid of the made up term of "Mid-Major"!Obviously the win itself is good, but I think Lofton's performance after the snubbing made this a media buzz in a way that a NIT 3rd place game probably wouldn't normally. What a performance.
The value of NCAA units aside, the NIT was MUCH more valuable to us than the NCAA would have been (one and done).
BTW, I don't keep up with MBB much. Are the value of the NCAA units less due to no tournament last year and no attendance this year?
I mean, they tried their best to give it to a "real team."
This is the sort of thing the AD and SID are well positioned to push back against. "Hey, we noticed you called Tech a mid-major during this last broadcast. This is a friendly reminder that Tech competes in the highest level of college athletics."
Instead we get milquetoasts like Tommy who take the licks. I would expect Dr. Wood to push back against it, coming from UCF, but I'm not totally convinced he's a real person.
Someone upload the entire game on Youtube
We shot 44% from the FT line with only Lofton making any, but he was 7 of 12, barely 50%. Bama lost while hitting only 11 of 25 FTs. I don't know why it's so hard, or these players today make it so hard. Make your free throws.
BTW, if there was ever any doubt we were gonna end up winning by 2 pts, reflect on Crawford's pass that went in accidently...2 pts. The basketball gods smiled on us a little.
Again, all that aside, great job Dawgs!
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