Spread the word: College hoops is back

Make no mistake -- in other words, don't be like the Big East referees who botched the end of a great game yesterday -- college basketball is no longer just a nice annual visitor to New York, like the circus. In fact, you could say that the end of the St. John's-Rutgers game was a circus. We prefer to call it Exhibit A in proof that college ball is back home here, in a big way.

It was a tough break for Rutgers that the officials failed to see that Justin Brownlee of St. John's traveled and then stepped out of bounds during a premature celebration with 1.7 seconds left. Hey you can't catch everything. Even Rutgers guard Mike Coburn, who was right there, saw only one of the blatant violations that sealed a 65-63 St. John's win in the Big East Tournament.

"I wanted to foul him because I knew there was still time on the clock. When I saw him step out, I'm looking at the refs. I said, 'Did you see that?' I was hoping they could come back out and review it," the senior said.

So did he hear anything from officials Jim Burr, Tim Higgins or Earl Walton? "Not that I remember," Coburn said. "I don't remember them responding or anything. The refs' job, after the game is over, is to clear the court. And that's exactly what they did. It happens."

No one heard anything official until about an hour after the game, when Big East commissioner John Marinatto issued a statement acknowledging that the officials made "two errors" but there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Oops.

How cool would it have been if Marinatto had made everyone come back out on the court and finish it up again, like they did in the 1972 U.S.-Soviet Olympic basketball gold-medal game? As it was -- with apologies to Rutgers alumni, one of whom is typing these words -- but the whole day really was cool as it was.

It was outstanding to hear the Garden rocking amid the chaos of the final minute, with throbbing noise for both sides. This turned into a passionate, ear-splitting, voice-straining home game for both teams.

Afterward, St. John's coach Steve Lavin praised Rutgers "for demonstrating great fight and competitive spirit." Rutgers coach Mike Rice apologized for being "a lunatic" after the buzzer for arguing what he thought should have been a foul committed by the Storm against Coburn with less than 10 seconds left.

What these eyes and ears witnessed was the start of a rivalry, and something more: The college basketball tide is rising all around us.

LIU, coming off a wonderful regular season, beat Robert Morris in overtime in the Northeast Conference championship game last night to get an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook, coming off a rough regular season but a wonderful weekend in the America East championship, will play for the very same prize Saturday.

Hofstra had the best player in the metropolitan area. Charles Jenkins made this a compelling winter in Hempstead and probably secured a place in the NIT for his team.

There is hope again at Fordham, with coach Tom Pecora getting a chance to bring in his own players. There is hope at Iona, which appeared headed for the Big Dance before being knocked out this week by another local, St. Peter's. Seton Hall has a dynamic new coach in Kevin Willard.

This peanut stand is not suggesting that college hoops will be as big on Broadway as college football is in Tuscaloosa. Nor are we are seeing a return to the 1950s, when college basketball was king in New York.

What we are seeing is new life, as clear as the sight of Brownlee's foot on the sideline. Word is that Rice has an excellent recruiting class coming to Rutgers, so we have seen only the start of endings like Wednesday's.

"I wish," said Coburn, who is from Mt. Vernon, "I could stay here forever and play."

The rest of us are lucky that we get to stay and watch.