NCAA March Madness rolls on. Ohio State got by the embattled Syracuse Orangemen 77 to 70, thus eliminating Syracuse’s one sure way to wipe clean the stench caused by accusations of, and quoting ESPN “accusations by two former ball boys that they were sexually abused in the 1980s by Bernie Fine.”
That placed legendary Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim in a very uncomfortable place of dealing publicly with a lot of non-basketball questions. Winning it all would all but remove those situations.
Didn’t happen.
Ohio State’s winning performance was paced by drawing 27 fouls inside the paint, reportedly the most drawn by a Syracuse team in the last three NCAA Basketball Championship years. That close quarter set of foul calls sent Boeheim into orbit several times during the contest, and afterward, gave a testy “no comment” when asked to make a statement about the officiating.
Next stop for Ohio State: Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Bill Carroll