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Message: [QUOTE="Orangeman, post: 1725273, member: 972"] The better team won, no question about that. They also played better, making a really high % of mid-range shots. They also have more talented depth, which is where the officiating comes in...I think the foul calls on Brice Johnson were like the only questionable calls that went our way, and normally that would be good for us, but all that happened was they brought out a guy who shot 75% from the floor last night and the refs boomeranged Don't forget, the score was tied 16-16 and 18-18, then UNC pulled away. Sure, they made some shots and good plays, but... UNC played very clean during this period, committing just one foul from like the 14 min mark of the 1H to the 2 min mark. 12 mins, one foul on Brice Johnson, during which Syracuse was whistled for 7 fouls. This was also when UNC pulled away, and you have to assume that of the poor defensive performance was due to 2 fouls on G, Mal, Roberson, and Lydon during the period. The fouls went from even (2 on Cuse, 3 on UNC) to 8 on Cuse, 4 on UNC during the period. ...it was +2 Syracuse and became +14 UNC during that stretch. Roy was complaining because that's what coaches do, but there was also an immidiacy effect going on there, becuase once UNC got the double-digit lead the Tarheels suddenly started committing fouls again in the last two mins of the half, picking up 4 including two on Hicks. Yes, you can argue that it was incumbent on the Orange to take advantage of the trend-shift back in their direction, but basketball is a momentum sport and being down 12-14 is tough to overcome. Those are the numbers. Even...long stretch in favor of UNC...short stretch in favor of SU Now, I don't want this to sound like sour grapes...the better team who played better won. SU would have had to play great, UNC play poorly and get some "breaks" to win. Unlikely to happen. BUT, all I'm saying is if you wanted to influence the flow of the game, create runs (just like the UVA run the game prior) but have the numbers evened out in the end, for some reason, that's how you'd do it. Check the play-by-play if you don't believe me. It's worth noting that many of the fouls called on Syracuse were of the questionable variety during that stretch, with the announcers particularly questioning about 3-4 of the calls in a row "that was all ball" -- Raftery. Great run, enjoyable three weeks. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?