SMU Vs. UTAH
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 2:18 amThis is from a UTAH site about one of the best games in SMU history, but once again in SMU fashion, the stangs fell just a little bit short:
During the 1996-97 season, no one knew what to think of the Utes. They dominated the WAC, losing only 1 game (to New Mexico at "The Pit" in Albuquerque), but the WAC held little respect nationally. To complicate the issue even further, the Utes had only played 3 non-conference games against big-name opponents. Of those three games, they lost the first (61-69 to Arizona), won the second (80-68 over Texas), and lost the third (59-70 to Wake Forest).
So, going into the WAC tournament, no one knew how to rate the Utes. They had climbed the national polls to a lofty #3 ranking, but many believed the team was overrated. And so, when the tournament tipped off in Las Vegas, most of the other WAC teams were eager to send the top-seeded Utes tumbling back to earth.
The first challenger was the fifth-seeded SMU Mustangs. During the regular season, the Utes had smashed the Mustangs twice, by an average of 19 points. But this time it was a different story. After falling behind by six points at halftime, the Utes watched in horror as SMU increased its lead to 15 points with just over 12 minutes remaining. On the other side of the ball, the Utes were mired in a shooting slump that saw even the great Keith Van Horn miss several wide-opne shots. It looked like the Utes were going to be upset. However, the Utes had become famous for their defense, and they turned up the defensive pressure on the Mustangs.
With 8:16 left in the game, SMU's Jay Poerner broke free for an uncontested slam-dunk. But that monstrous jam proved to be the last score he or any other Mustang would see for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the Utes chipped away at the lead until, with 1:01 left in the game, they trailed by only two points. SMU worked the shot clock for all it was worth, but missed the shot attempt. Utah rebounded and passed the ball down to guard Andre Miller, who was fouled with 0:16 left. He made the first free throw to pull the Utes within 1 point, but missed the second and SMU's Allen Krist got the rebound. The Utes had no choice but to foul Krist. But the pressure was on, and Krist missed the first shot. The Utes rebounded and quickly got the ball down to All-American Keith Van Horn, who set up for the game-winning shot as the clock was running down.
His shot bounced off the rim.
Suddenly, it looked like the game was over and the Utes were going to come up short. But with three-tenths of a second on the clock, an SMU player accidentally knocked the ball out of bounds while going for the rebound. Now, according the NCAA rules, three-tenths of a second is the cutoff point where it is deemed impossible to make a basket without just tipping it in off an inbounds pass. Well aware of this, the Utes set up a play for Van Horn to start on the low block, spin off his defender, and look to tip the ball in the basket off of the inbounds pass. But as Van Horn fought his way past a couple of defenders, he slightly overran the inbounds pass from Andre Miller. Stopping his forward progress as abruptly as possible, he leapt backwards and stretched his long arms back to try and tip the ball. He barely got it, and the ball arched softly toward the basket and settled in the bottom of the net as the horn sounded. The Utah bench erupted onto the court, embracing Van Horn. Utah won the game 59-58 to advance to the next round of the tournament.
During the 1996-97 season, no one knew what to think of the Utes. They dominated the WAC, losing only 1 game (to New Mexico at "The Pit" in Albuquerque), but the WAC held little respect nationally. To complicate the issue even further, the Utes had only played 3 non-conference games against big-name opponents. Of those three games, they lost the first (61-69 to Arizona), won the second (80-68 over Texas), and lost the third (59-70 to Wake Forest).
So, going into the WAC tournament, no one knew how to rate the Utes. They had climbed the national polls to a lofty #3 ranking, but many believed the team was overrated. And so, when the tournament tipped off in Las Vegas, most of the other WAC teams were eager to send the top-seeded Utes tumbling back to earth.
The first challenger was the fifth-seeded SMU Mustangs. During the regular season, the Utes had smashed the Mustangs twice, by an average of 19 points. But this time it was a different story. After falling behind by six points at halftime, the Utes watched in horror as SMU increased its lead to 15 points with just over 12 minutes remaining. On the other side of the ball, the Utes were mired in a shooting slump that saw even the great Keith Van Horn miss several wide-opne shots. It looked like the Utes were going to be upset. However, the Utes had become famous for their defense, and they turned up the defensive pressure on the Mustangs.
With 8:16 left in the game, SMU's Jay Poerner broke free for an uncontested slam-dunk. But that monstrous jam proved to be the last score he or any other Mustang would see for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the Utes chipped away at the lead until, with 1:01 left in the game, they trailed by only two points. SMU worked the shot clock for all it was worth, but missed the shot attempt. Utah rebounded and passed the ball down to guard Andre Miller, who was fouled with 0:16 left. He made the first free throw to pull the Utes within 1 point, but missed the second and SMU's Allen Krist got the rebound. The Utes had no choice but to foul Krist. But the pressure was on, and Krist missed the first shot. The Utes rebounded and quickly got the ball down to All-American Keith Van Horn, who set up for the game-winning shot as the clock was running down.
His shot bounced off the rim.
Suddenly, it looked like the game was over and the Utes were going to come up short. But with three-tenths of a second on the clock, an SMU player accidentally knocked the ball out of bounds while going for the rebound. Now, according the NCAA rules, three-tenths of a second is the cutoff point where it is deemed impossible to make a basket without just tipping it in off an inbounds pass. Well aware of this, the Utes set up a play for Van Horn to start on the low block, spin off his defender, and look to tip the ball in the basket off of the inbounds pass. But as Van Horn fought his way past a couple of defenders, he slightly overran the inbounds pass from Andre Miller. Stopping his forward progress as abruptly as possible, he leapt backwards and stretched his long arms back to try and tip the ball. He barely got it, and the ball arched softly toward the basket and settled in the bottom of the net as the horn sounded. The Utah bench erupted onto the court, embracing Van Horn. Utah won the game 59-58 to advance to the next round of the tournament.
