"How is That Possible?" - Rutgers 77 - Villanova 76

Courier News - February 10, 2011

Back in early December of 1965 I witnessed what for years seemed like one of the most remarkable comebacks ever made by a Rutgers basketball team.  It was an early season game against the University of Delaware at the Blue Hens home court.  The home team led from the opening tap and with just 1:04 left was up by seven.  Somehow Rutgers got it down to three, but there was only eight seconds left with Jim Valvano on the line for two foul shots.  Obviously, Valvano had to make both shots, which he did. The strategy was to foul and hope the shooter missed at least one shot (this was long before the three point shot).  Whether the strategy would have worked or not proved academic when Valvano tipped the inbound pass to Bob Lloyd in perfect position for an unopposed layup and Rutgers first lead of the night.  The only thing wrong with the play was it took just two seconds, leaving the Blue Hens six seconds for a last possession which came up empty.  In addition to being a dramatic come from behind win, it was an historic night since Lloyd's last basket were his 50th and 51st points, a Rutgers record later tied by Eric Riggins.  The 1965-66 team went on to a 17-7 record, the most wins in school history to that point, falling just short of an NIT bid.

Philadelphia Inquirer - February 10, 2011

Considering the rules at the time, no shot clock, no three point shot, it's hard to believe a team could score four points in two seconds.  Even harder to believe, however, is what happened in our final buzzer beating shot on February 9, 2011 when Rutgers took on Number 9 Villanova at the RAC.  It was Mike Rice's first season as coach and while the team had played incredibly hard, they had suffered a number of tough losses.  Coming into the game, the Knights were 12-11, but just 3-8 in the Big East and in a three game losing streak.  Given the opposition, there didn't seem much chance the streak would end that night and the first half went according to form, with the Wildcats up 35-28 at the break.  Once the teams were back on the floor, however, Rutgers mounted a comeback to close to within 48-44.  Teams are in the top ten for a reason, however, and Villanova put on a spurt that gave the Wildcats a 64-51 lead with just 5:06 left.  Rutgers managed to cut the deficit to nine, but there were just two minutes left.

Philadelphia Inquirer - February 10, 2011

As with the 1965 comeback, Rutgers was at the foul line, but Mike Coburn was only able to convert one of two.  It worked out for the best, however.  Dane Miller grabbed the rebound and threw it back to Jonathan Mitchell who hit a straight away three to cut the lead to five.  Nor was Miller done, he stole the inbound pass, leading to James' Beatty's three pointer from the right corner. Suddenly, Rutgers was down by only two, 70-68 with 1:34 left. Rutgers had made up seven points without Villanova even getting the ball out of the backcourt.  However, the Wildcats still had some answers.  Showing plenty of poise for a freshman, James Bell was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and calmly sank both shots to put Villanova back up by four.  Mitchell promptly matched Bell's effort with a basket to get it back to a two point deficit, but Bell hit a three with just 11.9 seconds left to put Villanova up 75-70.

Record - February 10, 2011

Rutgers had to score quickly and did so when Beatty banked in another three to make it 75-73, but there were just 6.3 seconds left.  Rutgers quickly fouled Corey Fisher who only made one of the two shots, giving Rutgers a chance for a desperation three point attempt.  Beatty got the ball into the forecourt and kicked it back to Mitchell who was on the far right wing, well outside the three point line.  Mitchell claimed he "just let fly." From where I was watching, the ball looked like it was following a homing signal to the basket.  Not only did it go cleanly through the net, Mitchell was fouled on the play.  After Villanova took a timeout, the Rutgers senior made the free throw with just .8 seconds on the clock.  The Wildcats had time for a full court pass, but the receiver caught it out of bounds. Rutgers had won on what Jerry Carino labeled, without overstatement, "one of the greatest shots in Rutgers Men's basketball history."  Likewise Mitchell acknowledged it was "definitely" the biggest shot of his life."  Perhaps somewhat lost in the excitement was the fact that Rutgers had scored seven points in seven seconds, prompting Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia News to wonder "How is that possible?"

 

Some Things Never Get Old - Rutgers 64 Seton Hall 61

 

Asbury Park Press - March 10, 2008

Back in the dark ages (1964-68) when I was at Rutgers, the most important game in any sport was against Princeton.  Those contests may not have been that significant to Princeton, but from our perspective it was the game we wanted to win more than any other.  That was especially true of football because of the first inter-collegiate football game won by Rutgers on November 6, 1869.  Although it was great to win the first game, it took almost 70 years (the two teams didn't play every year) until 1938 before Rutgers won again.  By the mid 60s, the Scarlet Knights had prevailed only eight times, including four in a row from 1958-1961.  That gave the class of 1962 the distinction of never having seen Rutgers lose to Princeton in football.  My class had the opposite experience. Not only didn't we ever see Rutgers win, in my four years we were ahead just once for about 2 minutes before a heartbreaking last minute Princeton comeback.  Our lack of success during those four years led some to question whether it would be a successful season if we beat Princeton, but lost all the remaining games.  While I never got to that point, the sentiment was understandable because some games are that important no matter what else happens the rest of the season.

Asbury Park Press - March 10, 2008

During those same years, in December of 1965, I did get to experience one basketball victory over Princeton.  It was the first Rutgers win in almost 20 years, prompting a large crowd of students to meet the team bus when we arrived back on campus.  Since then, of course, Seton Hall has become the rivalry game in basketball and just as with Princeton, it's important no matter the circumstances.  Such was certainly the case on March 9, 2008, the last game of what had been a dismal season for the Scarlet Knights.  Heading into the game, Rutgers was 10-20 overall and 2-15 in the Big East, suffering through a nine game losing streak.  To make matters even worse, at the time, not every team made the Big East tournament and by virtue of its record, the Knights wouldn't get to play at Madison Square Garden.  Instead the final game of the season was against Seton Hall at the Prudential Center in Newark before a sellout crowd on the Pirates senior day.

Herald News - March 10, 2008

 Nothing in the first half suggested the game would be anything but a bad ending to a bad season.  Rutgers turned the ball over 16 times in the first half and trailed by as many as 17 at one point.  Fortunately, late in the first half, Corey Chandler sparked a Rutgers comeback that cut the margin to 34-23 at the break. The Rutgers run continued in the second half, a 26-3 burst over the two halves and the Knights took a 61-59 lead with just 30 seconds left.  Things looked even brighter for Rutgers when a Pirates turnover and a charge negated two Seton Hall opportunities to score without them even getting a shot off.  Unfortunately Rutgers couldn't take advantage of the turnover, but after the charge the Knights had the ball under their own basket with only 12 seconds left.  On the inbound pass, however, Jerard Hazell of Seton Hall made a great play to force a held ball which gave the Pirates possession.  An ensuing layup in traffic didn't go in, but Jamar Nutter's bank shot with 4.3 seconds tied the game 61-61.

Courier New - March 10, 2008

In what sportswriter Jerry Carino described as "the chaos that followed," Anthony Farmer took two dribbles and passed to J. R. Inman who was standing unguarded on the right wing.  According to Carino, Inman off balance "lofted the shot on the move, off of one foot" from 21 feet with just one second on the clock.  While he and everyone else in the sold out arena held their breath, the ball swished through the net for a 64-61 Rutgers victory.  Needless to say pandemonium broke loose among the Rutgers players and fans while the bulk of the crowd went home silent and unhappy.  Inman called the shot "a big exclamation point" and "the greatest feeling I've had all season."   To answer the hypothetical question raised about Rutgers-Princeton football games, the victory didn't salvage a disappointing season, but wins like that in rivalry games are moments that never get old.