"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.

And a Rivalry Game to Boot - Rutgers 62 - Seton Hall 61

Daily Home News - February 9, 2005

As we saw with Damon Santiago's game winning shot against Pitt, buzzer beaters are even more satisfying when seasoned with added excitement such as a 20 point comeback.  Sometimes, however, the extra seasoning doesn't depend on things that may or may not happen, the matchup itself provides its own added excitement.  Rivalry games are a case in point.  Back when I first got involved in Rutgers basketball in the mid 1960s, the rivalry game was against Princeton. More recently, inside or outside of conference, it's with Seton Hall.  A buzzer beater win in a rivalry game almost seems too good to be true, but sometimes even extra sauce is added by something special, say, for example, a controversial call.  Of all those elements, only the rivalry was assured for the February 8, 2005 Rutgers - Seton Hall game at the RAC.  Both teams were struggling, especially the Scarlet Knights who had lost five straight, also the number of consecutive losses at the hands of their instate rivals.  Only a few weeks earlier, the Pirates had embarrassed Rutgers 74-58.

Daily Home News - February 9, 2005

In spite of, or perhaps because of, it being a rivalry game, much of the contest was far from classic basketball.  Bill Handleman of the Daily Home News called most of the game, especially the first twenty minutes "a monument to bad basketball."  Early in the first half Rutgers had the better of what scoring took place and led 20-8 with eight minutes to go.  Nothing good happened for the Knights for the remainder of the period, however, as they managed only six points, but still led 26-22 in a game where neither team was able to sustain any offense.  The scoring didn't improve much early in the second half, but Seton Hall mustered enough offense to take their first lead at 33-32 with 13:52 left.  That was followed by ten minutes of what Jerry Carino, also in the Home News, called "bricked shots, lousy-looking free throws and errant passes" which "plagued both sides."  At point it seemed like the game would be known for poor play rather than anything else, but basketball sometimes saves its best for last.

Record - February 8, 2005

John Allen of Seton Hall got the fireworks started with a long jumper that gave the Pirates their biggest lead at 43-40 with under four minutes left.  Quincy Douby of Rutgers quickly responded with a long three points shot from the left side to tie the game with 3:17 to go.  On the next Seton Hall possession, Douby's aggressive offense carried over to his defense as he stole the ball and was fouled by the Pirates Donald Copeland.  The Rutgers sophomore hit both shots to put Rutgers up by two.  After some back and forth, Rutgers still led 50-48, but Copeland hit a long three of his own to give Seton Hall a one point advantage with just 42 seconds left.  Douby was far from done, however, hitting a running jumper with only 27 seconds remaining.  Seton Hall went to John Allen on their last possession and although it appeared he got away with a walk, his 10 foot bank shot put the Pirates ahead by one with 16 seconds left.  Rutgers came down needing one for a tie and two for a win and Knights guard Jules Wiggan was fouled with only 6.5 seconds on the clock.  Wiggan made one, missed one and the game went to overtime.

Record - February 9, 2005

Rutgers took the lead early in the overtime when Douby banked in a ten foot runner.  The Knights maintained their lead for most of the five minute overtime period, but Kelly Whitney hit a shot with just 14 seconds left to tie the game at 61-61.  Rutgers brought the ball up the court looking for Douby to take the last shot.  Quincy put up an off balance shot from the left side of the key which missed and the game was headed to a second overtime.  Or was it?  In the excitement few people realized referee Les Jones had blown his whistle right after Douby released the ball, calling a foul on Copland of Seton Hall.  With no time left on the clock and no players on the line, Douby missed the first, but hit the second to give the Knights a one point win and spark no end of controversy about the call.  Seton Hall and its fans were adamant that no foul was committed while Rutgers was ecstatic to have won the game, ending both losing streaks at five.  Perhaps Rutgers Coach Gary Waters probably put it best by simply calling it "divine justice."

 

  

"So Sweet" - Rutgers 65 - Providence 64

Daily Home News - January 11, 2004

In choosing ten memorable Rutgers buzzer beaters, no consideration was given to where the game was played.  It's interesting that of the six thus far, only one was at home, probably the last buzzer beater at the old College Avenue Gym.  With the exception of Damon Santiago's shot against Pittsburgh, the remainder took place on neutral courts, but this week the scene shifts to the RAC.  In January of 2004, Rutgers had begun its Big East conference season with a frustrating loss.  Just a few days earlier the Scarlet Knights had taken #1 Connecticut right down to the wire before falling one point short.  The defeat, which no one considered a moral victory, left Rutgers at 0-2 in conference (7-4 overall) and badly in need of a conference win.  At least the next game was at home, but the opponent was another nationally ranked team, Providence coming off a frustrating loss of their own.  Playing Texas in a nationally televised game, the Friars suffered the worst possible kind of buzzer beating loss where it seemed to many the shot was taken after the buzzer sounded.

Daily Home News - January 11, 2004

The first ten minutes of the game were relatively even until Providence went ahead with 9:23 remaining in the first half. It was a lead the Friars would hold for the next 30:36 of playing time.  At the half, Providence was ahead 36-26, but Rutgers used a 10-4 spurt at the to get back into the game.  From that point on the teams traded baskets which wasn't good enough for Rutgers.  Still down by five points with just over ten seconds left, Herve Lamizana put up a prayer which was answered when the ball went in off the glass.  After the game Lamizana himself admitted "that shot was luck," especially since he "didn't even look" and didn't "know how [it] went in."  Still down two, however, Rutgers had no alternative but to foul, putting a Friar on the line with two shots.  Making both would put the game out of reach, but providence was not looking kindly on its namesake this night. Both shots missed giving the Knights one last chance.

Daily Home News - January 11, 2004

Rutgers brought the ball across midcourt with just 5.7 seconds left and Coach Gary Waters took a timeout.  Waters said later, that he wanted no part of overtime so he designed a three point attempt.  Freshman Quincy Douby was to drive towards the basket and look for Lamizana.  If Herve wasn't open, Douby was to look for another Rutgers three point shooter in the corner.  Lamizana was open, however, probably because as Keith Sargeant put it in the Daily Home News "no one felt he could hit from near the bench."  Standing about 24 feet from the basket, Herve took the ball three feet behind the three point line and with "no time to think I just set it up and shot."  Unlike the earlier three point basket, this was a "pure shot" that hit nothing but net with .4 seconds on the clock.  Then to top off his evening, Lamizana blocked Providence's inbound pass and Rutgers had an improbable 65-64 win.  His game winning shot gave Herve 21 points for the game, complemented by eight rebounds and four blocks.

Record - January 11, 2004

While it was too early in the season to call the dramatic win a turning point, it was important to get that first conference win.  Certainly, Rutgers morale after the game was better than the Friars who suffered their second consecutive heart breaking buzzer beating loss.  Rutgers finished the regular season at 16-12 with a 7-9 conference record.  A frustrating one point loss to Virginia Tech eliminated the Knights from the conference tournament, but the team earned an NIT bid.  Consecutive victories over Temple, West Virginia, Villanova and Iowa State put Rutgers in the NIT championship game against Michigan.  Sadly the Scarlet Knights came up a little short against the Wolverines.  It was still a successful season, however, with some memorable moments, especially that January 10th buzzer beater.  It was as  Herve put it, "so sweet."  No one, except, of course, Providence could disagree with that sentiment.

Garden Party - Rutgers 61 Georgetown 60

Asbury Park Press - March 7, 1998

 Simple logic dictates that there are two mandatory parts of any buzzer beating shot - the shot and the buzzer.  However Rutgers recorded at least one buzzer beater before there even were buzzers.  It happened over a century ago on February 11, 1920 in Rutgers first signature win, a victory over Princeton.  The game was at the end of the first overtime period when with time running out, a foul on Princeton led to Leland Taliferro's game winning foul shot. It didn't matter who was fouled, because under the rules of the day, teams had designated foul shooters.  According to newspaper accounts of the game, the referee blew his whistle to call the foul just as the timekeeper started to blow the whistle he used in lieu of a buzzer.  In a game played before a sellout crowd, albeit only 1,000 fans,  it's hard to believe the whistle would have been heard above the din.  No such problem existed with the buzzer at Madison Square Garden in New York when it became college basketball's biggest stage.  In fact, it was so loud that a sportswriter, trying to describe the voice of Hilda Chester, a leather-lunged Brooklyn Dodger fan, wrote that she sounded like the buzzer going off at Madison Square Garden. It's a metaphor anyone who has ever been to the old building at 8th Ave and 51st Street has no trouble understanding.

Daily Home News - March 7, 1998

When the "new" Garden, opened in February of 1968, the buzzer certainly maintained the noise levels of the old one.  Thirty years later, Rutgers was playing at MSG for the third time in the Big East tournament. After opening round losses its first two years in the league, the Scarlet Knights had something to prove in Kevin Bannon's first season as Rutgers coach.  However, with an opening round matchup with #23 West Virginia, the safe money was that Rutgers at 12-14 was again headed home quickly.  Wise observers however would have noted that just a few weeks earlier, the Scarlet Knights had recorded an upset win over another ranked team, #21 Syracuse.  Past proved prologue when the Knights knocked off the Mountaineers, 75-72, earning a second round game with Georgetown.  Interestingly, Rutgers had defeated the Hoyas by 19 points at the RAC, just a month earlier, shredding the heralded Georgetown press in the process.  Wisely, Hall of Fame coach John Thompson dispensed with that strategy and the Hoyas jumped out to a 35-26 lead at half time.  It was not a good sign for Rutgers which was 0-11 in games where they trailed at half time.  When Georgetown went up by 10, early in the second half, it seemed unlikely Rutgers was going to reverse that negative statistic.

Courier News - March 7, 1998

However over the next ten minutes, the Scarlet Knights wiped out the Hoya lead and a Geoff Billet three with 10:27 remaining put Rutgers ahead 45-44.  The game went back and forth after that with Georgetown leading  58-55 in the closing minutes.  Rebounding a missed shot, Rob Hodgson was fouled and made both free throws to cut the deficit to one.  A Georgetown turnover gave Rutgers a chance to take the lead, but Billet missed a three and Jeff Greer failed to connect on two follow up shots.  Finally with 33.7 seconds left, Eric Clark grabbed another offensive rebound and was fouled.  The Rutgers senior, who was a good clutch foul shooter, came through once again, knocking down both shots to give Rutgers a one point lead.  Georgetown worked the ball to Shernard Long, their high scorer, and he made a clutch shot of his own, a 12 foot twisting jump shot over Hodgson to put the Hoyas up with just 13.9 seconds left.  Rutgers got the ball to midcourt with just 10 seconds remaining and Bannon called timeout.  Setting up last shot plays against Georgetown was problematic because of their aggressive physical defense.  In a post game radio interview, the Rutgers coach said the strategy was to have multiple players touch the ball and look for the best opportunity.

The Record - March 7, 1998

Executing the strategy as designed, Earl Johnson passed to Hodgson, who in turn threw it to Greer.  With time running out Greer was looking for an opening to the basket when he saw "Geoff [Billet] come to me and I had never seen his facial expression like that.  He wanted the ball."  Wisely Greer gave it to him outside the three point line at the head of the key.  The Rutgers junior went down the lane, got what he called a "good look" and put up a 12 foot runner trying to get the ball "up high" so it could get some help from the rim.  Watching Billet both Hodgson and Clark said the play seemed like it was in "slow motion" as the ball went towards the basket.  In the end, Billet didn't need the rim as the ball dropped cleanly through the basket while that loud as ever buzzer provided background music to the  pandemonium that broke out on the court.  Geoff ran around, not knowing "what I was doing," until he was mobbed by his teammates and then slapped hands with Rutgers fans as he ran into the tunnel.  After the game, Billet credited assistant coach Danny Hurley for pushing him to work on just that kind of shot after practice.  To no one's surprise, Geoff said it was "one of the best feelings I've ever had playing basketball."  A sentiment echoed by every Rutgers fan, especially those of us in attendance who left the Garden walking on air or so it felt.  

The Sounds of Silence - Rutgers 71 - PItt 70

 Daily Home News - February 21, 1996

Like all sports, basketball has its own unique features - buzzer beating shots being just one.  Another is what Hall of Famer Bob Cousy called, in his book of the same name, "The Last Loud Roar."  As the Celtics great described it, the home team comes from behind, forcing the opposition to call a timeout, generating an avalanche of sound from their fans.  It's a part of basketball that not only puts an exclamation point on the comeback, but sometimes spurs the home team on to even more success.  Sitting almost directly on the opposite side of the RAC from the visiting coach, I've seen them hesitate to call the timeout, knowing what's coming could make things even worse.  What about though, when the comeback takes place on the road and there are no home fans to deliver that final burst of enthusiasm.  Back in December of 1964, before I had even seen a college basketball game, much less been part of one, I remember Rutgers freshman coach Bruce Webster saying to our team - "When you go on the road, the only thing you want to hear is silence."  It was a good point, one, I've always remembered.  

Pittsburgh Post Gazette - February 21, 1996

On those occasions, silence can be its own reward and even more so when the big comeback is capped by a buzzer beating shot.  On February 20, 1996, few, if anyone, watching the Rutgers game at Pitt on television, or listening on radio, thought even one of those things would occur that night.  It was Rutgers first year in the Big East and, understandably, the season had more than a few challenges.  Going into the Pitt game, Rutgers was 7-14 overall and 4-10 in the conference with all four league wins at home.  Little in the first half suggested this was going to be the night the Scarlet Knights broke through on the road.  Averaging 14 turnovers per game, Rutgers gave the ball away 13 times in just the first 20 minutes and Pitt, coached by Ralph Willard, led by 13 at the break.  Nor did things look more promising in the second half when Chad Varga and Jason Maile of Pitt put on an offensive exhibition.  Varga scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half and Maile, who averaged under 5 points per game, hit six threes all in the second half.  Rutgers coach Bob Wenzel had employed four different defenses, none of which had slowed down the Panthers.  With only 7:21 left in the game, Rutgers was down by 20 points and it looked like the benches would be cleared shortly.

Courier News - February 21, 1996

However as has been proven over and over again, basketball games are 40 minutes, not 32:39 and Pitt did not score another basket the rest of the way.  Thanks to shutting down the Panthers' offense, Rutgers cut 8 points off the margin, but still trailed by 12 with just 2:30 left.  The Scarlet Knights final comeback began when Geoff Billet hit a three point shot and after a Pitt turnover, Damon Santiago scored to cut the Pitt lead to just seven.  After Pitt came up empty again, Santiago hit a three and the lead was only four with 1:12 left.  Maile who had been unstoppable earlier, missed a shot and Vontego Cummings' follow up was blocked by Rutgers Eric Clark.  Pitt then made the mistake of fouling Billet, the best foul shooter in the conference, who made both, bringing Rutgers within two points with 43 seconds left.  On what would prove to be Pitt's last offensive opportunity, Rob Hodgson blocked Kevin Willard's shot (son of the Pitt coach and current Seton Hall coach) giving the ball back to Rutgers.  Damon Santiago (who kindly shared his memories with me) remembers that he "got the ball and raced down court with about 5 seconds to go.  I got a shot off but it was a terrible fading shot that came up short.  Luckily for us the ball was knocked out of bounds by Pitt with 1 second left on the clock." Rutgers coach Bob Wenzel called a timeout and as he walked to the bench, Damon was more than a little "upset," thinking he blew it."

Courier News - February 21, 1996

Damon remembers that in the huddle, Wenzel designed a play for him "to come off a screen to get a shot in the corner."  Knowing with one second left he had to get the shot off quickly, Damon decided he "may as well go for the 3 and the win."  As the teams took their positions, Damon "knew they would be playing me to go over the top of the screen so I chose to go under the hoop to use the screen set up by Eric Clark."  Clark set what Wenzel later called "a perfect screen" and Damon got "just enough separation to get beyond the three point line, catch and shoot."  Unable to see the basket because of a Pitt big man jumping out on a double team, he let it "fly in the direction of the rim."  Although at the time it "seemed [to Damon] like it took forever to go in," go in it did, as the buzzer sounded for a one point Rutgers victory.  Santiago who scored 25 points was the hero,  but others made important contributions beginning with Hodgson and Clark who had 14 points apiece.  It is hard to imagine a more dramatic win and the school's first Big East road win at that.  

Damon Santiago

Earlier in the season, Damon won the home game against Pitt by sinking two clutch foul shots with one second left.  His buzzer beater at Fitzgerald Field House capped off a sweep of the Panthers which was especially meaningful to Damon since two of his childhood friends, Jerry McCullough (a player) and Orlando Antigua (a coach) were on the Pitt team. Damon topped off his senior season by being named to the Big East second team, an honor under any circumstances, but especially since the first team guards were Ray Allen and Allen Iverson.  After college, Damon played basketball professionally for a few years and then went back to school and earned a Masters Degree.  He is currently a Dean of Discipline for the Department of Education in New York.  Damon's memorable shot produced the kind of win that at home would have sent the fans storming on to the court, but on the road, silence never sounded so good.  Bruce Webster would have been proud.

The Importance of Being Ambidextrous - Rutgers 80 - Rhode Island 79

Courier News - March 5, 1990

As Christmas holiday tournaments fell out of favor in college basketball, the vacuum was more than filled by conference tournaments, designed not so much to determine the conference champion as to decide which school would earn the automatic NCAA berth.  There is no relationship between the decline of the one and the growth of the other, but it's also true that 50 years or so ago, conference tournaments were rare, the ACC being the most notable exception.  Since at the time only one team per conference qualified for what was not yet known as "the dance," the argument was that a team that finished 11-1 behind a 12-0 regular season champion deserved another chance.  Whether or not that logic made sense, conference tournaments gradually became more commonplace because they gave every team, at least theoretically, something to play for.   As the NCAA field expanded, however, conference tournaments have had less and less to do with determining who makes the "dance." That still leaves, though, the Cinderella scenario where an unsung team gets hot and plays its way into a tournament berth, it otherwise had no chance of earning.

Courier News - March 5, 1990

Rutgers enjoyed just such an experience in the 1988-89 season when Coach Bob Wenzel engineered the biggest turnaround in school history.  Adding only one new player, Wenzel took a team that had won only seven games the year before and led them to a 15-12 regular season record.  That alone made it a memorable season, but the team was not done yet.   One of the problems faced by mid-major and lower conferences was how to attract a large crowd to the championship game.  Unlike the major conferences, fans did not stick around once their team had been eliminated, leaving championship games to be played in half empty (at best) arenas.  The Atlantic Ten's solution was to play the first three rounds at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia with the championship game at the home of the highest remaining seed.  In the 1989 tournament, Rutgers defeated St. Bonaventure and then upset Temple in a dramatic overtime game to earn a place in the final.  Since lower seed Penn State had knocked off West Virginia in the other semi-final, the championship game came to the RAC. Urged on by what was the loudest crowd I can remember in my over 40 years in Section 105, Row F, Rutgers defeated Penn State, earning an NCAA bid before falling to Iowa in the opening round.

Herald News - March 5, 1990

A year later, Rutgers was back at the Palestra for an opening round Atlantic 10 tournament matchup with Rhode Island.  It had been an up and down season for the Scarlet Knights who stood exactly at .500, 15-15.  The first half of the game was, to put it mildly, unusual.  First, guard Earl Duncan, a Syracuse transfer, who was suffering from lingering knee and ankle injuries got hurt again and would play only 22 minutes.  With 16:21 left in the half the guard rotation shrunk even further.  Craig Carter scored, but landed on the foot of a Rhode Island player, dislocating his ankle which left his foot "at a grotesque angle."  "Writhing in pain," the embattled Rutgers player was carried off on a stretcher while waving to the applauding Rutgers fans.  In for Carter was Rick Dadika, a key part of the 1989 team who now had a more limited role off the bench.  Dadika stepped up big time, making five three point shots over the course of the game, tying an Atlantic 10 tournament record in the process.  Four of those came in the first half and, amazingly, Rutgers led 51-41 at the half.  Amazingly not only because of the injuries, but also since 14 of the 17 fouls called in the first half had gone against Rutgers including a technical on the bench.

Asbury Park Press - March 5, 1990

 Although down by 10, Rhode Island was far from finished.  In less than a minute the Rams cut the difference to four and with 15 minutes left, they knotted the contest at 55-55.  From that point the game went back and forth until a dramatic last two minutes.  With Rutgers up 74-73, Eric Leslie of Rhode Island hit two foul shots for a one point Rams lead.  Rutgers countered with a follow up shot by the late Keith Hughes, but Rhode Island's Kenny Green made a layup for a 77-76 Ram lead.  On Rutgers next possession, Donnell Lumpkin was fouled.  Trying to intimidate the freshman, Rhode Island coach Al Skinner called two timeouts to let Lumpkin think about the shots.  Not in any way intimidated, Donnell made both in what Skinner gracefully acknowledged as "a very nice job."  Rhode Island looking to take back the lead, had the ball out of bounds on the baseline in the forecourt.  The Rams ran a play that gave Mike Brown a go-head layup with just 11 seconds left.  With the ball out of bounds under their own basket, Wenzel called a Rutgers timeout not so much to set up a play, but rather a formation with multiple options.

Daily Home News - March 5, 1990

Freshman Mike Jones brought the ball across midcourt where a Rhode Island double team forced him to pass off to Duncan. The Rutgers junior dribbled to the left side of the lane where with four seconds left, his only choices were to shoot or drive.  Duncan opted for the latter, but was cut off by the Rams defense.  Resorting to a spin dribble, Duncan went up with the ball sensing that if he shot with his right hand Kenny Green, Atlantic 10 player of the year, would block it. Shifting the ball to his left hand, Duncan put it up just past Green's outstretched hand. The shot went in as the buzzer sounded giving Rutgers a place in the semi-finals against Temple.  While Duncan had made the winning shot, he got plenty of support from Jones and Dadika off the bench.  Jones was all over the court with 11 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and no turnovers while Dadika scored 19 points.  The next night it seemed like history might repeat itself when upstart UMass, coached by John Calipari, knocked off number two seed Penn State.  A Rutgers win over Temple would have again brought the championship game to the RAC, but alas, it was not to be.  A year later, however, Duncan and Keith Hughes led Rutgers to its only regular season conference championship and the school's last NCAA appearance.