by Chris Maynard ([email protected])
| | In the annals of NCAA Tournament history, the Utah Utes' 77-58 victory against the UNC Charlotte 49ers in the second round of the 1997 tourney will hardly go down as a classic game. Basically, CBS announcers Jim Nantz |
and Billy Packer commented quite directly and accurately at the end of the game, with Nantz basically noting how Utah controlled this game from start to finish and Packer adding that in all of his years of calling NCAA Tournament games, it was never more apparent at the start which team had legs (Utah) and which team lacked such energy (UNC Charlotte).
After starting this game last night and finishing this evening, it was quite clear from my watch that Utah could have gotten anything it wanted. When locked in, the Utes did so, with senior star Keith Van Horn doing a dunk and layup drill in the game's first couple of minutes and junior center Michael Doleac killing from the outside.
As for the 49ers, especially guard Sean Colsen, the team was spent after earning a first-round victory against Georgetown in the first round.
And yet, despite these obvious details, and the fact that Packer said that this was not a fun game to watch and that Utah played average, there were some things that stood out from this contest that would be important a year later in the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
For Utah, it was clear that, as Nantz said at the end of the game, that this team had the talent to win a national championship. With Van Horn, Doleac, sophomore point guard Andre Miller and freshman reserve forward Hanno Mottola, Utah had four future NBA players.
When the Utes clicked, they really clicked. However, the Utes also had too many lapses in this game, as if the team was cruising at points. Perhaps this was the one downfall of having a talent as good as Van Horn, an All-American in 1996/1997. Utah could escape a second-round game with an up-and-down performance but wouldn't do so in the Elite Eight against the best program in college basketball at the time, Rick Pitino's Kentucky Wildcats.
A year later, with Van Horn drafted No. 2 overall by the New Jersey Nets, a less talented but steadier and more focused Utah team would advance all the way to the championship game behind the play of Miller, Doleac, Mottola, senior guard Alex Hansen and small forward Alex Jensen.
While not as gifted as the season before, that 1998 team played two near-perfect games in the tournament, knocking off defending national champion Arizona in the Elite Eight and then beating a superior North Carolina squad from start to finish in the Final Four. Utah nearly won its first national championship since 1944, leading who else but Kentucky at halftime before running out of steam in the second half.
As for UNC Charlotte, the 49ers were not quite ready to take out a 27-3 Utah team. However, the team showed fight in this game that would bode well a year later, when the 49ers nearly knocked out No. 1 seed North Carolina in a classic second-round game.
Behind the heart of reserves Tremaine Gardiner and Dimingus Bundy, and even the never-quit attitude of Colsen, who shot just 1-for-13 in this game, UNC Charlotte was able to hang around for much longer than the final score against Utah indicated.
In all honesty, this game looked like it was going to be a blowout early, but UNC Charlotte would not let that happen with a spirited end to the first half and start of the second half.
For both Utah and Charlotte, this 1997 game had bigger implications.
Utah wasn't yet playing at a complete level as would be the case in 1998.
UNC Charlotte was getting experience while demonstrating a toughness that would carry into the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
So while this 1997 second-round game may not matter 20 years later, it mattered back then, planting the seeds for bigger and better things for both schools.
In 1997, neither team was fully ready.
In 1998, both teams would be.
Here are some of my favorites from this game.
After starting this game last night and finishing this evening, it was quite clear from my watch that Utah could have gotten anything it wanted. When locked in, the Utes did so, with senior star Keith Van Horn doing a dunk and layup drill in the game's first couple of minutes and junior center Michael Doleac killing from the outside.
As for the 49ers, especially guard Sean Colsen, the team was spent after earning a first-round victory against Georgetown in the first round.
And yet, despite these obvious details, and the fact that Packer said that this was not a fun game to watch and that Utah played average, there were some things that stood out from this contest that would be important a year later in the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
For Utah, it was clear that, as Nantz said at the end of the game, that this team had the talent to win a national championship. With Van Horn, Doleac, sophomore point guard Andre Miller and freshman reserve forward Hanno Mottola, Utah had four future NBA players.
When the Utes clicked, they really clicked. However, the Utes also had too many lapses in this game, as if the team was cruising at points. Perhaps this was the one downfall of having a talent as good as Van Horn, an All-American in 1996/1997. Utah could escape a second-round game with an up-and-down performance but wouldn't do so in the Elite Eight against the best program in college basketball at the time, Rick Pitino's Kentucky Wildcats.
A year later, with Van Horn drafted No. 2 overall by the New Jersey Nets, a less talented but steadier and more focused Utah team would advance all the way to the championship game behind the play of Miller, Doleac, Mottola, senior guard Alex Hansen and small forward Alex Jensen.
While not as gifted as the season before, that 1998 team played two near-perfect games in the tournament, knocking off defending national champion Arizona in the Elite Eight and then beating a superior North Carolina squad from start to finish in the Final Four. Utah nearly won its first national championship since 1944, leading who else but Kentucky at halftime before running out of steam in the second half.
As for UNC Charlotte, the 49ers were not quite ready to take out a 27-3 Utah team. However, the team showed fight in this game that would bode well a year later, when the 49ers nearly knocked out No. 1 seed North Carolina in a classic second-round game.
Behind the heart of reserves Tremaine Gardiner and Dimingus Bundy, and even the never-quit attitude of Colsen, who shot just 1-for-13 in this game, UNC Charlotte was able to hang around for much longer than the final score against Utah indicated.
In all honesty, this game looked like it was going to be a blowout early, but UNC Charlotte would not let that happen with a spirited end to the first half and start of the second half.
For both Utah and Charlotte, this 1997 game had bigger implications.
Utah wasn't yet playing at a complete level as would be the case in 1998.
UNC Charlotte was getting experience while demonstrating a toughness that would carry into the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
So while this 1997 second-round game may not matter 20 years later, it mattered back then, planting the seeds for bigger and better things for both schools.
In 1997, neither team was fully ready.
In 1998, both teams would be.
Here are some of my favorites from this game.
- Favorite player. Utah's Michael Doleac was someone whom I always wondered in high school how he was so effective, especially for not being that athletic. Well, this game confirmed to me why Doleac was a great college player who would play a long time in the NBA as a journeyman. Doleac was a perfect compliment to Van Horn, with his ability to hit jumpers on the secondary break, face the basket and draw opposing big men away from the basket. Doleac was just so efficient. In this game, he was 8-for-11 from the field, with most of his 18 points coming on jumpers.
- Favorite villain. UNC Charlotte's Shanderic Downs scored 7 of his 10 points early in the first half to keep the 49ers alive. Unfortunately, he made a poor decision late in the game @1:39:00 to @1:39:10 (replayed @1:42:50 to @1:43:00) when he kneed Utah's Ben Caton in the groin, resulting in an intentional foul.
- Favorite unexpected performance. While the sophomore Gardiner sparked the 49ers with a game-high 14 points and plenty of energy, Bundy hit two big threes in the first half to keep the 49ers in the game. On the afternoon, Bundy was 4-for-7 from the field for 11 points, which is interesting when considering that he scored just 1 point in three minutes of play against Georgetown.
- Favorite individual play. Utah's Trace Caton made a beautiful layup off a great cut after a wonderful pass from the savant that was Miller @4:08 to @4:20.
- Favorite finish at the rim. Utah's Van Horn got his first two points of the game on a beautiful assist from Miller. After UNC Charlotte center (and YouTube poster of this video) Alexander Kuehl missed a short jumper, Utah got on the break, with Miller firing a no-look pass from the top of the key to Van Horn. Showing great hands, Van Horn was able to control the pass and then use one dribble to adjust his body for a power two-hand slam. The whole sequence can be seen from @4:25 to @4:40.
- Favorite sequence. I suggest watching the last four minutes of the first half, from @40:39 to @45:00. Just when it seemed like Utah was going to blow this game out, Bundy hit his second three, and the 49ers finished on a 13-4 run to cut the game to 39-31 at the break. UNC Charlotte showed that it was a team with a lot of heart.
- Favorite coaching moment. Packer observed how Majerus was unusually calm this game, living with his team's errors. With that said, I really liked how UNC Charlotte's Watkins used a box-and-1 at times on Caton as opposed to Van Horn. This defense confused Utah early in the first half and allowed UNC Charlotte to hang in the game. Of course, Majerus would famously employ a box-and-one in the 1998 Elite Eight upset of Arizona, locking down Mike Bibby in the process and denying the Wildcats bid at back-to-back championships.
- Favorite broadcasting moment. I enjoyed how Packer gave a lot of credit to the heart of UNC Charlotte in the second half. @1:40:00 to @1:40:30, Packer said that Utah "should send a letter of thanks" to Georgetown for causing UNC Charlotte to expend so much energy two days earlier.
- Favorite random detail. Late in the second half, Packer and Nantz started talking about former Utah head coach Jack Gardner, a Hall-of-Famer who coached the program from 1953 to 1971. Especially interesting was how Gardner was the only known person at the time to have been present at every Final Four. Gardner would pass away on April 9, 2000. I am not sure if he was present for his last Final Four, the 2000 triumph of the Michigan State Spartans.
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