 From the classic RCA Dome, Oklahoma State and Syracuse battled during a tight first-round game in the 1999 NCAA Tournament. (Image: OKSTATE.TV) | “Wednesday Watch” officially begins with the opening games of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Remember that there was no play-in round at this point (that would not come until 2001) so these |
games were the beginning of the tournament. Here is some quick information on these games.
Back Story: These games were originally recorded on VHS from WBBM Chicago (Channel 2). At the time, I was a junior in high school, and naturally I was distracted in class all day by the games. I vividly remember that I convinced my seventh-period math instructor to let us watch parts of the second half of the UAB-IOWA game on our classroom television. After screwing around with the input, I was able to pick up the game in black-and-white, which was good enough for me.
Opening Game: The first game was between #15 Valparaiso and #2 Maryland from the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida. If you were an NBA fan of the mid-1990s, you will remember the parquet floor of the home court of the Orlando Magic. Anyways, this was not a typical #15 vs. #2 opening-round game. Both Valparaiso and Maryland had reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1998. Of course, Valparaiso did so on the back of head coach Homer Drew’s son Bryce, who made this famous buzzer beater in the first round against Ole Miss, upset Florida State in the second round and then lost to Rhode Island in the Sweet Sixteen.
Back Story: These games were originally recorded on VHS from WBBM Chicago (Channel 2). At the time, I was a junior in high school, and naturally I was distracted in class all day by the games. I vividly remember that I convinced my seventh-period math instructor to let us watch parts of the second half of the UAB-IOWA game on our classroom television. After screwing around with the input, I was able to pick up the game in black-and-white, which was good enough for me.
Opening Game: The first game was between #15 Valparaiso and #2 Maryland from the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida. If you were an NBA fan of the mid-1990s, you will remember the parquet floor of the home court of the Orlando Magic. Anyways, this was not a typical #15 vs. #2 opening-round game. Both Valparaiso and Maryland had reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1998. Of course, Valparaiso did so on the back of head coach Homer Drew’s son Bryce, who made this famous buzzer beater in the first round against Ole Miss, upset Florida State in the second round and then lost to Rhode Island in the Sweet Sixteen.
As for Maryland in 1998, the Terrapins had knocked out my Fighting Illini in a tense 4 vs. 5 game in the second round before losing to then national champion Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen.
Much Different Teams: While reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1998, both Valpo and Maryland were much different teams in 1999. Valpo only returned one starter from the 1998 team, and had a front line of all European imports, while Maryland welcomed Steve Francis from junior college. Francis would play only one year at Maryland and then become the #2 overall pick of the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1999 NBA Draft.
Much Different Teams: While reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1998, both Valpo and Maryland were much different teams in 1999. Valpo only returned one starter from the 1998 team, and had a front line of all European imports, while Maryland welcomed Steve Francis from junior college. Francis would play only one year at Maryland and then become the #2 overall pick of the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1999 NBA Draft.
| Pros vs. Lubos Barton (Valpo Small Forward): Looking back, this game seemed to be a huge mismatch as Maryland had three NBA players in their starting lineup (Francis, Laron Profit and Lonny Baxter) and another NBA player (Juan Dixon) on the bench. |  Maryland guard Steve Francis drives on Valparaiso guard Milo Stovall during the Terps' first round victory against the Crusaders in the 1999 NCAA Tournament. (UMTerps.com) |
Valparaiso hung tight for most of the first half before Maryland pulled to a 10-point lead at the half and eventually won by 18. Here is the box score.
Announcers: The game was announced by Gus Johnson and Dan Bonner. I believe this was the first year that Johnson and Bonner worked together in the tournament. This was before Johnson had reached his popular status, and it was funny to listen to him try to remember all of the European last names of the Valparaiso players. As for Bonner, he was a bit uneven and too excitable at points during this game and tournament. He had a tendency to yell during nice plays. Throughout the years, he has grown into a solid broadcaster and, along with the great Kevin Harlan, made his tourney broadcasts with the insufferable Reggie Miller tolerable.
Live Look-In: Back in 1999, not all games were broadcast on television like today’s coverage with CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV (that would not happen until the 2011 NCAA Tournament). Thus, CBS would broadcast games based on your geography and provide these Live Look-Ins roughly after the 10 minute mark of the first half. During the Maryland and Valpo game, viewers were provided with Live Look-Ins of the first round games between Syracuse and Oklahoma State, and Iowa and UAB. Eventually, once the Maryland lead started to grow against Valpo, CBS would switch to the final minutes of the Syracuse and Oklahoma State game, which proved to be more fascinating than the Maryland-Valpo game.
Announcers: The game was announced by Gus Johnson and Dan Bonner. I believe this was the first year that Johnson and Bonner worked together in the tournament. This was before Johnson had reached his popular status, and it was funny to listen to him try to remember all of the European last names of the Valparaiso players. As for Bonner, he was a bit uneven and too excitable at points during this game and tournament. He had a tendency to yell during nice plays. Throughout the years, he has grown into a solid broadcaster and, along with the great Kevin Harlan, made his tourney broadcasts with the insufferable Reggie Miller tolerable.
Live Look-In: Back in 1999, not all games were broadcast on television like today’s coverage with CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV (that would not happen until the 2011 NCAA Tournament). Thus, CBS would broadcast games based on your geography and provide these Live Look-Ins roughly after the 10 minute mark of the first half. During the Maryland and Valpo game, viewers were provided with Live Look-Ins of the first round games between Syracuse and Oklahoma State, and Iowa and UAB. Eventually, once the Maryland lead started to grow against Valpo, CBS would switch to the final minutes of the Syracuse and Oklahoma State game, which proved to be more fascinating than the Maryland-Valpo game.
 Oklahoma State guard Doug Gottlieb protects the ball against Syracuse guard Jason Hart during the Cowboys' first-round victory against the Orangemen in the 1999 NCAA Tournament. (Syracuse.com) | Game Summary: With the awesome team of Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery on the call from my favorite tournament site of all time, the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana, Syracuse battled to tie the game at 57 with less than two minutes to go in the second half. Oklahoma State would respond with a three-pointer and layup, and then salt the game |
away from the free-throw line. Here is the box score and some highlights from an old Eddie Sutton show.
Pro Outlook: As it was an 8-9 game, Syracuse and Oklahoma State were much more even in terms of talent and pro prospects. The Orangemen were led by point guard Jason Hart and center Etan Thomas, then-juniors who would return to lead Syracuse to the 2000 Sweet Sixteen in a forgotten classic against Michigan State. Oklahoma State was led by small forward Desmond Mason, who would later play with the Seattle SuperSonics and Milwaukee Bucks. Like Syracuse, Oklahoma State would make a deeper run in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, losing to Florida in the Elite Eight.
Legendary Coaches: For an opening round of games, the coaches involved were quite impressive with eventual National Championship coaches in Jim Boeheim of Syracuse (2003) and Gary Williams of Maryland (2002). At the time of this game, Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State was the only coach to have led four teams to the NCAA Tournament (Arkansas, Kentucky, Creighton and OK State). Sutton would take the Cowboys to the Final Four in 2004 after already doing so in 1995. For Iowa, Dr. Tom Davis was finishing his last year for the Hawkeyes though he would later coach at Drake. While Homer Drew would never reach the Sweet Sixteen, he would remain at Valparaiso for ages, until his son Bryce replaced him. Of course, Bryce recently left for Valparaiso. UAB was coached by Murray Bartow, the son of Gene Bartow, who coached at Illinois for one season in the seventies before replacing John Wooden at UCLA.
Interesting Observations: Here are some things that stood out to me after watching this game.
Syracuse Fashion Statement: The Orangemen were rocking shaved heads in unity for the tournament. They also took the Fab Five’s style of baggy uniforms to unparalleled levels as they looked like they were swimming in their game shorts and undershirts.
Familiar Faces in Old Places: Current CBS announcer Doug Gottlieb manned the point for the Cowboys, a black-haired Julie Boeheim was featured in the crowd near the end of the tense game, and former Illinois forward Ryan Blackwell (he played as a freshman for the Illini) missed a key shot for the Orangemen with the game tied in the last minutes.
Blasts from the Pasts: Here are some college basketball players from the past whose names I hadn’t heard in a long time until reviewing these games.
Nothing Beats the RCA Dome: Before the NCAA basically sold out the tournament in 2010, making all of the courts uniform in appearance, an appeal of the first and second rounds were playing games on these neutral courts. To this day, the RCA Dome is my favorite NCAA tourney location of all time. While hosting the 1997 Final Four, the RCA Dome was a symbol of the opening weekend. With its super-polished floor to its red sidelines and baselines, no venue was as exciting to watch an opening tournament game (see the Illini in 2003 and 2005) than the RCA Dome!
Legendary Coaches: For an opening round of games, the coaches involved were quite impressive with eventual National Championship coaches in Jim Boeheim of Syracuse (2003) and Gary Williams of Maryland (2002). At the time of this game, Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State was the only coach to have led four teams to the NCAA Tournament (Arkansas, Kentucky, Creighton and OK State). Sutton would take the Cowboys to the Final Four in 2004 after already doing so in 1995. For Iowa, Dr. Tom Davis was finishing his last year for the Hawkeyes though he would later coach at Drake. While Homer Drew would never reach the Sweet Sixteen, he would remain at Valparaiso for ages, until his son Bryce replaced him. Of course, Bryce recently left for Valparaiso. UAB was coached by Murray Bartow, the son of Gene Bartow, who coached at Illinois for one season in the seventies before replacing John Wooden at UCLA.
Interesting Observations: Here are some things that stood out to me after watching this game.
Syracuse Fashion Statement: The Orangemen were rocking shaved heads in unity for the tournament. They also took the Fab Five’s style of baggy uniforms to unparalleled levels as they looked like they were swimming in their game shorts and undershirts.
Familiar Faces in Old Places: Current CBS announcer Doug Gottlieb manned the point for the Cowboys, a black-haired Julie Boeheim was featured in the crowd near the end of the tense game, and former Illinois forward Ryan Blackwell (he played as a freshman for the Illini) missed a key shot for the Orangemen with the game tied in the last minutes.
Blasts from the Pasts: Here are some college basketball players from the past whose names I hadn’t heard in a long time until reviewing these games.
- Oklahoma State – Guards Adrian Peterson and Joey Adkins, and big man Brian Montonati.
- Syracuse: Wings Damone Brown and Tony Bland.
- Iowa: Guard Kent McClausland and forward Duez Henderson.
- Maryland: Forward Terrence Morris (the Terps’ best player in the Valpo game) and guard Terrell Stokes (who could not shoot for his life but killed Illinois with some wide-open jumpers in the 1998 NCAA Tournament).
Nothing Beats the RCA Dome: Before the NCAA basically sold out the tournament in 2010, making all of the courts uniform in appearance, an appeal of the first and second rounds were playing games on these neutral courts. To this day, the RCA Dome is my favorite NCAA tourney location of all time. While hosting the 1997 Final Four, the RCA Dome was a symbol of the opening weekend. With its super-polished floor to its red sidelines and baselines, no venue was as exciting to watch an opening tournament game (see the Illini in 2003 and 2005) than the RCA Dome!
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