Our Games of the Decade Series continues with our look at the most dramatic college basketball game of the last 10 years. There's certainly a lot of worthy choices, but our vote goes to the longest game of the last ten years. It began as a normal Big East tournament game between old rivals UConn and Syracuse, but it ended the next morning after a battle of attrition the likes of which we've never seen.
Who: #20 Syracuse (24-8) vs. #4 UConn (27-3)
What: Big East Tournament Quarterfinal
Where: Madison Square Garden, NYC
When: March 12, 2009
How It All Unfolded: The 2009 Big East Tournament was supposed to be a showdown of 3 of the top 5 teams in college basketball. UConn, Pitt, and Louisville had all held the top spot in the rankings at some point during the season and had clearly established themselves as the class of the Big East. As usual, UConn boasted the most amount of talent, with Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien on the inside, and a talented backcourt featuring A.J. Price on the outside.
Meanwhile, Syracuse had had a typically uneven season since the brief days of Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara. In the 2008-2009 season they suffered an embarrassing early season defeat at home to Cleveland St. and were unable to get by any of the three best Big East teams during the regular season.
Syracuse finished sixth in the conference and earned a bye into the 2nd round of the Big East tournament, where they were matched up with Seton Hall. After getting through a brief dustup caused by mercurial guard Eric Devendorf, the Orange advanced with a 89-74 victory. In the next round they would meet the Huskies, who earned a bye into the quarterfinals with their third place finish in conference play. UConn would be playing for another Big East Tournament and a #1 seed in the Big Dance while Syracuse was playing to ensure a trip to March Madness.
Of course, I could sit here and painstakingly go through the ups and downs of this roller coaster ride, but I'm sure you'd enjoy this handy YouTube recap much more. Here's a hint about the game, it went so long, the highlight is 10 minutes long! Trust me, it's worth it!
And with that, Syracuse had won the second-longest game in Division I history 127-117. Remember, Syracuse hadn't led in the first 5 OT periods! The Orange truly showed the heart of a champion to hang in and defeat a more talented UConn team. But there's so much to this game we'll remember.
Why We'll Remember It: Obviously, the pictures speak 1000 words for this struggle. In our lead picture, you can see the agony and fatigue in Harris, Devendorf, and Flynn from Syracuse. Of course, this classic may not have unfolded if Eric Devendorf's last second shot at the end of regulation would have been a tenth of a second sooner.
When it was all over, players like Kemba Walker had given all they possibly could have. These players weren't playing their guts out for 6 OTs to draw a paycheck, they played for each other, for their university, and for the Big East Tournament Championship.
All you have to do is look at the box score and some of the amazing individual statistics.
UConn
A.J. Price: 61 minutes, 33 points, 10 assists
Jeff Adrien: 56 minutes, 12 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists
4 other players over 45 minutes (Thabeet, Walker, Austrie, Robinson)
Syracuse
Jonny Flynn: 67 minutes, 34 points, 11 assists, 16-16 FT
Eric Devendorf: 61 minutes, 22 points
Paul Harris: 56 minutes, 29 points, 22 rebounds
Flynn especially would play an unfathomable number of minutes in the tournament. As if 6 OTs weren't enough in the quarterfinal, Syracuse would need OT to win their semifinal game versus West Virginia. In the semifinal, Flynn would play all 45 minutes. Unfortunately for the Orange, they would finally succumb to the grind in the tournament final against Louisville 76-66, although Flynn would take home the crown of Tournament MVP. In the NCAA tournament, the Orange would fall in the Sweet 16 to Oklahoma. Meanwhile UConn made the Final Four, before they were upset by Michigan St.
But, the one thing every fan will remember from the 2008-2009 season will be this game. The odds are, we'll never see another one like it, where fans all across the country can simultaneously update their Facebook or MySpace status to show they are watching the greatest college game of their lifetime. The setting made it all the more special, in the World's Most Famous Arena, in the best of the Conference Tournaments (sorry Dukie V, it's true, it's true). Although neither team was able to reach their ultimate goal for the season, they were able to claim their own unique place in history, and maybe that's just as valuable for the warriors of the 6OT game.
Also Considered
-2001: Iowa St. vs. Mizzou - Mizzou outlasts in a paltry 4 OTs
-2001: Duke vs. Maryland - Duke comes back from 10 down in the final minute
-2004: Oklahoma St. vs. St. Joseph's - John Lucas sends the Cowboys to the Final Four
-2005: Michigan St. vs. Kentucky - The underdog Spartans go to the Final Four in 2 OTs
-2005: Illinois vs. Arizona - The Illini make it to the Final Four in OT
-2008: Kansas vs. Memphis - Jayhawks come back to win it all
-2009: Villanova vs. Pittsburgh - Scottie Reynolds leads 'Nova to the Final Four
Join us back here at RSS later today for a second round of our football preview that's Hot off the Grill. Also keep track of our continuation of the world-renowned Decade Series. Hope all the turkey's staying down. Happy Black Friday. Gobble Gobble!
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