The best Louisville game of the decade tournament: 1 vs. 16
by Mike Rutherford on Nov 11, 2009 1:55 PM EST
in News
30 comments
Not gonna lie, setting this up is pretty fun.
The first round rages on as the top seed is revealed...
1. LOUISVILLE BEATS WEST VIRGINIA TO GO TO THE FINAL FOUR (3/6/05)
After dismantling top seed Washington two days prior, it's safe to say that Louisville fans were confident heading into an Elite Eight matchup with seventh-seeded West Virginia. That confidence was shaken quickly as the Mountaineers quickly hit the Cardinals with a barrage of three-pointers and built a 20-point first half lead.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life," Rick Pitino said. "They were falling out of bounds, shooting from half-court and banking them in. You've got to give them all the credit in the world."
Pitino abandoned the zone defense in the second half and Louisville pressed, trapped and clawed its way back into the game.
With leading scorer Francisco Garcia on the bench with five fouls and Taquan Dean suffering from cramps, homegrown Larry O'Bannon took the game over. His driving lay-up with less than a minute to play ultimately sent the game into overtime where the Cardinals were able to hold off an exhausted Mountaineer squad.
The win secured Louisville's first trip to the Final Four since 1986 and made Pitino the only coach to ever lead three different programs to the national semifinals.
When Brandon Jenkins blocked J.D. Collins' shot and Taquan Dean started toward the other end of the floor with the clock ticking down in regulation, I'll always remember thinking in the back of my mind: "I've never felt a feeling like this in my chest...oh my god, am I dying?" It was an amazing, amazing day.
16. THE 2001 LIBERTY BOWL (12/31/01)
Dave Ragone threw three touchdown passes as Louisville (11-2) set a school record for wins in the process of knocking off No. 17 BYU 28-10 in the 2001 Liberty Bowl.
"What I've always said about this team is we might not have the most talent, but we have the most heart and we play together," Ragone said. "This is one of the best Louisville teams to come through in here."
The Cougars had started the season 12-0 and campaigned hard for a spot in a BCS game, but fell to Hawaii in their season finale and were throttled by the Cardinals three weeks later.
Ragone, the game's MVP, was 19 of 28 for 228 yards. He put away the contest with a 49-yard TD strike to Ronnie Gant 49 seconds into the final quarter.
The Cardinals, who had captured their second Conference USA title in as many seasons, secured the program's first bowl victory since a Liberty Bowl win over Michigan State in 1993.
If "We in Da Liberty Bowl" or "Rollin' to Da Liberty Bowl" were anywhere online, you can bet your life that you'd see them below.
Voting closes at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
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Can we go ahead and call a "skunk"
ANYONE who votes the 16 seed is required by Chronicle law to post an explanation…
by CardinalEmpire.com on Nov 11, 2009 2:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Also I apparently tried to combine "elite" and "eight" into one super word
I’m aware that it’s incorrect.
by Mike Rutherford on Nov 11, 2009 2:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Letting your Braves fandom come out.
Haven’t been on the site in a couple days (sad indeed) so this is really late and you probably wont see this, but wanted to point out the mention of Ronnie Gant. That guy could hit the ball in old Fulton County Stadium and definitely had a football physique but I think you were looking for the uber reliable Ronnie Ghent.
by adamcards on Nov 12, 2009 5:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I'll always remember...
that stupid sign that some WVU fan was holding that said “You just got Pittsnoggled”…and they kept showing it everytime he scored…
by *G* on Nov 11, 2009 2:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
This seems like a heavy favorite
But don’t sleep on the 02 b’ball game vs. UK. 5-plus years of late-Crum era frustration erased in one beating.
by doctorofdunk on Nov 11, 2009 3:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Also interested
To see where the three buzzer beaters in Milwaukee fall. We could have a 100-comment debate about which of those is the best, no?
by doctorofdunk on Nov 11, 2009 3:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
This win over WVU
will/should win. I love the Liberty Bowl wins, the amazing games in b-ball with Marquette, Memphis and Kentucky and one would think the win against WVU in football in ’06 and then the Orange Bowl win that year would compete, but this one is THE ONE for me.
I remember is well: The wife and I were living in Columbus, Ohio (for one year-I’ve got one piece of advice-don’t live in C-bus, Ohio). I met my high school buddy Lance (UofL Law School grad) at Turfway for Lane’s End Stakes day. The game was on all the monitors. Thankfully I was winning money that day cause I thought we were dead in the water. Amazingly we weren’t. We rushed to a local restaurant to watch OT (the place was covered with blue zombie nation fans) and I was cheering and hollering as they wore down the Mountaineers. Awesome. I can name Garcia, O’Bannon, Dean, Myles, Palacios, Jenkins, George off the top of my head. Not sure if I remember that many players on any other team from 2000-2009.
Maddie in Portland, Oregon
by kentuckybred on Nov 11, 2009 6:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Elite Eight win over WV '05
To me, that game was like UK/Duke ‘92, only this time Pitino got it done. I’ll never forget that day and the level of excitement I felt. It was one of the greatest feelings in my life. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Rick Pitino and I thanked him for nearly 20 years of thrills and entertainment, noting Louisville/West Virginia ’05 as my personal favorite.
He said himself in the post-game presser: “I’ve been involved in some incredible comebacks…incredible. None as incredible and satisfying as this one.”
I give it my vote, hands down.
________________________________________________
~LK
www.myspace.com/lordkayoss
www.youtube.com/lordkayossrippro
www.welcometomynightmare.tk
by LORD KAYOSS on Nov 11, 2009 7:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
im curious what the other 12 games are
for football, it’s gotta be orange bowl, wvu black out, and maybe the win vs miami in 06
for basketball, there’s a lot more to choose from. here’s what springs to mind:
- big east tournament championship game vs cuse
- winning big east title outright in morgantown when they pulled every motivational ploy out of the hat to beat us (gold out, jerry west, senior night, etc)
- beating #1 pitt in freedom hall (white out)
- sosa’s 3 to beat UK in the hall
- beating georgetown in the hall in 08 (another white out)
- jerry to beat marquette
- cisco to beat marquette
- gaines to beat marquette
- the comeback game vs tennessee
- the beatdown we laid on AZ last year in the tournament (possibly the single most dominant cardinal basketball game ever played…despite what happened the next game)
- darius washington melts down and hands UL the game
it’s been a great decade
by davidson07 on Nov 11, 2009 9:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
excellent list
i might also consider:
*beating florida in 03 when they were technically still #1
*literally shooting georgia tech out of the gym in nashville in 05, when they returned a core group that had gone to the national title game the previous year and we had not been to the second weekend since 1997
*taquan’s signature “i’m still taquan dean” game as a senior against notre dame in 06, when he forced overtime and we ended up winning
*as i stated previously, the 02 win over UK, when cisco and dean were freshmen (what this meant to the program, in my opinion, arguably makes it no. 1, though it’s hard to argue with the given top seed, i understand.)
*the game against seton hall in 03, the week after cisco’s brother was killed in new york.
*sweet 16 victory over washington
*sweet 16 victory over tennessee
*the 08 game against georgetown where the white suit first made an appearance—terrible first half and awesome second half
*the indiana game in 03n the day the space shuttle exploded. we ended the game on like a 50-0 run, as i recall
for the sake of balance (and closure), i propose that we also do a “worst louisville game of the decade” list. it’ll be like blowing up the bartman ball, only not really.
by doctorofdunk on Nov 11, 2009 11:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Good list
As far as “worst game of the decade,” I’d think the list is MSU last year, Notre Dame last year, and 14 games coached by Steve Kragthorpe
by davidson07 on Nov 12, 2009 7:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Loss at Rutgers in 2006 has to be the worse...hands down.
Not
by *G* on Nov 12, 2009 9:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The Miami loss where Rhodes dropped the pick
That was the game that made me hate Devin Hester. And Berlin threw it right at the 2. The Rutgers game was just as bad in my book
by cardscott5 on Nov 12, 2009 2:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Do you realize how much talent was on the field for that game?
Rhodes, Brohm, Bush, LeFors, Frank Gore, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen…
Think any of our current matchups have that kind of NFL roster on them? sob
by CardinalEmpire.com on Nov 12, 2009 3:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
You are forgetting others (mainly the big uglies)
Other players who were drafted/have played in NFL on the field that night
I know there were plenty of other Miami players. Only one that comes to mind is OT Eric Winston (one of the best in entire country that year)
UofL list
Amobi
Elvis
Spitz
Travis Leffew
Kurt Quarterman
Gary Barnidge (remember the vicious hit)
Will Gay
Brandon Johnson
Lionel Gates
Shelton
Kolby
Most people assume the ’06 team as the greatest, but I think that team was the best and was just unfortunate to not be in the Big East and get the auto BCS bid
by adamcards on Nov 12, 2009 5:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't think Barnidge played that game (at least not meaningfully)
McCauley (sp?) was the one who took the hit from Merriweather.
by 83fan on Nov 13, 2009 9:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Do you realize how much talent was on the field for that game?
Rhodes, Brohm, Bush, LeFors, Frank Gore, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen…
Think any of our current matchups have that kind of NFL roster on them? sob
by CardinalEmpire.com on Nov 12, 2009 3:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Worst half that comes to mind is against Pitt in the Big East tournament in 2005-06
Score was 33-5 at one point!
________________________________________________
~LK
www.myspace.com/lordkayoss
www.youtube.com/lordkayossrippro
www.welcometomynightmare.tk
by LORD KAYOSS on Nov 12, 2009 4:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I'd actually add Senior Night for O'Bannon, George, and Garcia
That was the game against Charlotte where Plavich and Larry putting on a shooting display in the first half. Plavich finally cooled off, but Larry just kept raining down jumpers to seal the C-USA title. I’ve been going to games for 6 years and have never heard Freedom Hall louder than that night.
by CardinalEmpire.com on Nov 12, 2009 5:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I still get chills...
thinking about the ENTIRE Hall chanting, “Larry! Larry! Larry!”. This is back when I was still going to games on a press pass and sitting courtside. The crowd noise was ringing by the time the sound made its way to the floor.
I think the ONLY better game for me personally was that C-USA title game in Memphis. I had a press pass for that, too, and sat right behind Lundquist (I think it was Lundquist). I may have inadvertently flipped off the CBS cameras at halftime of that game… the FedEx Forum wireless network SUCKED and I never could get a connection.
Anyway, being there to see the look on Garcia’s face when he fouled Washington, the jubilation of the Memphis fans THINKING they had won their way into the NCAA Tourney, and then the fallout when DW missed the last two freebies is something I doubt will ever be topped for me.
by CardinalEmpire.com on Nov 13, 2009 10:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
This one isn't hard.
I still don’t understand how we won this game. We were down 13 points at halftime and our opponent hit 9 of 11 three-pointers in the second half (excluding overtime), and we somehow came back to force overtime. How does that happen?
by 83fan on Nov 11, 2009 9:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I hope the 8 people who have voted for the Liberty Bowl game
are either UK fans, or members of the 2001 football team.
by 83fan on Nov 11, 2009 9:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Greatest Moment of My Life
I’ll never forget as long as I live. I ran outside and yelled, then I went back inside and sat down on the floor and cried. That was the most emotional two and a half hours I’ve ever been through that didn’t involve a girl or someone dying.
As for the rest of list, don’t forget about FSU in ‘02, the ’00 So. Miss game, the ’00 Rain Delay UK game, and the ’03 UK game. It’s difficult to pare the list down to a total of 16 from two sports, but football’s got some pretty good ones in there to consider.
by _TheGainesShow_ on Nov 11, 2009 9:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
great call
i forgot about the FSU game – that has to be on there, certainly ahead of the miami win
i agree with you on the “Greatest Moment” aspect of the WVU game. I was in Rome when the game went on, didn’t have the game on TV, so ended up staying in an internet cafe until 1am Rome time watching the Gamecast. when we won, I ran back to my hotel with my arms in the air. looking back, how did I not get mugged?
by davidson07 on Nov 12, 2009 7:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
this game was especially memorable for me
i spent the entire game sitting next to my roommate, who was from WV. He was wearing his blue and gold crap, i was wearing my UofL swag. It’s amazing we were still friends after that game.
by Ben Go CARDS on Nov 12, 2009 9:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
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