|
DETAIL INFORMATION - emmitt40
Here are the details for the item you just selected.
| Year/Season: |
1985-1986 |
| Date: |
3/15/1986 |
| League/Sport: |
NCAA Men`s Basketball |
| Event: |
NCAA 2nd Round |
| Visitors: |
LSU Tigers |
| Home: |
Memphis St. Tigers |
| Location: |
LSU Assembly Center |
| Network: |
CBS |
| Length: |
|
| Commercials: |
Unknown |
| Pregame: |
Unknown |
| Halftime: |
Unknown |
| Postgame: |
Unknown |
| Type: |
1st Generation |
| Comments: |
Louisiana State 83-81. LSU guard Anthony Wilson said it was a feeling he never felt before, but it was a moment he dreamed of as a young boy in Plain Dealing, La. to make a game-winning shot.
Head coach Dale Brown hoped that moment would be answered as he and the rest of the 13,784 Assembly Center fans in attendance held their breaths after a mad scramble for the ball with the score tied at 81.
"I said to myself, `God, let it go in!` I wanted it to go in so badly," Brown said.
Wilson got that chance when he gathered the loose ball and fired up a soft, 8-foot jumper. One second later with the horn sounding, the junior`s final heave kissed off the glass, bounced twice on the rim and dropped through the net sending the 11th-seeded LSU Tigers to the Sweet 16 with a thrilling 83-81 upset of third-seeded Memphis State.
"I didn`t know how much time was left, so I just pitched it up and it went in," Wilson said. "It was the greatest feeling I`ve ever had since I`ve competed in sports. I used to dream about making a shot like that when I was a kid."
Wilson`s buzzer-beater capped an improbable LSU comeback that enabled the Tigers to reach the round of 16 for the fifth time in the program`s history. LSU, which defeated Purdue (94-87) in double overtime in the opening round, improved to 24-11 and advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional Semifinal in Atlanta against Georgia Tech.
The sixth-ranked Yellow Jackets defeated defending national champion Villanova, 66-61, in their second-round contest.
MSU exited the tournament with a 28-6 record and failed to make a repeat trip to the Final Four.
Wilson, who poured in a career-high 25 points in LSU`s double-overtime triumph over Purdue, struggled for most of the second-round game and was held to six points and three rebounds.
Senior forward Don Redden, playing in his final home contest, paced the Tigers with a game-high 23 points and began a sequence in which Wilson would miraculously end up with the ball. With the score tied at 77, Redden missed a jumper with five seconds left that caromed off the rim and fell to the floor.
There was a dash for the rebound as Redden, Wilson and Ricky Blanton tried to get a handle on the ball. Wilson was able to come up with it and get off the game-winning shot that hung on the rim for an eternity.
Pandemonium broke out in the sold-out crowd as Wilson`s teammates rushed to the floor to mob him at midcourt. Still in jubilation, Wilson emerged from the pile of players to see Brown who was there to hug the unlikely hero.
"It was the first time in my life I`ve ever been out of breath," Brown said.
LSU`s John Williams overcame a virus earlier in the week to post a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with 19 points.
Blanton turned in a gutsy defensive effort, stymieing MSU star center William Bedford to two second-half points and 15 for the game. Blanton finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and seemed to be there when the Tigers desperately needed a key play.
MSU pushed a six-point halftime lead to 10 with the first two baskets of the second half. The Tigers trailed 60-52 with 15:32 remaining in the game but went on a 9-1 run to cut the deficit to six culminating with a pair of Williams` free throws at the 11:41 mark.
Blanton converted a three-point play during the stretch and frustrated Bedford who fought through foul trouble in the second half.
"I was putting the body on him," Blanton said. "I didn`t want to lose him because if I did they could easily throw the alley oop into him, and they looked for that."
Blanton, only 6-6 and playing the center position, embraced his role in the game as he did all season, contributing in ways where his aggressive play would be needed. His teammates knew it too.
"Ricky played just a great ball game," Redden said. "I think the team is very happy with Ricky because without Ricky we wouldn`t have won today. He does all the intangibles for us and shut down one of the nation`s premier centers."
Bedford returned with four fouls at the 6:36 mark with MSU clinging to a 73-71 lead after Blanton converted two free throws.
After a basket from Baskerville Holmes, who led MSU with 20 points, Bedford received the ball on the next trip down and turned it over.
Thirty seconds later, the lead was gone after Williams converted on consecutive trips down the floor with a turnaround jumper and a lay-up.
LSU got over the hump and took its first lead since the 11:07 mark in the first half when Redden drilled a 15-foot jumper from the left wing after a Blanton steal.
The teams traded baskets as the clock dwindled down to 1:00. Memphis State was able to tie it at 81-81 on a Bedford bank shot with 30 seconds left, setting the stage for the hectic conclusion that followed.
Bedford and MSU head coach Dana Kirk were in stunned disbelief following the prayer that was answered in the waning seconds.
After all, these Tigers from Tennessee were built for another run at a Four Four. They were stronger, had more size and had three of the premiere players in the nation in Holmes, Vincent Askew and Andre Turner. (NOTE: All three would reach the NBA.)
"They had every ingredient to have been the national champions," Brown said. "I told the team if they win, they`ll probably be the 1986 national champions. They were easily the best team we have played all season."
LSU overcame all of the obstacles that were thrown at them with a mix of heart, desire and hustle.
"One word describes it," Brown put it. "Guts. Outright guts in the game."
Brown said he awoke the morning of the game with the same feeling he had when LSU reached the Final Four five years earlier. He listened to the tune of "You Gotta Have Heart" on his radio.
"That`s exactly what I told the team today. We can`t beat this team today without it."
While addressing the media in his postgame press conference, Brown glanced at the bracket of teams still in the hunt for that one shining moment.
"There are only 16 teams left that can win it, and we are one of them," Brown said. "Obviously, we have a chance." |
| Format: |
DVD-R |
| # of discs/tapes: |
1 |
| Format Comments: |
|
| Grade: |
7.0 |
| Own/Want: |
Own |
| Email: |
Email emmitt40 |
| Return to previous Page |
|
