The 1997 Post-Season Run

During the 1996-97 season, no one knew what to think of the Utes. They dominated the WAC, losing only 1 game (to New Mexico at "The Pit" in Albuquerque), but the WAC held little respect nationally. To complicate the issue even further, the Utes had only played 3 non-conference games against big-name opponents. Of those three games, they lost the first (61-69 to Arizona), won the second (80-68 over Texas), and lost the third (59-70 to Wake Forest).

So, going into the WAC tournament, no one knew how to rate the Utes. They had climbed the national polls to a lofty #3 ranking, but many believed the team was overrated. And so, when the tournament tipped off in Las Vegas, most of the other WAC teams were eager to send the top-seeded Utes tumbling back to earth.

The first challenger was the fifth-seeded SMU Mustangs. During the regular season, the Utes had smashed the Mustangs twice, by an average of 19 points. But this time it was a different story. After falling behind by six points at halftime, the Utes watched in horror as SMU increased its lead to 15 points with just over 12 minutes remaining. On the other side of the ball, the Utes were mired in a shooting slump that saw even the great Keith Van Horn miss several wide-opne shots. It looked like the Utes were going to be upset. However, the Utes had become famous for their defense, and they turned up the defensive pressure on the Mustangs.

With 8:16 left in the game, SMU's Jay Poerner broke free for an uncontested slam-dunk. But that monstrous jam proved to be the last score he or any other Mustang would see for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the Utes chipped away at the lead until, with 1:01 left in the game, they trailed by only two points. SMU worked the shot clock for all it was worth, but missed the shot attempt. Utah rebounded and passed the ball down to guard Andre Miller, who was fouled with 0:16 left. He made the first free throw to pull the Utes within 1 point, but missed the second and SMU's Allen Krist got the rebound. The Utes had no choice but to foul Krist. But the pressure was on, and Krist missed the first shot. The Utes rebounded and quickly got the ball down to All-American Keith Van Horn, who set up for the game-winning shot as the clock was running down.

His shot bounced off the rim.

Suddenly, it looked like the game was over and the Utes were going to come up short. But with three-tenths of a second on the clock, an SMU player accidentally knocked the ball out of bounds while going for the rebound. Now, according the NCAA rules, three-tenths of a second is the cutoff point where it is deemed impossible to make a basket without just tipping it in off an inbounds pass. Well aware of this, the Utes set up a play for Van Horn to start on the low block, spin off his defender, and look to tip the ball in the basket off of the inbounds pass. But as Van Horn fought his way past a couple of defenders, he slightly overran the inbounds pass from Andre Miller. Stopping his forward progress as abruptly as possible, he leapt backwards and stretched his long arms back to try and tip the ball. He barely got it, and the ball arched softly toward the basket and settled in the bottom of the net as the horn sounded. The Utah bench erupted onto the court, embracing Van Horn. Utah won the game 59-58 to advance to the next round of the tournament.

In that next round, the Utes faced the only WAC team to defeat them during the regular season: the New Mexico Lobos. New Mexico was also nationally ranked (at #14), and were well-motivated to defeat the Utes in order to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee. But the SMU game was a wake-up call for the Utes, and they vowed to play with more intensity. The Utes did just that in limiting the Lobos' top two players (Charles Smith and Kenny Thomas) to four and nine points respectively. But Keith Van Horn was also struggling, shooting a meager 4 for 14 from the field. Still, the Utes were able to build up a seven-point lead in the second half. Then the Lobos fought back to tie the game at 61 points, and the two teams fought neck and neck the rest of the way. With 0:59 left in the game, the score was tied at 70 points. New Mexico inbounded the ball and worked it inside to Kenny Thomas. With 0:36 left on the clock, Thomas saw an open lane and drove to the basket. However, he was called for travelling, so the Utes got the ball. The Utes then played the clock for the last shot. With 5 seconds left, Andre Miller drove in from the left side and floated up a shot that fell short. Then, from out of nowhere, Keith Van Horn jumped in to corral the rebound (at almost the identical spot as the tip in from night before). He did not bring the ball back down but went straight back at the rim, and threw the ball back into the basket as the horn sounded. It was like deja vu. Once again, Keith Van Horn had won the game on a last-second shot, and the Utah bench erupted to embrace him. That night, on ESPN Sportscenter, the two Van Horn shots were shown together as the highlight of "College Championship Week."

And so the Utes were moving on to the WAC championship game. But the title game proved to be much less dramatic for the Utes. Keith Van Horn scored an amazing 37 points on the night as the Utes demolished the TCU Horned Frogs by a score of 89-68. Following the game, the Utes put on their "Utah WAC Champion" t-shirts and hats as they cut down the nets in Las Vegas. Now there was nothing left to do but wait for the NCAA tournament selection to take place the following (Sunday) afternoon.

When the AP poll came out Sunday morning, the Utes were ranked #2 in the country. Now logic would dictate that the #2 team in the country should get one of the four #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, right?

Wrong.

When the NCAA pairings were announced, the Utes were given the #2 seed (the highest ever at the University of Utah) in the West regional. Their first opponent would be the Midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy, a #15 seed team that was enjoying an eight-game winning streak. Still, everyone knew the Utes would be too much for the undersized Navy team, and no one was surprised when the Utes quickly dispatched them 75-61.

The next opponent, however, revealed much more about the Utes. After all, the 49ers of North Carolina - Charlotte had a 22-8 record, including a shocking victory over Georgetown in the NCAA first round. Could the Utes hold their own against this scrappy team from the basketball-savvy state of North Carolina? The answer proved to be an emphatic 'Yes!'

The Utes pounded the 49ers 77-58, catching the eye of many across the nation. Following the game, USA Today reported: "Here's some news for the rest of the NCAA tournament's final 16 teams: Utah is for real. The Utes, who came in as the West Regional's No. 2 seed despite being ranked second overall, had too much of everything for North Carolina-Charlotte on Sunday - talent, depth and discipline." High praise indeed, but the Utes had earned it. They jumped out to an early 17-point lead, "coasted" as they watched the lead diminish to six, then piled it on again in the second half. "There is a different feeling (this year)," said Ute center Michael Doleac. "Last year it was our first time and we were young. This year we're a lot more experienced and we know what to expect." Indeed, the Utes appeared to be worthy of their national reputation, as they were advancing to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" for the second year in a row.

However, this was no time to celebrate. The next opponent for the Utes was the Stanford Cardinal of the PAC-10, and even though Utah was the higher seed, Stanford held several advantages over the Utes. First of all, they got to the "Sweet Sixteen" by defeating Wake Forest - a team that defeated the Utes earlier in the year in Salt Lake City. That alone would give the Utes reason for concern, but to make matters worse, the Utes would be playing their next game in San Jose - 20 minutes away from the Stanford campus. In other words, this game was not going to be played on a neutral court as was normally the case. This time the Cardinal would hold an overwhelming home-court advantage.

As it turns out, the game was one of the most thrilling in Ute history. The Utes started strong, building a 14-point halftime lead that had taken the pro-Stanford crowd out of the game. But in the second half, future NBA star Brevin Knight slowly led the Cardinal back. Finally, with seven seconds remaining in the game, Knight nailed a three-point shot that tied the game and sent it into overtime. The crowd was going wild and the Utes were getting rattled. "Everyone was in a daze after he made that shot," said Utah guard Andre Miller. "We were nervous." And things looked even worse for the Utes when, just 43 seconds into the overtime period, Keith Van Horn -- the all-time leading scorer in Ute (and WAC) history -- was called for an offensive foul that put him out of the game. Wrote Mike Sorenson in the Deseret News: "You could almost see the Cardinal players breathing a giant sigh of relief to see the Utes' star player heading to the sidelines. In fact, some players appeared to be celebrating as if victory was imminent."

But the Utes would not give up so easily. The Utes had never made it past the "Sweet Sixteen" round of the tournament during the Rick Majerus era, and they were determined to take things at least one step farther. As he walked off the court, Van Horn gave his replacement (freshman Hanno Möttölä) a hard bump and a little advice. "I said, 'You've won without me before, you can without me now,'" said Van Horn. "I had total confidence in them." After Van Horn's foul, Knight gave the Cardinal its only lead of the night by hitting a free throw. But Doleac came right back and scored to put the Utes ahead again. Then, after a Stanford miss, Andre Miller drove to the basket and scored to make it 71-68. Stanford came back to tie the game twice, but with 1:58 left in the game, Hanno Möttölä spun to the basket and scored to put the Utes ahead for good. Even without the great Keith Van Horn in the game, the Utes had managed to escape San Jose Colosseum with a gratifying 82-77 victory. Now they were moving on to the "Elite Eight" for the first time in decades.

Unfortunately, the Utes ran into an old nemesis in the next round -- The University of Kentucky Wildcats. The Utes had been eliminated by the Wildcats one year earlier in the "Sweet Sixteen." Kentucky then went on to win the NCAA title. This year, the outcome would be no different. During the game, the Utes started out strong taking an early 5-point lead, but soon the Wildcats athleticism wore them down. The Utes made it respectable for most of the game, but in the end, Kentucky pulled away for 13-point victory.

Thus ended the greatest season the Utes had ever had under Rick Majerus. They had gone to a level where only seven other teams in all of college basketball could go, proving that they were truly among the greatest teams in the nation.