The 1997-98 NCAA Title Run

Coming into the 1997-98 season, no one knew what to expect from the University of Utah Runnin' Utes. The WAC media picked them to finish 2nd in the conference - behind a New Mexico team that was returning all of their starters. The Utes, on the other hand, had lost two important starters: All-American Keith Van Horn and super-defenseman Ben Caton. Keith had been taken as the #2 pick in the NBA draft, leaving as the all-time leading scorer at both the U. and in the WAC. How would the Utes ever fill such a void?

With heart and determination, that's how.

Led by senior Michael Doleac, senior Drew Hanson, and junior Andre Miller, the Utes started out the season on an absolute tear. They ran through the non-conference schedule without as single defeat; including impressive wins over Oregon State of the Pac-10, Providence University of the Big East, and perennial power Wake Forest of the ACC. In each of those games, there was some doubt as to whether or not the Utes were up to the task, but the Utes proved their mettle. However, once the games were over, the Utes got little credit. Instead, the victories seemed to cast doubt on the relative strength of their opponents.

But the team's success continued into the WAC season, and the Utes remained undefeated throughout the month of January. In fact, on February 1st, the Utes were 18-0 and the only undefeated team in the nation. Then, the Utes faced their first real setback. In a game televised nationally on ABC, the Utes faced the New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque. The Lobos were nationally ranked (at #14), and they were the first opponent the Utes had faced that held a prominent ranking. A win would seemingly validate the Utes' lofty record, while a loss would raise even more questions about the strength of their schedule. After leading the entire game, the Utes suddenly went cold. The Lobos outscored them 17-5 in the last three minutes of the game to pull off a 3-point victory.

But the Utes dug down deep to rebound from the New Mexico loss. The Utes finished out the regular season with only one other loss (a 6-point setback against Wyoming), and won the rematch against New Mexico by 10 points. With this win, the Utes secured the WAC Mountain Division title and a #1 seed in the WAC tournament.

Then the other shoe dropped.

Entering the WAC tournament a little too confident, the Utes were shocked in the opening round by the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. True, the game was played on the Rebels' home court. And sure, UNLV went on to defeat everyone else they played in the tournament (winning it all). But the Utes did not play up to their potential in this game. Coach Majerus had been warning the team that, unless they addressed some aspects of their game, they would fall victim to aggressive opponents in the post-season. Now it had happened.

But the UNLV game became a wake-up call for the Utes. Despite the loss, the Utes received a #3 seeding in the west regional of the NCAA tournament. Their first opponent was the San Francisco Dons, champions of the West Coast Conference. San Francisco was famous for their full-court pressure defense - something the Utes had not seen in WAC play. Consequently, several experts were picking the Utes as a potential victim of an early upset. And it almost happened. The Dons gave the Utes a scare, cutting a 23-point lead to 8 with just over nine minutes remaining in the game. But Michael Doleac - the senior - would not allow his career to end so soon. Scoring 27 points, including 15-17 free throw attempts, Doleac almost single-handedly held the Dons at bay. The Utes won by a score of 85-68.

Next the Utes faced the Arkansas Razorbacks, whose famous full-court press had been dubbed "40 minutes of hell." Again, Michael Doleac had a great game scoring 16 points, but this time he was not alone. Andre Miller, the heart and soul of the team all season, emerged in this game as the premier point guard in the west. He scored a career high 28 points while completely dismantling the Arkansas press. On the heels of this great performance, the Utes won 75-69.

In the third round, known as the "sweet sixteen," the Utes faced their most daunting challenge. The West Virginia Mountaineers had just defeated the # 2 seed - the Cincinnati Bearcats - on a last-second shot by point guard Jarrod West. Like San Francisco and Arkansas, West Virginia had been successful because of their smothering full-court press. However, this press was much more disciplined than that of Arkansas or San Francisco, and the Mountaineers gave the Utes all that they could handle. With just 37 seconds remaining in the game, West Virginia trailed by just 1 point. But the Utes were one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country, and Michael Doleac knocked down two shots with 8.8 seconds left to give the Utes a 3 point margin. In desperation, Jarrod West - the previous week's hero over the Bearcats - threw up a last-second 3-point shot to try and tie the game. It bounced off the rim and the Utes came away with a 65-62 victory.

So the Utes advanced to the "elite eight" for the second time in as many years. Their reward? The right to face the defending national champions - the Arizona Wildcats. Many of the experts were picking Arizona to win it all, and indeed, they looked unbeatable in their "sweet sixteen" trouncing of highly-regarded Maryland. Coach Majerus hinted that he might have "a little wrinkle" to throw at the Wildcats. That "wrinkle" turned out to be a triangle-and-two zone defense that allowed the Utes to put more pressure on all-american guards Mike Bibby and Miles Simon.

It worked like a charm.

The Ute defense held the Wildcats to 28% shooting from the field. On the season, Arizona had been averaging over 80 points a game, but against the Utes they could only manage 51 points. But the Ute defense was not the only story on this day. Putting together their best game of the season, the Utes scored 71 points in a 25-point rout of the defending national champs. And this time it wasn't just Andre Miller or Michael Doleac. David Jackson scored 10 points, Alex Jensen scored 11, Hanno Mottola scored 14, Doleac scored 16, and Miller scored 18. The Utes were truly a team on fire. But as bright as all these stars were shining, Andre Miller gleamed the brightest. The point guard scored the first triple-double of his career (i.e., double figure statistics in three different categories) by scoring 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists.

And so, the Utes were in the NCAA final four for the first time in 32 years! Their reward? The right to face the team ranked #1 in the country - the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina had won more national championships than any other school in the country. This was the school that produced NBA legend Michael Jordan. And again, absolutely no one gave the Utes any chance of playing with them. The Tar Heels were far too athletic and too balanced for a gimmick defense to work. The Utes would have to play them straight up, and there was no way they could survive against NCAA player of the year Antawn Jamison and his teammates.

But the Utes knew a little something about teamwork themselves. No team had shot better than 50% against the Utes all year, and the Ute players had grown to believe they could play with anyone in the country. And the Utes proved they were right by jumping out to an early 13-4 lead. By the eight-minute mark of the first half, the Utes were up by 16, and the ACC champions didn't know what hit them. But there were no tricks in this game, the Utes played a basic man-to-man defense - the same defense that had stifled so many other opponents during the regular season. In the second half, everyone kept waiting for Carolina to make a rally - and they did. With 2:01 left in the game, the Tar Heels had cut the lead to 2 points. But this Utah team of 2 academic all-americans and 11 honor students didn't fold under the pressure. Andre Miller calmly broke the full court press, and the Utes milked the clock - hanging on for a 65-59 win.

Suddenly, the unthinkable had happened. The #1 team in the nation was out of the tournament, and the University of Utah Runnin' Utes were headed for the NCAA championship game. And the national press couldn't get enough of them. In the New York Daily News, Linda Olson wrote, "In front of the scorer's table, [Antawn] Jamison, who will soon be bringing his stylin' triple salchows to the NBA, turned to teammate Vince Carter, another likely high draft pick, and asked: `Who are these guys?' Mr. Carter, meet Mr. Doleac. It was Doleac, some 6-11 nobody who is better at stitching up cadavers than he is at completing an alley-oop, who walked over to Carter after the final buzzer and congratulated him on a game well-played…. Doleac's performance in the paint against Jamison was especially intriguing, given that Majerus had lamented that Doleac was no Keith Van Horn since it was difficult for Doleac to `become an animal down low because 'he's just too nice of a guy.' Doleac held Jamison, the AP Player of the Year, to 14 points, not a bad evening for a nice guy who wants to be a surgeon. Doleac likely won't follow in Van Horn's shoes, but to some players in this tournament the NBA isn't the end to the means. `This was the most amazing night of my life,' said Doleac. Then he paused. `Next to that time I saw a neurosurgeon cut into a woman's brains and save her life.'"

Yes, the Utes were headed to the NCAA finals, but it was the class and sportsmanship of the team that had truly impressed the nation. In the final game, the Utes gave everything they had. Facing the Kentucky Wildcats for the third year in a row, the Utes came on strong - jumping out to a 10-point lead at the half. And the Utes hung on for 35 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, they ran out of gas during the last 5 minutes. "We think with our defense that we can wear teams down," said Kentucky forward Scott Padgett. Clearly he was right, as the fatigued Utes missed 10 straight shots down the stretch, and Kentucky won 78-69.

"I wouldn't trade my players for any others in the world," said an emotional Rick Majerus after the game. And the Ute fans agreed. "It's not about winning or losing," said Kaati Lao, a University of Utah student. "It's about the players getting in there, playing their hardest and proving how good they really were, even if we didn't win. I have never felt more proud to call myself a Ute." ``I've never been prouder to be a Utahn than today,'' said Utah Governor Mike Leavitt. ``They became America's team because of who they are and what they did.'' And in the Salt Lake Tribune, columnist Gordon Monson wrote, "[This team] was compared to the old heroes of the nearby Alamo. Jim Bowie, Davey Crockett, et al. Guys who gave everything and lost, but who would be remembered as winners. Man, oh, man. Utah set basketball back 150 years. Will anyone remember that the Utes blew up down the stretch? No. They'll remember that they played hard and disciplined and were ultimately beaten by better players. And, even more, that they gave new life to an antiquated, almost forgotten term: team basketball."

The 1997-98 edition of the Runnin' Utes were truly a team to be proud of. They showed that hard work and unity *can* make a difference. Nice guys may not always finish first, but it's nice to know that they can come awfully close.