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This Day In Sports…March 19, 1995:
The most memorable of all moments in the Boise’s NCAA Tournament history (until Hampton’s upset of Iowa State in 2001) occurs in the second round game between UCLA and Missouri. With 4.9 seconds left, Mizzou held a 74-73 lead when Bruins guard Tyus Edney took the inbounds pass from Cameron Dollar. Edney drove the length of the floor, where he met the Tigers’ 6-9 forward, Derek Grimm. Edney launched a floater high over Grimm toward the top of the glass, and it banked in for an electric 75-74 victory.
Edney talked to Yahoo! Sports about the moment on its 25th anniversary in 2020. “So yeah, we were all in the huddle, worried,” said Edney. “Coach (Jim Harrick) was not though. I know you remember how calm he always was. And, you know, he gave the instructions. And walking out he just grabbed me and said, ‘Look, I want you to shoot the ball. Do you understand what I’m saying? You shoot the ball.’”
If Edney hadn’t shot that ball, UCLA wouldn’t have gone on to win its 11th national championship two weeks later. The Bruins, as the No. 1 overall seed with a 25-2 record coming into the Boise bracket, were expected to win it all. Their next stop was Oakland, where they beat Mississippi State 86-67 in the Sweet 16 and UConn 102-96 in the Elite Eight. The Final Four was held in Seattle at the Kingdome, and UCLA cruised past Oklahoma State 74-61 for the right to face Arkansas for all the marbles. Ed O’Bannon scored 30 points and pulled down 17 rebounds as the Bruins won the final 89-78.
Last Sunday was the 25th anniversary of the Hampton stunner in the Pavilion. It would be tough to ever top that moment. It was the nightcap of the closest first-round bracket in NCAA Tournament history, with all four games combined decided by seven points. But the magic ratcheted up a notch when the Hampton band entered the arena, waving to the crowd and creating an instant bond. When the Pirates became only the fourth No.15 seed ever to beat a No. 2, holding Iowa State scoreless over the final seven minutes of the game to win 58-57, it was pandemonium.
Boise has hosted the NCAA first and second rounds nine times at what is now ExtraMile Arena, but the last one was in 2018. It was scheduled for 2021, but due to COVID, the entire NCAA Tournament was moved to Indianapolis. We worried at the time that it was not a postponement of Boise’s host spot until 2022—it was, in fact, the end of the Big Dance here. And that has come to pass. Boise, despite full houses and rave reviews, has not been awarded the first and second rounds since. It’s a shame, because the energy in the city during those March Madness weeks was indescribable.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
