Six Overtimes

By Antony Strait, OTSL Panelist

Visitors who roam the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden are normally treated to quite the scenery. In the 100 and 200 levels the greatest moments to ever take place in the building line the hallways amongst the concession stands and restrooms. From Marilyn Monroe to the Grateful Dead, if it happened at the Garden it had to be special. There have been a number of great college basketball games that have taken place there, in particular one that took place the night of March 12, 2009. That night a basketball game that tipped off at 9:36pm local time didn’t end until literally the next day at 1:22am. You can’t help but think when you see that glass display and hallway plaque “Where was I when that game went to six overtimes?”

            

It was the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament and featured two traditional powerhouse schools. The Syracuse Orange had put together a 28-win regular season and were led by their legendary head coach Jim Boeheim. The UCONN Huskies won 31 games, were ranked 3^rd in the AP poll, and were led by their own legendary head coach in Jim Calhoun. Both teams had NBA hopefuls that would play vital roles on this epic night, including a UCONN freshman whose Big East glory was still ahead of him.

            

In regulation the game itself played like a match-up between college basketball powerhouses. The Huskies led by three at halftime behind guys like A.J. Price, Stanley Robinson, and Hasheem Thabeet. The Orange countered by outscoring UCONN in the second half by the very amount they trailed at halftime; 37-34. Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf, Jonny Flynn and Andy Rautins spearheaded Boeheim’s offensive attack while anchoring his signature Zone defense.

The game wound down and almost ended in regulation. That UCONN freshman I mentioned earlier? His name is Kemba Walker and as if it was a sign of later greatness, he tied the game at 71-71 with a layup. 1.1 seconds remained when Harris ran the baseline and threw an inbound pass that was deflected by UCONN’s Gavin Edwards. The ball landed into Devendorf’s hands and he fired off a 28-footer that found nothing but nylon as time expired. As Devendorf leaped onto the announcer’s table and Syracuse celebrated, the officials needed to go to the video review to confirm that the shot came before the time expired. After review the shot was waived off as the ball was still in Devendorf’s fingertips as the buzzer sounded. The game went to overtime. Of course, no one knew that the night had only just begun.

The numbers from this game were dizzying to keep up with. A combined 93 free throws attempted by both teams, with the Orange hitting 40 of their 51 attempts. The teams took 209 shots over the course of the evening. Both teams would have multiple chances to win the game in overtime. Neither one, however, was able to end the night or take full control of the contest. Rick Jackson’s dunk tied the game for Syracuse and Walker’s game winner fell short, leading to a second overtime. Flynn had a chance to win the game for the Orange in the second overtime but came up short. In the third overtime it seemed like UCONN had finally seized control of the game jumping out to a six point lead. Syracuse rallied back, capped off by Rautins game-tying three pointer to send the game into a fourth overtime.

The game was not decided in the fourth overtime or the fifth overtime. In the sixth overtime, with the night stretching well past midnight, Syracuse - thanks to Rautins three-pointer - took their first lead since the end of regulation. Rautins’ dad Leo played in a triple overtime Big East tournament game two decades earlier and now his son had topped that and then some. Syracuse held on and won the game 127-117, but it felt more like they simply survived a war of attrition. 3 hours and 46 minutes was the official game time and many inside Madison Square Garden were simply exhausted at 1:22am the next morning. 244 combined points with 102 scored in the six overtime periods. Eight players fouled out and six players registered double-doubles. Jonny Flynn scored 34 points and played 67 minutes for the Orange while A.J. Price led UCONN with 33 points and 10 assists.

A lot has changed for both teams and the conference since that fateful night inside Madison Square Garden. Syracuse now calls the Atlantic Costal Coast (ACC) home while UCONN now plays in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Big East is now strictly a basketball conference and even the venue that held this epic game went through its own renovation. Many of the major players in this game did not fare well afterwards and were either out of the NBA or failed to make it into the league after this night, with one notable exception. Two years later Kemba Walker led one of the most miraculous runs in NCAA tournament history. He became a star in the Big East tournament, leading the Huskies to five wins in five days to win the Big East tournament title. Three weeks later, Jim Calhoun was hoisting his third national championship trophy and Walker would take his talents to the NBA where he’d eventually become an all-star.

The annual Big East tournament is upon us yet again and the Big Apple stage awaits for new stars to emerge. Nine years to the day of this marathon, fans who see the displays and artifacts from that night have an appreciation for those who participated and left literally everything on the line.  The only disappointment was someone had to lose that night, even as both teams received a standing ovation from the exhausted 19,000-plus crowd as they staggered to shake hands and leave the court after almost four hours. Basketball fans and historians who long for the glory days of the Big East became the biggest winners as they witnessed history. Who knows, maybe the Huskies simply ran out of time…otherwise they could have gone well into the morning rush hour.