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UCLA vs Gonzaga Game 2006 - Gus Johnson and Len Elmore with the call
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The UCLA/Gonzaga NCAA game on Thursday March 23rd, 2006 was one for the ages. It had several things that made it one of the most memorable games of the 2006 NCAA Mens Basketball tournament, not the least of which was Gus Johnsons call of the last minute of the game on CBS. Number two seed UCLA Bruins were facing the Number 3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Western regional semi-final game at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.
Here is the boxscore of the game, which hardly tells you what really happened, except for the final score, UCLA 73, Gonzaga 71.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/boxscore?gid=200603230606
This game was written about in the Group29 Article: NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament 2006 CBS-TV broadcast in High Definition
To start off, the Gonzaga/UCLA game had a couple of female spectators there screaming at the top
of their lungs. They sounded like howler monkeys going
"whaaaaaauuUUUP!" They must have been right by the crowd sound pickup
microphones. I would guess that the microphones are mounted near the
backboards to pick up the ambient court and spectator audio and provide
the stereo effect. My suspicion is that the howlers were Gonzaga band members. Dan Patrick and Phil the Showkiller reported on ESPN radio "Dan Patrick Show" that it made the game almost unwatchable.
At the half, Gonzaga was leading UCLA 42-29. The Bruins slowly made up the difference with steals, rebounds, and strong shooting. However, they were running out of time. With 19 seconds left to go, Gonzaga had the lead and the ball. Gus Johnson (GJ) was the play by play announcer and Len Elmore (LE) is the color commentator. The first NCAA tournament game Gus ever called was the stunning upset of the defending National Champion UCLA Bruins by the Princeton Tigers.
here was the call at 19 seconds.
GJ: Pendergraft the inbounder on the baseline. They throw it to Morrison. He holds on.
LE: You don't want to foul Morrison. You make him get it over half court. You know you got to foul...
GJ: And a steal! Farmar! Inside! The freshman... up OHHHH! And they go in front! Raivio. Last, chance, to dance! Mbah a Moute!
LE: Unbelievable! [In
the ensuing chaos, Mbah a Moute steals the ball from Derek Raivio and
forced a jump ball with the possession arrow to the Bruins. Gus is so
freaking stunned, he cannot even call the game. The TV truck cannot follow the action either, it was just chaos all around.]
GJ: Oh what a game!
LE: Unbelievable.
GJ: What. A. Game!
LE: Unbelievable!
GJ: U.C.L.A.! Unbelievable!
LE: Are you kidding me!?!
GJ: After being down by 17... Heart, Break, City!
LE: Holy Mackerel
GJ: 2.6 to go! UCLA has CLIMBED the MOUNTAIN!
Adam Morrison could still have led his team
to victory, but he was already crying when UCLA took the lead. He could
not lead effectively after that and his team looked lost.
Here is the restart at 2.6, Gus blows his vocal cords on the final play:
GJ: Hollis comes into the game. He’ll guard the ball. Pendergraft the inbounder.
LE: On any long pass, trying to get it to halfcourt,
you still want to get after the ball like you’re a cornerback in the …
Johnson: In the frontcourt [voice rising] … Batista with the C-A-A-ETCH! THAT’S IT! WHAT A COMEBACK! UCLA DEFEATS GONZAGA, 73-71, AFTER BEING DOWN BY 17!
Adam Morrison sat down on the floor and began crying into his blue Gonzaga vistor jersey. Eventually he rolled over on the floor and was prone. UCLA player Aaron Afflalo, in a touch of class, tried to console him.
Greg Gumbel told viewers after the replay of the UCLA/Gonzaga game that
Gus Johnson would be out of the hospital in time for the next game.
The Aftermath
Sports Illustrated has named the top 25 moments in college sports for
the 2005-2006 season. Note that there is still college world
series NCAA softball and baseball yet to be played.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/sioncampus/05/11/top25.moments/index.html
TWO of them are directly connected to the UCLA vs Gonzaga game on March 23rd, 2006.
18. J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison cry, March 23, 2006:
The two biggest names in college basketball saw their seasons end the
same way ... in tears. In Sweet 16 action, Redick's Blue Devils bowed
out to LSU while Morrison's Zags lost a heartbreaker to UCLA, 73-71.
9. UCLA reaches the Final Four by scoring the last 11 points against Gonzaga, March 23, 2006:
For 37 minutes, Gonzaga was in control, leading by as many as 17 in the
first half. But the Bruins did the impossible, dominating the final
three minutes of the game and taking the lead with 11 seconds left on a
layup by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to secure a 73-71 win.
In the fall 2006 Yahoo Sports poll, UCLA defeating Gonzaga in the
sweet sixteen is fourth place among the college basketball stories of
the year.
1. George Mason advances to the Final Four
2. Florida Wins Championship
3. JJ Redick sets ACC scoring mark
4. UCLA rallies to beats ZAG in sweet sixteen
[sportsillustrated.cnn.com]
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 @ 13:34:28 UTC by BB
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