When considering Utah’s greatest win in athletics’ history, a few prominent moments come to mind.
The 2004 football season had numerous key wins, including the win over BYU, which secured a BCS spot for the Utes. Later, Utah went on to throttle the Pittsburgh Pathers to become the first non-BCS team to win a BCS Bowl game.
The Red Rocks have to be considered for each of their 11 national titles.
In 2002, the Runnin’ Utes upset No. 1 Alabama 51-49 at the Huntsman Center two days before the new year.
The 1997-1998 U men’s basketball team had more than a few big wins that are worthy of the Utah’s best ever. Especially over a two-week period during March Madness.
As a three-seed in the regional bracket of the NCAA Tournament, the Utes upset No. 1 seeded Arizona 76-51 while employing the now famous triangle-and-two defense on the defending national championship Arizona Wildcat backcourt of Mike Bibby and Miles Simon to advance to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.
I was at that game in Anaheim and can’t ever remember the Utes being so impressive and dominant on such a big stage. But the following game takes the cake as the all-time greatest win in Utah Athletics history.
Despite throttling Arizona into submission with the surprise defense and the ability of Andre Miller8212;who finished with 18 points, 13 assists, 14 rebounds, two steals and a block in the game8212;to single-handedly break down the full-court press, Utah was projected to have no chance against mighty North Carolina. Bill Guthridge, 2008 NCAA Player of the Year, Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter were supposedly too much for even the Utah team that eventually sent four members of that team to the NBA. North Carolina finished the regular season that year with a No. 1 overall ranking in the AP Poll and had the top overall ranking in the tournament. The Tar Heels also brought in a 34-3 record going into its Final Four matchup, had not won an NCAA tournament game by less than double-digits and had Shammond Williams and Ed Cota to go with its high-flying Carter-Jamison combo. That didn’t stop the Runnin’ Utes from backing down.
Despite North Carolina being heavily favored, Utah came out and smacked the Tar Heels in the mouth several times with back-to-back 3s and managed to take leads of 15-2, 21-10 and 28-12 and 31-16 in the first half.
The Utes had to fend off a furious Carolina rally, but behind the savvy guard play of Andre Miller8212;who finished with 16 points, 14 points and seven assists8212;and Drew Hansen’s clutch free throws, Utah managed to trump its amazing win over No. 1 seed Arizona. With the Utes reeling, and North Carolina a basket away from erasing a 15-point halftime deficit, Miller got a key rebound and went coast-to-coast to give the Utes a 4-point cushion late.
The reason this win goes down as a bigger win than say, Utah’s win over BYU in 2004, or the back-to-back 34-31 football wins of the ’90s, is Utah’s performance on the biggest national stage.
March Madness is the Bentley of college sports championships. While football has its National Championship, the system is as flawed now as it was back in the mid ’90s. March Madness, with its unpredictability and ability to attract millions of casual viewers, is the biggest stage in college sports. Utah’s win over North Carolina in 1998 put the Beehive State’s flagship institution back on the map and solidified it as one of the premiere basketball schools in the country during the ’90s.
Tony Pizza