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A wild day at McKale

By Chris Jackson Arizona Daily Wildcat Former UA quarterback Keith Smith and running back Trung Canidate were having an informal workout over at Arizona Stadium Thursday afternoon when Smith asked a spectator if he had an extra ticket to the NCAA Tournament first round games going on at McKale Center.

Smith and Canidate never did find those tickets. And what a day they missed down on Lute Olson Court.

March Madness and all its trappings invaded McKale over spring break, with everything boiling down to the 10:40 a.m. tipoff between No. 3 seed Oklahoma and No. 14 Winthrop.

Associated Press Oklahoma's Oleg Reztsov, left, and Michael Cano celebrate Oklahoma's 74-50 victory over Winthrop in the first round of the NCAA West Regionals in Tucson, Ariz, on Thursday, March 16, 2000.

The first game was the most boring as Winthrop couldn't have hit a barn with a basketball, much less get it through the hoop.

It was a game that could have been summed up by the auspicious start to the Winthrop dance team's halftime show. The wrong music was played three times, leaving the dancers standing at midcourt, trying to smile and hide their embarrassment while hoping that the right music would be found.

It was, but by that time the final music had been sung for the Eagles team.

But after Oklahoma cruised to a 74-50 win things finally started to get interesting.Purdue and Dayton hit the court and did their best imitation of a rugby scrum.

The refs conveniently vanished for the first 38 minutes before a few controversial calls and non-calls ended the game in the Boilermakers' favor 62-61. But even that game got topped despite the one point margin of victory.

After a two-hour break to clean up the arena and feed the media horde, the darlings of the 1999 tournament hit the court.

And after it was over, the Louisville Cardinals could only chalk themselves up as the latest victim of the Gonzaga tournament express.

Backed by a raucous crowd of supporters and sudden converts, the 10th-seeded Bulldogs pulled off the only upset of the day 77-66 over the Cardinals, who also couldn't have hit a barn with a basketball in the second half.

Then, just when the media members were beginning to grumble, feeling tired and cranky, and just as the fans seemed spent from cheering for the Bulldogs, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks took the court.

No one on earth had given them a chance to upset Big East tournament champion St. John's, the No. 2 seed in the West and the popular pick to advance to the Final Four in three weeks.

Associated Press Northern Arizona center Dan McClintock, left, tries to block a shot against St. John's Bootsy Thornton during the second half of an NCAA first-round playoff game in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday, March 16, 2000. Thornton scored 20 points to lead St. John's to a 61-56 win over Northern Arizona. St. John's Lavor Postell (25) watches the play.

Despite all that and a 14 ¸ point spread in the Red Storm's favor, the Lumberjacks did everything possible to make a game out of what was supposed to be a blowout.

St. John's did wind up winning 61-56, but that was after trailing 56-55 with 30 seconds left.

The McKale crowd was on its feet again, cheering, hoping and praying for the big upset. It was reminiscent of the crowd at The Pit in Albuquerque, NM, in 1996 when No. 16 Western Carolina almost upset No. 1 Purdue, falling only by the final score of 69-68.

1-16 upsets never happen but 2-15 upsets do every now and again. Just ask Cincinnati and North Carolina.

In the end, it was not to be. But for a game that was supposed to be an afterthought, it wound up being the defining moment of the entire day and night.

For a fleeting second, the little guy could win. The monolith would fall and the world would be better for it.

It may not have happened, but just the thought was enough. It gave everyone present, both reporters and fans, a little bit of hope. And from almost 12 hours of basketball and basketball coverage, it was all anyone could ask for.

Well, that, nine hours of sleep and the chance to do it all again Saturday.

Chris Jackson is a senior majoring in Journalism.