Reactions: Tournament moments

Users share favorite moments of opening rounds

Posted: Wednesday March 22, 2000 05:15 PM

The overtimes. The buzzer-beaters. The upsets. The first two rounds of the NCAA tournament produced some very memorable moments. Users shared many of their favorite moments from the tournament's opening weekend. A collection of some of the most interesting answers follows:

My favorite moment from the past week was the UNC win over Stanford. I think that game was just a fluke. Stanford just didn't play well and couldn't recover at the last moment. But a win is a win. I think UNC will easily win the South Region, then lose to Duke.
H.J. Choi, Durham, N.C.

Probably my favorite moment was watching Florida's win over the pesky Butler team. Florida looked like it was going to lose for sure. Then came the missed free throws and Mike Miller's desperation shot at the buzzer.
Christopher Bannan, Baton Rouge, La.

I know I'm biased, but my favorite moments involve my hometown team, the Wisconsin Badgers. This is a program that hasn't won an NCAA title since 1941. Not even two months ago, this team was 11-10 overall, in danger of not even making the NIT. But nobody in Madison was fully prepared for the shocking upset of No. 1 seed Arizona. We're still on Cloud Nine and our beloved Badgers are within two games of the Final Four.
R. Toomey, Madison, Wisc.

Following Purdue's first- and second-round wins, it was wonderful to spot Gene Keady's beaming face on the sidelines. There aren't many coaches left in America who embody morally sound, blue-collar programs the way Keady does with his Boilermakers. Seeing a guy like that jumping around is worth a hundred buzzer-beaters anyday.
Eric Yang, Pasadena, Calif.

Stromile Swift's block of Chris Mihm was the best play of the first weekend. He came from the other side of the rim, and with one hand destroyed the two-handed tying dunk Mihm had planned. Stromile is so athletic. That was definitely the turning point of the game, and may wind up propelling LSU into the Final Four!
Mike, Baton Rouge, La.

Down by one, eight seconds left, no timeouts, and with the opponent's best free throw shooter on the line? Forget about it. Yet somehow, Butler misses two, Ted Dupay drives down the court, hands off to Mike Miller, who knocks down a leaner in the lane! Come on -- the Gators first-round finish against Butler wins hands down.
Louis Martin, N.J.

As a longtime Badger fan -- and a fan of Dick Bennett -- I thoroughly enjoyed watching the underrated, unappreciated, and underdog Badgers take care of Fresno State and Arizona. Shame on you sports writers and TV gurus. Wisconsin is always scheduled late at night, never mentioned seriously in commentary in any sport until the "upset" occurs.
Liz Arveson, Wautoma, Wisc.

I really enjoy that the SEC, which had no team seeded higher than No. 4 (ludicrous, isn't it), has three teams in the Sweet 16, tied for the lead in that category. I will enjoy it even more when LSU and Tennessee are in the Final Four.
Kenneth Cobb, Houma, La.

The sensational dunk by Morris Peterson, where he tore the alley-oop pass from Mateen Cleaves out of the Utah defender's hands was my favorite moment so far. It propelled Michigan State from a deficit at the half to a 12-point win. My next favorite moment will be when my Spartans win it all!
Dennis Whitehead, Jackson, Mich.

Joseph Forte hitting back to back 3-pointers against Stanford had been the best highlight thus far. No one gave North Carolina a shot of even getting by the first round. It was about time Carolina got some of the rolls and bounces. It just goes to show that Carolina hasn't lost their magic.
Jeff Vance, Charlotte, N.C.

I liked to see what an underachieving team like UCLA could do when they were at full strength. They were dismissed as a team that was going to go out early, but even Dick Vitale jumped on the bandwagon after the absolute demolition of Maryland. It will continue against Iowa State. I also enjoyed Gonzaga's continued success, along with Pepperdine's dismissal of the Hoosiers.
Wayne Radcliffe, Lahaina, Hawaii

I loved seeing Gonzaga beat St. John's and then act as if it were no big deal. I loved watching Seton Hall bombing the lights out against Temple. I love that Wisconsin, LSU, Purdue or Gonzaga will be in the Final Four. I love the madness!
Scott Bell, Tokushima, Japan

My favorite moment? How about favorite moments? My favorite moments of this tournament were watching my Bruins slam Maryland. I couldn't even keep track of all the awesome alleyoop slams UCLA pulled on Maryland. UCLA is coming home to Westwood with its 12th NCAA championship. GO BRUINS!
Robert Levin, Northridge, Calif.

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