Editor’s note: In the wake of the NCAA’s decision to cancel the 2020 tournament, The Athletic will be celebrating the best NCAA Tournament game played on each day over the course of the next three weeks. You can read the rest of the stories here.
A day after Saint Joseph’s 2003-04 season-opening win over Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden, Philadelphia Daily News reporter Dick Jerardi called Phil Martelli. He told the Hawks coach that after looking at the schedule, there was a chance the team could go undefeated that season.
Jerardi was at the majority of the games and watched the season pan out as he predicted — St. Joe’s had the first NCAA undefeated regular season since UNLV’s in 1991. After losing to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament, the Hawks moved on to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. They beat Wake Forest to move on to the Elite Eight, while Oklahoma State had beaten Pittsburgh on the other side of the bracket.
The game would become one of the most iconic in March Madness lore thanks to its final 30 seconds: Saint Joseph’s dream season ended on a wild 3 off a slip from the Cowboys and a missed opportunity on the other end of the court.
The matchup was a mismatch of style. Saint Joseph’s relied on the 3 and man-to-man defense as it played small ball with its talented backcourt, starring future NBA standout Jameer Nelson, who pulled out of the previous summer’s NBA Draft, chose to return for his senior season and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the Hawks made their run. The 5-foot-11 guard ended the season with a heap of accolades, including national player of the year.
As for Oklahoma State?
“They were the very antithesis of how St. Joe’s played: big, strong, Eddie Sutton kind of old-school basketball,” Jerardi said.
The first half highlighted the discrepancy between the two styles, with the Hawks holding a 33-27 lead at halftime. Nelson and Delonte West combined for 20 of the Hawks’ first-half points. But the ball just wasn’t falling easily for the Hawks, who went 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Oklahoma State star John Lucas III had made only one of six shots before halftime. But during the half, he made a now-famous shoe switch that helped his game.
In a back-and-forth second half, the score was tied at 59 with over just over three minutes to play. There was no score until Lucas hit a fadeaway jumper to give the Cowboys a lead with 41.9 seconds to play. Pat Carroll put the Hawks back on top 62-61 with 29.9 seconds remaining by nailing an open 3.
With no timeouts left for Oklahoma State (and none taken during the final minute by either team), the Cowboys were left on their own as the clock ticked down.
From out high, Joey Graham began to drive when he started losing control and appeared to slip.
“Coach drew up the play,” Graham told the Oklahoman. “It was for me to take the last shot. When I took off, the soles of my shoe actually ripped. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the basket on a ripped sole.”
Lucas’ defender left him to try to snag the ball, but Graham grabbed it, kicking it out to Lucas. The wide-open Lucas then hit the 3 with 6.9 seconds to play. It was the third time that season that St. Joe’s watched opponents take a last-second shot, but the third time was the charm for the Hawks’ opponent.
“I just let it go,” Lucas told reporters. “No hesitation. When it left my hand, I felt like it was good.”
With the remaining time, Nelson took the ball and it was always going to be his shot. Looking to drive the ball, he instead pulled back for a jumper near the free-throw line. It was short, and Oklahoma State earned a 64-62 win and a trip to the Final Four.
“I tried,” Nelson told Jerardi after the game.
Nelson went 6-of-18 with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while West finished with 20 points. Lucas finished with 19 to lead OSU.
It was a terrific moment for a team that had suffered tragedy. In 2001, a plane crash killed two Oklahoma State basketball players and eight others. Lucas had transferred from Baylor after the murder of his teammate Patrick Dennehy and the scandal that developed at the university. After the big make, Lucas ran into the arms of his famous father, John Lucas, to celebrate.
“I was just looking for my dad because everything we went through the previous year to everything, just all the emotions flowed out of me,” Lucas told The Tulsa World near the 15th anniversary of the shot. “It was like everything I was angry about, everything that was built up inside of me was just all like … relief. It was more like, I thought about Pat, who passed away.
“I never told anybody because everybody was like, you were crying, you were emotional. It was just the emotions of everything I’ve been through. It was like, wow. You can really overcome anything. You’re that mentally strong. You’re that mentally tough.”
In the Final Four, Oklahoma State saw its fortunes reversed when Will Bynum made a last-second shot to send Georgia Tech to the title game.
Oklahoma State’s highest finish in the tournament since then was a Sweet 16 appearance the next year. Saint Joseph’s hasn’t advanced past the second round since that 2004 season.
“One of the reasons it was such a cool story is you knew it couldn’t happen again,” Jerardi said.
Also on this date:
• 2005: Kentucky’s Patrick Sparks hits a 3 that dances around the rim before falling to force OT against Michigan State. The Spartans win in double OT.
• 1978: Jack Givens scores 41 points to lead Kentucky past Duke for its fifth title.
• 1939: Oregon wins the first-ever NCAA Tournament. It’s the Ducks’ only championship.
A day after Saint Joseph’s 2003-04 season-opening win over Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden, Philadelphia Daily News reporter Dick Jerardi called Phil Martelli. He told the Hawks coach that after looking at the schedule, there was a chance the team could go undefeated that season.
Jerardi was at the majority of the games and watched the season pan out as he predicted — St. Joe’s had the first NCAA undefeated regular season since UNLV’s in 1991. After losing to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament, the Hawks moved on to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. They beat Wake Forest to move on to the Elite Eight, while Oklahoma State had beaten Pittsburgh on the other side of the bracket.
The game would become one of the most iconic in March Madness lore thanks to its final 30 seconds: Saint Joseph’s dream season ended on a wild 3 off a slip from the Cowboys and a missed opportunity on the other end of the court.
The matchup was a mismatch of style. Saint Joseph’s relied on the 3 and man-to-man defense as it played small ball with its talented backcourt, starring future NBA standout Jameer Nelson, who pulled out of the previous summer’s NBA Draft, chose to return for his senior season and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the Hawks made their run. The 5-foot-11 guard ended the season with a heap of accolades, including national player of the year.
As for Oklahoma State?
“They were the very antithesis of how St. Joe’s played: big, strong, Eddie Sutton kind of old-school basketball,” Jerardi said.
The first half highlighted the discrepancy between the two styles, with the Hawks holding a 33-27 lead at halftime. Nelson and Delonte West combined for 20 of the Hawks’ first-half points. But the ball just wasn’t falling easily for the Hawks, who went 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Oklahoma State star John Lucas III had made only one of six shots before halftime. But during the half, he made a now-famous shoe switch that helped his game.
In a back-and-forth second half, the score was tied at 59 with over just over three minutes to play. There was no score until Lucas hit a fadeaway jumper to give the Cowboys a lead with 41.9 seconds to play. Pat Carroll put the Hawks back on top 62-61 with 29.9 seconds remaining by nailing an open 3.
With no timeouts left for Oklahoma State (and none taken during the final minute by either team), the Cowboys were left on their own as the clock ticked down.
From out high, Joey Graham began to drive when he started losing control and appeared to slip.
“Coach drew up the play,” Graham told the Oklahoman. “It was for me to take the last shot. When I took off, the soles of my shoe actually ripped. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the basket on a ripped sole.”
Lucas’ defender left him to try to snag the ball, but Graham grabbed it, kicking it out to Lucas. The wide-open Lucas then hit the 3 with 6.9 seconds to play. It was the third time that season that St. Joe’s watched opponents take a last-second shot, but the third time was the charm for the Hawks’ opponent.
“I just let it go,” Lucas told reporters. “No hesitation. When it left my hand, I felt like it was good.”
With the remaining time, Nelson took the ball and it was always going to be his shot. Looking to drive the ball, he instead pulled back for a jumper near the free-throw line. It was short, and Oklahoma State earned a 64-62 win and a trip to the Final Four.
“I tried,” Nelson told Jerardi after the game.
Nelson went 6-of-18 with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while West finished with 20 points. Lucas finished with 19 to lead OSU.
It was a terrific moment for a team that had suffered tragedy. In 2001, a plane crash killed two Oklahoma State basketball players and eight others. Lucas had transferred from Baylor after the murder of his teammate Patrick Dennehy and the scandal that developed at the university. After the big make, Lucas ran into the arms of his famous father, John Lucas, to celebrate.
“I was just looking for my dad because everything we went through the previous year to everything, just all the emotions flowed out of me,” Lucas told The Tulsa World near the 15th anniversary of the shot. “It was like everything I was angry about, everything that was built up inside of me was just all like … relief. It was more like, I thought about Pat, who passed away.
“I never told anybody because everybody was like, you were crying, you were emotional. It was just the emotions of everything I’ve been through. It was like, wow. You can really overcome anything. You’re that mentally strong. You’re that mentally tough.”
In the Final Four, Oklahoma State saw its fortunes reversed when Will Bynum made a last-second shot to send Georgia Tech to the title game.
Oklahoma State’s highest finish in the tournament since then was a Sweet 16 appearance the next year. Saint Joseph’s hasn’t advanced past the second round since that 2004 season.
“One of the reasons it was such a cool story is you knew it couldn’t happen again,” Jerardi said.
Also on this date:
• 2005: Kentucky’s Patrick Sparks hits a 3 that dances around the rim before falling to force OT against Michigan State. The Spartans win in double OT.
• 1978: Jack Givens scores 41 points to lead Kentucky past Duke for its fifth title.
• 1939: Oregon wins the first-ever NCAA Tournament. It’s the Ducks’ only championship.
