BleedGopher
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per STrib:
Jerry Zgoda covered the Gophers when they defeated Clemson in double-overtime during the 1997 NCAA men's tournament in San Antonio.
When the rollicking Midwest Regional semifinal ended and the Gophers had outlasted Clemson in two overtimes, Minnesota Gov. (and No. 1 fan) Arne Carlson surveyed the Alamodome and declared, “The third overtime was all ours.”
The governor stopped and asked. “It was three, wasn’t it?”
It only felt that way.
Leading by 15 points before halftime and trailing by six in overtime, the top-seeded Gophers overcame injury and big foul trouble to beat rugged, fourth-seeded Clemson 90-84 in a Sweet Sixteen game that senior center John Thomas called “sheer brutality.”
Two days later, Minnesota beat blue-blood UCLA and reached its first and only Final Four, in Indianapolis, a week later. There they lost to Kentucky to end a 31-4 season the NCAA erased three years later because of an academic-cheating scandal.
To beat Clemson, Gophers star Bobby Jackson showed why he was voted Big Ten Player and Defensive Player of the Year. He played 49 of the 50 minutes, including the final 17 with four fouls after point guard Eric Harris separated his shoulder. His totals: 36 points, nine rebounds, two steals, one turnover. He scored 15 of those points while carrying four fouls. Teammate Sam Jacobson scored 29 points, also a career best.
Afterward, both players rode in a golf cart with coach Clem Haskins to the post-game interview room. Jackson entered carrying two cups of water and an exhausted look.
“I have cramps, I have bumps,” Jackson said that night, before he played 12 NBA seasons. “I’m going to sleep like a baby. Then I’m going to roll over and sleep as hard as a rock.”
"I’ve never played in a game like that, ever,” Jacobson said. “Awesome, absolutely. I know I’m probably going to be watching that about 20 or 30 times in my VCR 10 years from now.”
Twenty-three years later, VCRs are relics and the Gophers accomplishments that season, while remembered, have been officially wiped from NCAA records. It was a season that also included memorable victories at Indiana and Michigan, but nother like that one in San Antonio.
“One of the best college games I’ve ever played in,” Jackson said late in his NBA career. “Maybe the best game I ever played in, period.”
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
Jerry Zgoda covered the Gophers when they defeated Clemson in double-overtime during the 1997 NCAA men's tournament in San Antonio.
When the rollicking Midwest Regional semifinal ended and the Gophers had outlasted Clemson in two overtimes, Minnesota Gov. (and No. 1 fan) Arne Carlson surveyed the Alamodome and declared, “The third overtime was all ours.”
The governor stopped and asked. “It was three, wasn’t it?”
It only felt that way.
Leading by 15 points before halftime and trailing by six in overtime, the top-seeded Gophers overcame injury and big foul trouble to beat rugged, fourth-seeded Clemson 90-84 in a Sweet Sixteen game that senior center John Thomas called “sheer brutality.”
Two days later, Minnesota beat blue-blood UCLA and reached its first and only Final Four, in Indianapolis, a week later. There they lost to Kentucky to end a 31-4 season the NCAA erased three years later because of an academic-cheating scandal.
To beat Clemson, Gophers star Bobby Jackson showed why he was voted Big Ten Player and Defensive Player of the Year. He played 49 of the 50 minutes, including the final 17 with four fouls after point guard Eric Harris separated his shoulder. His totals: 36 points, nine rebounds, two steals, one turnover. He scored 15 of those points while carrying four fouls. Teammate Sam Jacobson scored 29 points, also a career best.
Afterward, both players rode in a golf cart with coach Clem Haskins to the post-game interview room. Jackson entered carrying two cups of water and an exhausted look.
“I have cramps, I have bumps,” Jackson said that night, before he played 12 NBA seasons. “I’m going to sleep like a baby. Then I’m going to roll over and sleep as hard as a rock.”
"I’ve never played in a game like that, ever,” Jacobson said. “Awesome, absolutely. I know I’m probably going to be watching that about 20 or 30 times in my VCR 10 years from now.”
Twenty-three years later, VCRs are relics and the Gophers accomplishments that season, while remembered, have been officially wiped from NCAA records. It was a season that also included memorable victories at Indiana and Michigan, but nother like that one in San Antonio.
“One of the best college games I’ve ever played in,” Jackson said late in his NBA career. “Maybe the best game I ever played in, period.”
Star Tribune staff: Our favorite sporting events ever
This is Part 1 of a series in which members of the Star Tribune sports staff write about the favorite games they've covered. We're starting with college basketball.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
