March Madness Flashback: Gators get Zagged in Sweet 16
Sunday, March 18, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Men's Tennis, Chris Harry
GATORZONE MARCH MADNESS FLASHBACK
On this day in Florida NCAA history: March 18, 1999
Gonzaga fans went gon-gaga when the Calvary came to the rescue.
Florida fans screamed foul (that wasn't called).
When you're a regular in the NCAA Tournament, as the Gators quickly became under Coach Billy Donovan, sooner or later you're going to be on the wrong end of a Cinderella.
For Billy D and friends, it was sooner.
Donovan, with the arrival of players like Mike Miller, Brent Wright and Teddy Dupay, built UF into a tournament team his third season. In going 20-8, the Gators drew a No. 6 seed in the West Region and promptly dispatched Penn in the first round and needed overtime to outlast surprising Weber State (which upset 2-seed North Carolina) to advance to the Sweet 16.
On the opposite side of the UF pod, 10th-seeded Gonzaga upset Minnesota and 2-seed Stanford to draw Florida in the regional semifinals at America West Arena in Phoenix.
The Zags raced to a 26-13 lead early, but the Gators fought back to tie the game at 27 and trailed by just one at halftime. The second half featured 14 lead changes, with Gonzaga on its way to shooting 12-for-22 from the 3-point line, led by forward Richie Frahm's five treys.
Still, the Gators had a seven-point lead inside the final four minutes, only to watch the Zags whittled it down to one in the final seconds -- and with the ball.
Point guard Quentin Hall penetrated to just beyond the free-throw line and launched a jumper with six seconds showing. The ball caromed off the rim. Wright, UF's power forward, had textbook position beneath the basket for the rebound.
But Gonzaga 6-foot-8 forward Casey Calvary crashed the glass, skied over Wright and tipped the ball in the direction of the basket.
Note: Florida fans will tell you Calvary climbed Wright's back for the ball. Watch below and decided for yourself.
Anyway, Calvary's putback fell through with 4.4 seconds to go. The Gators inbounded to senior point guard Eddie Shannon, who sprint-dribbled into the UF halfcourt and let fly a desperation 3-pointer -- on a decent enough look -- but the final shot of his career rimmed away and the feel-good Gonzaga story continued in a 73-72 thriller.
At Florida's expense.
That's the price you pay sometimes in March.
That was 13 years ago today.
