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In light of the University of Utah retiring "The Sweater" it is my duty; nay, privilege; nay, honor to bring to you my top five coaching moments under Rick Majerus.
Dec. 30th, 2002
Alabama was ranked number one for the second consecutive week at 9-0 playing a 7-3 Utah team.
Alabama had the lead only one time at 22-21 but Nick Jacobson took the lead back with a three at the end of the first half. The game was close throughout. Jazz point guard Mo Williams led Alabama with 15 points.
Jacobson led the Utes with 13 points and Tim Frost had nine points while Britton Johnsen added eight points, all in the second half.
Alabama's Erwin Dudley had a shot to tie it in the final seconds but it wasn't meant to be as the Utes got their 1,500th win in school history.
1991 NCAA Tournament
Utah was the four-seed and coming off a 10-point win against South Alabama, they now faced Steve Smith and the Michigan State Spartans.
Smith had just eight points in the first half, but made up for that in the second and overtimes. With the Utes up 60-58, Smith missed a three but converted two free-throws to tie it up.
Utah could not convert their last second shot.
Overtime.
Smith had seven points in OT but the hero was Jon Zulauf who hit a short jumper to tie it and send it to double overtime.
The Utes took care of business 85-84 in double OT and were headed to the "Sweet Sixteen."
Utah forward Josh Grant had 29 points and 10 rebounds in the double overtime win and Steve Smith had 28 points for the Spartans.
For their efforts, the Utes got UNLV in the regional semifinal and lost 83-66 but this was the first of 10 trips to the NCAA tournament under Coach Majerus.
1997 WAC Tournament
Utah and New Mexico had a great rivalry during the Keith Van Horn/Kenny Thomas days.
Two NBA pros going back and forth in the old WAC were highly competitive and this 1997 WAC semifinal game did not disappoint.
Let's go straight to the last play.
The game was tied at 70, the Utes with the ball holding for the last shot.
Andre Miller drives left, the little floater in the lane misses, the tip by Doleac, no, Van Horn tips it, tips it again to himself, grabs it, falling away, the jumper — he got it!
Keith Van Horn finished with a double double, 10 points and 10 rebounds, but the last two were money.
Luckily the camera was rolling on Coach Majerus as Van horn hit the jumper. The fact that Big Rick got off the ground was momentous.
This happens to be the number three moment in the 100 greatest moments of Utah Basketball history also.
1997 WAC Tournament
If that is number three, this has to be number two.
Utah owned SMU during the WAC regular season, but came out flat and down 15 points halfway through the second half.
The Mustangs went into a prevent offense and couldn't score.
The Utes came all the way back and were down by one point when Keith Van Horn missed a potential game-winning shot.
Luckily for the Utes they got the ball back. There was .3 seconds on the clock.
Andre Miller took the ball out of bounds and here is the call from Steve Brown's perspective:
"Three tenths left in Utah's tournament opportunity here," Steve Brown said.
Frank Layden added, "And the biggest upset probably in years."
"Is it going to Doleac? It's going to Van Horn and he tips it in!!!! Keith Van Horn!!!" Steve Brown exclaimed.
With .3 seconds remaining, I can't imagine that there are many plays in the playbook for that situation, but this was executed to perfection.
The 1998 Run
The Utes beat San Francisco and Arkansas in the first and second rounds on their way to a regional semifinal win against West Virginia.
It is the next two games that made the run so special.
Utah matched up against the Arizona Wildcats in the regional final. Arizona boasted a stacked team of Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Jason Terry, and Michael Dickerson.
How do you beat that team? If you guessed the "triangle and two" defense, you would be correct.
Arizona shot 28% for the game while the Utes had five players in double figures and shot almost 53% for the game.
There was no question who the player of the game was; Andre Miller recorded a triple-double, which is believed to be the first in school history.
He had 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists. The Utes won by 25 points announcing their presence with authority as they headed to San Antonio for the Final Four.
What was Utah's prize for beating Arizona? One of the most feared college franchises, The North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels had two certain lottery picks in Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter.
The Utes were never behind in this game. The Tar Heels cut the lead to two with two minutes to play but the Utes converted their free throws. Jamison and Carter got their points but Utah held Shammond Williams to 2-12 shooting and had just eight points.
These two monumental victories gave the nation a glimpse of who Rick Majerus was and what he could do as a coach. Utah would eventually lose to Kentucky in the Championship game after leading by 10 points at halftime.
The 1998 run was unreal.
