Mizzou Memories: Tate's Double-OT Winner

Setting the stage: Missouri wasn’t exactly enjoying a banner season in 1997. On Feb. 4, the Tigers were 11-10, in the midst of their worst season in 20 years. Their opponent that evening, arch-rival Kansas, entered 22-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. Roy Williams' Jayhawk roster featured six future NBA players, led by future lottery picks and all-stars Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce. Missouri had just one future pro on its roster. But the Tigers had upset then-No. 3 Kansas in Columbia the year prior, and fans still packed the Hearnes Center for the rivalry matchup.

I knew sooner or later I needed to find a Mizzou-Kansas basketball game to watch for this series. Initially, I tried to find one of the games from 1987 that Lee Coward won on matching buzzer-beaters. No luck. Same for both of the 1990 matchups, during which both Missouri and Kansas were ranked in the top five. I couldn’t even find video of the 2006 matchup, also known as the Christian Moody choke job.

So, I admit, I turned to Wikipedia. After scrolling through a list of notable games between the two rivals, I came across this 1997 matchup between unbeaten Kansas and middling Missouri. I quickly found a full-game replay, and whose face should greet me but former Missouri player turned broadcaster Jon Sundvold, doing a pregame segment from Missouri’s locker room. Sundvold, if you’re reading this (doubtful), you hardly look like you’ve aged a day.

The old cliche that you have to “throw out the records” when two rivals match up has been beaten to death through the years, but that’s partially due to the fact that it’s rooted in truth. This rivalry was a prime example. In 1996, an unranked Missouri team had upset a Kansas squad ranked No. 3 in the nation, handing the Jayhawks their first Big 12 loss of the season. And while Kansas entered this matchup as a heavy favorite, the sheer volume from a sellout crowd in the Hearnes Center indicated that Kansas was going to get Missouri’s best shot.

It didn’t take long before that crowd was worked into even more of a frenzy. On Missouri’s first possession, Derek Grimm came off a screen and buried an open three-pointer. The next trip down the floor, Grimm hit another three to make the score 6-0. Kansas would answer with a bucket, but a few possessions later, Grimm pulled up for a two-pointer, scoring his eighth point in less than four minutes.

Missouri would cool off a bit after that, and Kansas clawed its way back into the game, thanks in large part to Jerod Haase. Kansas’ big three of LaFrentz, Pierce and Jacque Vaughn struggled to gain a rhythm against Missouri’s aggressive defense — Lafrentz and Pierce combined to score just four first-half points — but Haase chipped in 11 points in the first 20 minutes.

The first half was comprised of a series of runs. Kansas cut the Missouri lead to 20-19 when the Tigers responded with eight straight points. Kansas, in turn, answered with nine in a row, capped by a three from St. Charles, Missouri native Ryan Robertson. I was amused by the hearty booing directed at Robertson every time he touched the ball.

Robertson’s three gave Kansas its first lead. The Jayhawks looked like they would continue the run when Missouri turned the ball over and Kansas got a transition layup opportunity, but Jason Sutherland saved the day when he chased down Haase and blocked his shot, then stripped Haase of the ball, then drew a foul. Sutherland, Missouri’s second-leading scorer that season, hadn’t scored up to that point, but that was one of several key hustle plays he made. He took a charge a couple possessions later, and would take another charge in the second half. Missouri then got a jumper from forward Kelly Thames to cut Kansas’ lead to 33-32 entering halftime.

Less than a minute after the break, Sutherland drove straight at Pierce and drew Pierce’s fourth foul. Pierce, who had sat the final 6 minutes or so of the first half with foul trouble, returned to the bench. Shortly thereafter, Missouri reclaimed the lead when Thames drove baseline for an open dunk.

The two teams would spend the rest of the second half trading blows, with neither able to distance itself. Kansas did most of its damage by getting to the free throw line and built its lead as high as four points with just over 10 minutes to play, but Sutherland hit an off-balance layup for his first points. Kansas then missed two straight front-ends of one-and-one free throw situations and Danny Allouche got a layup to re-tie the game.

LaFrentz answered with a pair of free throws. At that point, Kansas had shot 12 free throws in the second half and Missouri hadn’t shot any. Almost on cue with the commentators bringing that up, Thames drew an offensive foul on Robertson. Pierce, who had just re-entered the game after more than 10 minutes on the bench, hit a mid-range jumper, but then Sutherland got to the line as well. Both teams went cold for a few minutes, until right after the final media timeout of regulation. Missouri drew up an inbounds play that got Grimm an easy layup and gave the Tigers a 65-64 lead with about 2:45 to play. Sutherland then took yet another charge and made both free throws to extend the Tiger lead to three.

The Missouri crowd had been loud and engaged throughout the game, but at this point, it really got worked up. Even after Vaughn hit a floater to cut the lead to one point, a chant of “(expletive)-K-U” could be heard over the broadcast during a timeout.

Kansas appeared to have a chance to take the lead with about a minute left in regulation when Pierce drove for a layup. He missed, but LaFrentz got the rebound and had a clear look from about a foot away. LaFrentz missed as well, and Pierce got whistled for an over-the-back foul going for another offensive rebound — his fifth. The foul sent Thames to the line, where he hit both free throws to give Missouri a 69-66 lead.

LaFrentz got to the line on the other end and hit both free throws to cut the lead to one with 43 seconds left. Missouri then beat Kansas’ pressure and ran 17 seconds off the clock before Grimm was fouled. At that point, Missouri as a team had shot 15 of 16 from the free throw line. Of course, Grimm missed the first, though he did make the second. With Kansas down two, LaFrentz got a clean look right at the rim. Once again, he missed an easy one, and again, it led to a teammate being called for a rebounding foul. With 13.5 seconds left, leading by two, Missouri had Grimm, the game’s leading scorer, headed to the free throw line. The Tigers had to have felt pretty good about their chances.

Grimm missed the first. He got lucky to make the second, as it rattled around pretty much every inch of the rim before dropping. That put the Tigers up three. Norm Stewart instructed his team to foul, and Tyron Lee wrapped up Vaughn with 9 seconds remaining.

Vaughn made the first free throw. With so much time remaining, he tried to make the second, as well. But the ball rimmed out. LaFrentz tossed Grimm out of the way and collected the rebound. This time, he did not miss, banking in an easy layup to tie the game. Dibi Ray’s runner at the buzzer clanged off the back rim, and at 71-71, the game went to overtime. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Carpenter said “you have to give the edge to Kansas at this point,” and while that may look like a freezing cold take in hindsight, the crowd’s stunned silence suggested it felt the same way. After all, Kansas was the clearly more talented team and had already pulled off a few big comebacks that season, including an overtime win over Nebraska three days prior. Missouri, meanwhile, was 2-6 in games decided by four points or less and had to be discouraged after letting what had seemed like a sure win slip away.

Kansas’ offense found its rhythm in overtime — largely by giving the ball to LaFrentz every time down the floor — but Missouri would hang in thanks to one of the most clutch free throw shooting performances I’ve ever seen. Kansas jumped to a quick lead when Billy Thomas knocked down an elbow jumper, but Missouri tied the game with two free throws. Haase then collected a Thomas miss and laid it in, but once again, Missouri responded re-tied the game at the free throw line. The Tigers looked to really be in trouble when, on the next possession, LaFrentz drew a foul on Grimm and muscled in a layup. He hit the free throw to give the Jayhawks a three-point lead. Meanwhile, Grimm, who led Missouri at that point with 20 points, fouled out. But on Missouri’s ensuing possession, Sutherland got the ball on the wing, pump-faked to get a Kansas defender to sail by him and knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game.

With Grimm out of the game, LaFrentz feasted down low. He scored on Kansas’ next three straight possessions. But each time, Missouri managed to draw a foul and answer at the free throw line. Thames hit a pair, then Sutherland, then Thames again. With less than a minute to play, the game was tied at 84. Vaughn then drove and drew a foul for Kansas. In spite of his unorthodox free throw routine, which saw him hold the ball in front of his chin for about 15 seconds before shooting, Vaughn made both. Missouri got the ball inside to Tate, who was double-teamed but bailed out when T.J. Pugh left his feet. Tate leaned into the contact and drew a foul.

Tate coolly knocked down the first free throw. Before he could shoot the second, however, Kansas called timeout. It didn’t take much of a lip-reader to see Tate slap his hands together and say “shit.” Still, after the delay, he knocked down the second and tied the game once more. Vaughn got an open look from about 18 feet at the buzzer, but his shot glanced off the front rim. The two rivals went to double-overtime tied at 86. Missouri, which never led in the first overtime period, had just hit 12 free throws in a row.

The two teams traded a couple empty possessions apiece to open the second overtime, then Thomas put Kansas ahead when he hit a three of a curl. Once again, Sutherland wasted little time in erasing the deficit. Off a baseline out of bounds set, Missouri got the ball to Sutherland in the corner. He was well guarded by Haase. He caught the pass, hesitated, perhaps sensed that Haase didn’t expect him to try to shoot, and sort of pushed the ball toward the rim. The shot looked awkward, but it went in. It wouldn’t be the shot everyone remembers from this game (we’re getting there), but it might have been more impressive.

Vaughn missed an open three on the other end. Sutherland then drew a foul but missed the first free throw. He made the second to give Missouri its first lead in more than seven minutes. LaFrentz immediately erased the lead by putting back his own miss, but Thames took the ball right to LaFrentz on the other end and scored. The bucket was the biggest in a huge night for Thames — 24 points and 12 rebounds — but, unfortunately, the last. On the other end, LaFrentz drew Thames’ fifth foul. He made one of two free throws to tie the game at 92 with just over a minute on the clock.

With Thames fouled out, Stewart had to turn to seldom-used sophomore L. Dee Murdock. The next trip down the floor, Murdock posted up down low, and Ray fired him an impressive entry pass from about 25 feet away. Murdock calmly turned and sank the shot, his only field goal of the game. Once again, however, Kansas answered when Vaughn drove and scored. The game was tied with just under 40 seconds remaining.

Not wanting to give Kansas a clean last look, Missouri opted to dribble out as much of the 35-second shot clock as it could. That strategy initially looked to backfire. With about 15 seconds left on the shot clock, Kansas started to trap, and Missouri scrambled just to avoid a turnover. Kansas looked like it had a takeaway when Vaughn stripped Lee on the left wing. But in the basketball version of the flea-kicker, the ball glanced off Lee’s shin and rolled out of Vaughn’s reach. Tate appeared seemingly out of nowhere. All in one motion, he picked up the ball, stood and shot from 18 feet away. With two seconds on the shot clock and 5.6 in the game, the ball rattled in. The crowd erupted.

Kansas called its last timeout to try to set up a play to get the ball the length of the floor. Missouri wisely denied Vaughn the ball, and Kansas had to settle for a contested 22-footer from LaFrentz. He may not have even got the shot off in time, but it wouldn’t matter. The ball didn’t even find the rim. For the second season in a row, Missouri had upset a heavily-favored Kansas team in Columbia.

Missouri couldn’t keep the mojo alive the following game, when No. 2 Wake Forest and Tim Duncan came to town. The Demon Deacons won 73-65. In fact, after the win over Kansas, not much went right for Missouri. The Tigers lost seven of their final eight games of the regular season. They did make a run to the finals of the Big 12 conference tournament, but there Kansas exacted revenge with a 27-point blowout. Still, Tate’s miraculous shot (and the 49 minutes that preceded it, which, all things considered, might have been more unlikely) provided another unforgettable moment in an iconic rivalry.