Why I'm rooting for Nova - A tale from the 2005 East Regional Final

[OkaForPrez]

Not sure how many of you remember the game. I do because I was there. I had tickets to the carrier dome in 2005. We were supposed to be there if not for Julius Hodge. But I digress. If you don't remember the game, read this. In short, Nova thought they were fouled as time was expiring. They should have been on the line to take the lead, instead UNC took possession and went on to win it all. I was there with @Kemba Time and another non yarder friend. We thought the call was BS and Nova was robbed. As luck would have it, we found ourselves at a bar after the game with the crew who reffed the game. They were there wearing NCAA Officiating jackets so we struck up a conversation with them. We ultimately got around to asking about the call, was it correct? The two refs we were talking to pointed across the room to a third ref and said, he made the call and it was wrong.

The basketball gods owe Nova.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

The last thing I would do as a ref is wear reffing gear to a bar. That could've gotten ugly.

 

[mauconnfan]

The last thing I would do as a ref is wear reffing gear to a bar. That could've gotten ugly.

Was thinking the same thing. Unless of course they were trying to impress some Tar Heelettes.

 

[4in16]

I give the refs credit for admitting they made the wrong call, most are too proud to admit mistakes.

 

[Showballot]

Not sure how many of you remember the game. I do because I was there. I had tickets to the carrier dome in 2005. We were supposed to be there if not for Julius 'n Hodge. But I digress. If you don't remember the game, read this. In short, Nova thought they were fouled as time was expiring. They should have been on the line to take the lead, instead UNC took possession and went on to win it all. I was there with @Kemba Time and another non yarder friend. We thought the call was BS and Nova was robbed. As luck would have it, we found ourselves at a bar after the game with the crew who reffed the game. They were there wearing NCAA Officiating jackets so we struck up a conversation with them. We ultimately got around to asking about the call, was it correct? The two refs we were talking to pointed across the room to a third ref and said, he made the call and it was wrong.

The basketball gods owe Nova.

I was at the game in Worcester where we lost to NC State. Why were we supposed to get to the regionals? That 2005 team was young. 2006 was the year….

 

[OkaForPrez]

I was at the game in Worcester where we lost to NC State. Why were we supposed to get to the regionals? That 2005 team was young. 2006 was the year….

Because we should always make the regional finals

 

[Inyatkin]

I was at the game in Worcester where we lost to NC State. Why were we supposed to get to the regionals? That 2005 team was young. 2006 was the year….

Two seeds are supposed to beat 10s, right?

 

[August_West]

Two seeds are supposed to beat 10s, right?

right?
How anyone could ever be OK with that game is mind blowing. In Worcester no less. I was at some bad losses over the years but I left that game more pissed than any other I think.........including the 6 OT game. at least after that game we still had NCAAS coming up. That ending was just a huge thud in Worcester.

 

[8893]

right?
How anyone could ever be OK with that game is mind blowing. In Worcester no less. I was at some bad losses over the years but I left that game more pissed than any other I think....including the 6 OT game. at least after that game we still had NCAAS coming up. That ending was just a huge thud in Worcester.

On top of it being a major bummer, it was also the hardest ticket market I've ever seen for any UConn game, and that includes the final fours. I was there with my younger brother and I found one in a distant parking lot that I gave to him and I sent him into the game, figuring I'd find another one before long. Wrong. First time I ever had to wait several minutes into a game before scoring a ticket. Of course, that ordeal only made me more pissed at the result.

 

[Palatine]

I want UNC to win to embarrass the NCAA. Not that te NCAA can be embarrassed. But they should be.

Besides, we recruit Philly and have more recruiting battles with Nova, so f%$$###$% them.

 

[UCHuskies08]

I like to keep as many other schools as possible out of the "multiple NCs" and "feel good about recent NC success" club. UNC is already firmly there. Therefore I shall be rooting for them.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

I broke something after that game. It was a bad one

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

I like to keep as many other schools as possible out of the "multiple NCs" and "feel good about recent NC success" club. UNC is already firmly there. Therefore I shall be rooting for them.

I look at it as: JC has 3, Roy has 2. I dont want roy to have as many as JC.

 

[August_West]

I look at it as: JC has 3, Roy has 2. I dont want roy to have as many as JC.

he will have Zero pretty soon (I pray)

 

[champs99and04]

It was the regional semi's but that's nitpicking. Completely agree w/ you...remember that game vividly.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

The last thing I would do as a ref is wear reffing gear to a bar. That could've gotten ugly.

No kidding. I ref U19 soccer games, club and high school, and I cover-up as best as I can before I get to the parking lot.

 

[Gurleyman]

right?
How anyone could ever be OK with that game is mind blowing. In Worcester no less. I was at some bad losses over the years but I left that game more pissed than any other I think....including the 6 OT game. at least after that game we still had NCAAS coming up. That ending was just a huge thud in Worcester.

The NC State loss sucked, but that was the year AJ and Rashad both almost died, we suspended Kellogg, and Denham was playing (ineffectively) with a knee injury. Sometimes you throw your hands up and say maybe this year was sacrificed to the basketball gods in exchange for the title we just won.

 

[Mots010]

I was at that game. Tickets were really expensive, as Michigan St, Uconn, Syracuse and Vermont were all there, i think. NC State led much of the way, then we battled back and tied it late, only to have Hodge get an and-1 after Rudy got tripped up on his drive. He was all pumped since Caron's team beat him 3 years prior. I always thought that was funny, cause that game was barely on Uconn's radar. NC State flamed out in the next round.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

The NC State loss sucked, but that was the year AJ and Rashad both almost died, we suspended Kellogg, and Denham was playing (ineffectively) with a knee injury. Sometimes you throw your hands up and say maybe this year was sacrificed to the basketball gods in exchange for the title we just won.

Reminds me a bit of the '95/'96 season when UConn while a 1 seed, lost to Mississippi State in the 3rd round. Kind of lost our mo jo after getting outscored by UCLA in the West Regional Final the year before, which I think UConn could have won it all if we had beaten UCLA, and then Donyell missing those damn free throws in '93/'94 in Miami, though I am not sure if UConn could have taken Arkansas that year. The campus felt like it was burnt-out.

 

[August_West]

The NC State loss sucked, but that was the year AJ and Rashad both almost died, we suspended Kellogg, and Denham was playing (ineffectively) with a knee injury. Sometimes you throw your hands up and say maybe this year was sacrificed to the basketball gods in exchange for the title we just won.

Rashad is what really hurt us. Although I'm sure we could've used AJ he was an unproven commodity at that point


But :
Charlie V
Rudy Gay
Hilton Armstrong
Denham Brown
Marcus Williams

Need to find a way to get it done against a 10

 

[businesslawyer]

I was there that day too. That loss sucked -- we were the better team, but unfortunately not on that day. But that was the year we had to use a midget walk on French grad student for what was basically our third guard.

 

[Inyatkin]

The NC State loss sucked, but that was the year AJ and Rashad both almost died, we suspended Kellogg, and Denham was playing (ineffectively) with a knee injury. Sometimes you throw your hands up and say maybe this year was sacrificed to the basketball gods in exchange for the title we just won.

Like 2015, and 2012. And 2010 coming off a Final Four. And let's not forget 2000, what is still my all time most frustrating year, though that seems dumb in retrospect. Should've known we'd struggle a bit.

 

[jfuchs91]

I broke something after that game. It was a bad one

I was 13 at the time, and during the game, my Italian mother made me a sandwich worthy of the 'Best Grinder in CT' thread.

After the umpteenth Julius Hodge bucket, I couldn't control my teenage hormones and I threw the half-eaten sandwich against a wall. The disappointment in my mother's eyes as the salami, prosciutto, and roasted red peppers violently smattered throughout the living room is a look I'll never forget.

So yes, a rough game indeed.

 

[intlzncster]

I give the refs credit for admitting they made the wrong call, most are too proud to admit mistakes.

Technically, they passed the buck. Smart move when confronted in a bar post game.

 

[Gurleyman]

Like 2015, and 2012. And 2010 coming off a Final Four. And let's not forget 2000, what is still my all time most frustrating year, though that seems dumb in retrospect. Should've known we'd struggle a bit.

I look at 2012 differently - we stayed healthy and could have done more with the personnel. Had we jelled (Bazz growing up a year sooner, AO and AD figuring out a way to coexist, Giffey stepping up), it would have given us a great chance to make another run. But when we got waxed by Iowa State, it felt humane to put us out of our misery.

2000, 2005 and 2008 are the losses I tend to put in the "that sucked, but the team was in trouble with injuries anyway" category. El-Amin was going to be hobbled the rest of the way (high ankle sprains don't go away), AJ was obviously done - and the 2005 team just took too many hits to the backcourt. Obviously you never want to lose, because the further you go, the less miracles you have to pull off (had we lost to Cincy in 2011, I probably would have said we were out of gas and that we got as much as we could have gotten out of riding Kemba). But we won, and kept winning.