Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - Printable Version
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Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - Papa John - 05-27-2020
I stumbled across a YouTube channel that has old SportsCenter college basketball highlights. For the heck of it, I looked up January 9, 1997 and found a few highlights for a game that became known among Bruins fans as the Maples Massacre.
https://youtu.be/VhAHLng9qDU?t=160
I was living in West L.A. at the time, and I drove to a friend's apartment in Pasadena to watch the game. Thanks to traffic on the 101, I arrived a few minutes late and Stanford was already up 17-1 at the first TV timeout. This Stanford team featured senior Brevin Knight and made it to the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost a heartbreaker to Utah. UCLA was two years removed from a national championship and actually ending up winning the Pac-10 (and beat Stanford by 19 at Pauley Pavilion) and made it all the way to the Elite Eight and a final #7 ranking.
Here's the LA Times recap, written by Tim Kawakami.
I know that this win was not as shocking or meaningful as the 1975 win over #2 UCLA, but, in my opinion, it doesn't get discussed nearly enough. So if you were there, I'd love to hear your memories.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - FarmBoy - 05-28-2020
(05-27-2020, 11:45 PM)Papa John Wrote: I stumbled across a YouTube channel that has old SportsCenter college basketball highlights. For the heck of it, I looked up January 9, 1997 and found a few highlights for a game that became known among Bruins fans as the Maples Massacre.
https://youtu.be/VhAHLng9qDU?t=160
I was living in West L.A. at the time, and I drove to a friend's apartment in Pasadena to watch the game. Thanks to traffic on the 101, I arrived a few minutes late and Stanford was already up 17-1 at the first TV timeout. This Stanford team featured senior Brevin Knight and made it to the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost a heartbreaker to Utah. UCLA was two years removed from a national championship and actually ending up winning the Pac-10 (and beat Stanford by 19 at Pauley Pavilion) and made it all the way to the Elite Eight and a final #7 ranking.
Here's the LA Times recap, written by Tim Kawakami.
I know that this win was not as shocking or meaningful as the 1975 win over #2 UCLA, but, in my opinion, it doesn't get discussed nearly enough. So if you were there, I'd love to hear your memories.
I was a student then but my house was skiing in Tahoe that weekend. I remember sacrificing 2 great hours of skiing to came out in the ski lodge to watch. Was so worth it.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - Red80 - 05-28-2020
(05-28-2020, 07:18 AM)FarmBoy Wrote:(05-27-2020, 11:45 PM)Papa John Wrote: I stumbled across a YouTube channel that has old SportsCenter college basketball highlights. For the heck of it, I looked up January 9, 1997 and found a few highlights for a game that became known among Bruins fans as the Maples Massacre.
https://youtu.be/VhAHLng9qDU?t=160
I was living in West L.A. at the time, and I drove to a friend's apartment in Pasadena to watch the game. Thanks to traffic on the 101, I arrived a few minutes late and Stanford was already up 17-1 at the first TV timeout. This Stanford team featured senior Brevin Knight and made it to the Sweet
Sixteen, where they lost a heartbreaker to Utah. UCLA was two years removed from a national championship and actually ending up winning the Pac-10 (and beat Stanford by 19 at Pauley Pavilion) and made it all the way to the Elite Eight and a final #7 ranking.
Here's the LA Times recap, written by Tim Kawakami.
I know that this win was not as shocking or meaningful as the 1975 win over #2 UCLA, but, in my opinion, it doesn't get discussed nearly enough. So if you were there, I'd love to hear your memories.
I was a student then but my house was skiing in Tahoe that weekend. I remember sacrificing 2 great hours of skiing to came out in the ski lodge to watch. Was so worth it.
I was there. What I most remember was a UCLA guard, probably a walk-on, being put into the game by Lavin in the last few minutes. He was immediately pounced upon by the student section who called out his name whenever he touched the ball. He finally a put up a shot, a 3 pointer, and made it. The student section exploded with cheers.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - BobK - 05-28-2020
I was at the game. Awesome day.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - CompSci87 - 05-28-2020
The highlights are fun. Usually highlights show some good plays by each side. These highlights start with a couple of Stanford scores, then move to a UCLA player getting a steal and going for what should be a breakaway layup. But he falls down, untouched, and loses the ball out of bounds. That's the capper.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - BostonCard - 05-28-2020
I was there as well. It was just amazing the way we continued to just cream UCLA. I mean, the "what's your deal" game against USC was amazing, but it was actually fairly close until late, when we pulled away. But the Maples massacre was a wire to wire domination. And it was against a good UCLA team.
BC
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - troyc - 05-28-2020
You bet I was there. Dave Flemming actually snuck me in the building. Incredible night...and if you made the case that UCLA men's basketball has never completely recovered from that game, I'd certainly listen.
Troy C
(interesting that game gets brought up now....I asked Brevin Knight about that very night on this week's TreeCast podcast, and he had a cool answer. I'm biased, but I'd suggest checking it out!)
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - Papa John - 05-28-2020
Thanks for the heads-up, Troy. I will definitely give your podcast a listen this weekend!
I thought of the Maples Massacre because we had been discussing Stanford's win over Duke in 2000. I've been trying to find highlights of other big wins during the Montgomery glory years--so much is made, and rightfully so, of Robinson at the buzzer versus UA and the heroic comeback versus URI in the Elite Eight.
The Pac-10 was no slouch in 1997. 5 teams made the NCAA tourney and the conference performed very well:
UA, 4-seed in the Southeast, won the championship
UCLA, 2-seed in the Midwest, made the Elite Eight
Stanford, 6-seed in the West, made the Sweet Sixteen (wins over Oklahoma and Wake Forest featuring senior Tim Duncan)
Cal, 5-seed in the East, made the Sweet Sixteen
USC, 11-seed in the Southeast, lost big in their first game
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - Spiny_Norman - 05-28-2020
Maybe not as meaningful, but immensely satisfying was the 101-50 shellacking that I saw Stanford put on Cal February 19, 2000.
https://gostanford.com/news/2000/2/19/208084194.aspx
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - 97fan - 05-28-2020
I was at the game, standing in the 6th Man section with a high-school friend who was a University of Illinois student and was visiting over winter break. It was his first-ever Stanford sporting event, and I assured him that they're not all so much fun.
The '96-'97 season was a great one that obviously set the stage for the Final Four appearance the following year. In the second round of the NCAA tourney, Stanford beat Wake Forest to end Tim Duncan's college career. The Sweet 16 game was in San Jose against a Utah team that featured Andre Miller and Keith Van Horn - a close loss that was Brevin's last game in a Cardinal uniform.
I'd argue that even if Brevin Knight was not the best men's basketball player in Stanford history - and he may have been - he had the biggest impact on the trajectory of the program. The team was 7-23 the year before he arrived on campus and made the Final Four the year after he left. Rich Jackson, a bench warmer for most of his time on the Farm, was the only other player in Brevin's recruiting class, if I recall correctly.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - CTcard - 05-28-2020
(05-28-2020, 05:12 PM)97fan Wrote: I'd argue that even if Brevin Knight was not the best men's basketball player in Stanford history - and he may have been - he had the biggest impact on the trajectory of the program. The team was 7-23 the year before he arrived on campus and made the Final Four the year after he left. Rich Jackson, a bench warmer for most of his time on the Farm, was the only other player in Brevin's recruiting class, if I recall correctly.
Well, there was Hank Luisetti.
Before he played Stanford had five straight losing seasons, 10-17 the immediately prior season.
During Luisetti's three seasons Stanford went 21-8, 25-2, 21-3, then 4 years later won the NCAA title.
... and of course there is that whole changed how everybody plays the game thing.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - 97fan - 05-28-2020
(05-28-2020, 05:36 PM)CTcard Wrote:(05-28-2020, 05:12 PM)97fan Wrote: I'd argue that even if Brevin Knight was not the best men's basketball player in Stanford history - and he may have been - he had the biggest impact on the trajectory of the program. The team was 7-23 the year before he arrived on campus and made the Final Four the year after he left. Rich Jackson, a bench warmer for most of his time on the Farm, was the only other player in Brevin's recruiting class, if I recall correctly.
Well, there was Hank Luisetti.
Before he played Stanford had five straight losing seasons, 10-17 the immediately prior season.
During Luisetti's three seasons Stanford went 21-8, 25-2, 21-3, then 4 years later won the NCAA title.
... and of course there is that whole changed how everybody plays the game thing.
Four years later they won the NCAA title, but the NIT was the more prestigious tournament at that time.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - CTcard - 05-28-2020
(05-28-2020, 05:48 PM)97fan Wrote: Four years later they won the NCAA title, but the NIT was the more prestigious tournament at that time.
More prestigious for awhile, simply because it was in NYC and had more media attention, but not necessarily better teams.
The champs of the NIT and NCAA then played each other from 43-45, with the NCAA champ winning each time.
The Helms Foundation, one of the few naming "national champs", chose Stanford in 42 ... and 37.
The ESPN retroactive power poll chose Stanford as champs in 42 and 37 as well.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - oldalum - 05-29-2020
I was there too. One of those inexplicable events in sports; was great to be on the good side of it!
only thing like it I've seen was the 149-115 Loyola Marymount - Michigan NCAA 2nd round game in 1990, which I was at in Long Beach. Michigan was a 3-seed, LMU an 11-seed. LMU was so hot, on fast-breaks they spurned layups to kick out to a 3-point shooter in the corner. Why settle for 2 when you can score 3? I think still the highest-scoring NCAA tournament game ever. Also notable for being soon after the death of Hank Gathers: Bo Kimble had announced he would shoot his first free throw left-handed in his honor; he made it, and the place went wild. Michigan and Steve Fisher, defending national champs, were just bewildered all game long at what was happening to them.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - vataha - 05-31-2020
Yes, I was there too, with my oldest son. It was unlike anything I'd witnessed at Maples up to that point. It was intellectual brutality.
RE: Men's Basketball: Stanford 109, UCLA 61 - Mick - 06-01-2020
That was an incredible team. Three guards, two forwards and averaged 47 rebounds per game. I saw them play SCU twice that season and Carroll Williams/Dick Davey's all-brake/no-gas, 9-19 team couldn't hold LMU under 113.
That season, LMU averaged 122.4 ppg, shot over 40% from 3 pt range, 52% from the field. Kimble and Gathers were the stars but G Fryer (22.7 ppg, 3.4 reb) and Terrell Lowery (14.5 ppg). Even Per Stumer could play at 8 rpg. Lowery played MLB for four years. LMU was easily the most entertaining college basketball team I'd ever seen.