Ten Best College Hoops Games I Have Attended (Men)

Ten Best College Hoops Games I Have Attended (Men)

As part of my ongoing effort to chronicle various things into lists and anecdotes I now list my best hoops games. Granted, I have never had the good fortune to see games in places like Duke or Indiana, but I have been to a Final Four and sat in the old Kennel at Gonzaga as a student. Also, one NIT game made me face up to the reality of The Sports Guy’s rule about only really being able to root for one team ...

1) Washington State 92 Gonzaga 73 – 3.14.96 – NIT First Round – Pullman, WA – Friel Court – I stood down front mid-court and watched my two teams square off in Pullman while I stood in the student section at Wazzu (I was in grad school). I have always preferred the college game and watching these two teams play an elimination game, even in the NIT, was intense. The crowd was huge and emotional. I now understand what The Sports Guy means. I had to decide right then and there that I may have attended both schools, but I AM a Coug first.

2) Houston 49 Virginia 47 (OT) – 3.31.84 – NCAA Final Four – Seattle, WA – Kingdome – My brother and I got nosebleed 300 level seats in the Kingdome for a semifinal double-header but both had to work so only got to attend one game. Olajuwon took on and defeated Polynice (Sampson was an NBA rookie by then) and if it had not gone to OT we would have been able to at least see a little more of Georgetown (Ewing) and Kentucky (Bowie) than the warm ups.

3) Washington State 94 Texas Tech 82 – 3.15.95 - NIT First Round – Pullman, WA – Friel Court – This game was as intense as any I have ever seen. The Cougs were hoping for back to back NCAA bids and settled for a home NIT match with Texas Tech. It was clear from the start that this game meant something to the players more than just another game.

4) Washington State 72 Washington 59 – 3.13.93 - PAC 10 Regular Season – Seattle, WA – Hec Ed – The Cougs ran away with this game during the Kelvin Samson Era and the Cougar crowd owned the building. Mike Price was sitting just a bit in front of me leading cheers and Butch ran the Husky mascot off the court. When Bennie Seltzer scored late and danced down the court with the clock ticking down it was as cool as winning the Apple Cup.

5) Gonzaga 81 Eastern Washington 63 – 12.15.90 - Non-Conference – Spokane, WA – The Kennel – The only game I attended in the student section while I was shortly a student at Gonzaga. I remember sitting there with a classmate reflecting how GU really got the whole student section thing right. Then they beat up on Eastern.

6) Washington State 73 UCLA 78 – 1.4.96 – PAC 10 Regular Season – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena – This was an incredibly talented UCLA team that kept it close and won it late in front of a rowdy crowd in Spokane (since school was out in Pullman the Cougs often play home games there around the holidays). More than anything else I remember the calm confidence of the UCLA team that looked at us like we were crazy to think the Cougs would win. Toby Bailey had me hating a player for having a great game more than almost any player in any sport ever has (Todd Marinovich in the 4th quarter against the Cougs in 1989 is a tie for first).

7) Idaho 64 Washington 61 – 12.6.95 – Non-Conference – Moscow, ID – Kibbie Dome – I didn’t tend to venture over for many UI events during all the years I lived in Pullman. But, when you win tickets on the radio and get to see the Huskies lose to a team they scheduled for an easy win, that was sweet. I ... D ... A ... H ... O ... Idaho, Idaho ... Go! Go! Go!

8) Washington State 83 UCLA 98 – 2.11.95 – PAC 10 Regular Season – Pullman, WA – Friel Court – A recurring theme of being a Coug fan is to watch them come close, but usually fall short (They win just enough to give you that faint sense of hope each time anyways). Friel packed to the rafters. My father sitting next to me. Drew Bledsoe sitting across the aisle. UCLA wins with a late surge.

9) Washington State 59 Arizona 96 – 1.15.87 – PAC 10 Regular Season – Pullman, WA – Bohler Gym – The power went out due to a huge snowfall. But, me and Dan and other guys from the dorm were in front waiting to get in at Friel and heard the game was being moved before anyone else and hightailed it in record time to Bohler Gym. I can still remember having to high step through a huge snow drift running downhill in the dark, hoping not to slip in order to get there first. We did. Front row. Free throw line seats in a gym that holds under 3k for an Arizona team that had Steve Kerr and Sean Elliot. We had to move our feet for players to inbound the ball and I can remember having to move for Kerr and Elliot. We got killed but enjoyed the game anyways.

10) Washington State 101 California 83 – 2.1.92 – PAC 10 Regular Season – Pullman, WA – Friel Court – My first basketball game as an alumnus back in Pullman. I had been back for an Apple Cup, but this was different feeling. The Cougs won the game during the upswing of the Kelvin Samson Era. This team went on to make the NIT.

If I was to extend this list I would add a UW/Arizona game with my brother at Hec Ed in the early 90s when the Dawgs sucked but still beat UA, a game against Cal in 87 with Lance and Elgin where this big oaf from Cal got taunted but hit the game winner and taunted us back, wins over the Dawgs in Pullman in 87 and 95, a PLU game with Lance on the roster in later 87, and a Friel Court loss to Gonzaga in 86.