The NCAA Tournament comebacks we remember the most are the ones which led to Final Fours or national championships. The NCAA Tournament comeback I think of the most — the one which comes most readily to mind when the subject is brought up — is Illinois’ comeback against Arizona in the 2005 Elite Eight.
Illinois was down by 15 points with four minutes left, and eight with one minute left. It somehow rallied to beat Arizona and go to the Final Four for the first time in 16 years. Illinois reached the national championship game and narrowly lost to North Carolina in a thriller.
The 2003 Wisconsin Badgers pulled off an all-time college basketball comeback in the NCAA Tournament. It didn’t lead to a Final Four, though, so on a national level, this doesn’t contain the resonance of Illinois in 2005 or other particularly transformative comebacks which dramatically rewrote the college basketball history books.
Nevertheless, any Wisconsin fan who is at least 30 years old almost certainly remembers where he or she was when the Badgers pulled a rabbit out of the hat and stunned the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the second round of the 2003 Big Dance.
Tulsa, the No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region, had already dispatched No. 4 seed Dayton. It was headed toward a second big upset and a Sweet 16 berth as a double-digit seed.
The Badgers — true to their identity throughout this century of great basketball — did not quit.
They scored the next 11 points to pull within two, at 58-56. Alando Tucker scored four of Wisconsin’s 11 points in that run, but he also was part of a disruptive defense which held Tulsa to two points in the final four minutes.
Down 60-56 in the last minute of regulation, Wisconsin stayed the course. Devin Harris scored a layup with 48 seconds left. Wisconsin forced a Tulsa turnover and earned its one chance to tie or take the lead.
The Badgers made the most of that chance.
Harris drew multiple Tulsa defenders and found Freddie Owens open in the left corner for a 3-pointer. Owens nailed the shot with one second left.
Comeback complete. Wisconsin was headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time under Bo Ryan, and for the first time since the 2000 team under Dick Bennett made the Final Four.
Speaking about the final play, Harris said, “I looked over and there was Freddie, sitting there, eyes wide as I don’t know what.”
Owens had plenty to say as well:
“They rotated so hard there was nothing on the ball side. For Devin, that’s a decision point,” Owens said. “There were five blue jerseys in the paint, so the opposite corner was open. Devin knew that. This is one you tell your kids and grandkids about in the future.”
Isn’t that the truth.