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====== March 25, 1991 - UMass vs. Stanford ======
  * Season: [[season_1990-91|1990-91]]
  * Date: Monday, March 25, 1991
  * Opponent: [[opponent_stanford|Stanford]]
  * Start Time: 7:00 PM ET
  * Site: [[wp>Madison Square Garden]], New York NY
  * Special Event: [[wp>1991_National_Invitation_Tournament|National Invitation Tournament]], Semi-Final
  * Television: ?
  * Radio: ?

  * **Result: Stanford 73, UMass 71**
  * Attendance: ?

^  Previous Game  ^  Next Game  ^
|  [[game19910319_fordham|at Fordham (3/19)]]  |  [[game19910327_colorado|vs Colorado (3/27)]]  |

===== Previews =====
==== Boston Globe ====
**NY look is missing, but UMass ready for NIT test**\\
By Joe Burris, [[http://bostonglobe.com/|The Boston Globe]], 3/25/1991

NEW YORK -- Remember the scoreboard that lied in the [[wp>1986 World
Series]]? The [[wp>Shea Stadium]] screen that flashed "Congratulations Red Sox,"
when the Sox led the Mets, one pitch away from the World Series title?((https://www.metspolice.com/2013/07/31/october-1986-diamondvision-congratulations-red-sox-world-series-champions/))
You figure that no scoreboard would ever speak too soon again, right?

Not so. With [[game19910321_siena|last week's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal game
between Massachusetts and host Siena at Knickerbocker Arena]] in Albany,
the latter led by 3 with just 2.6 seconds to go. UMass called timeout to set
up a final play and the scoreboard flashed, "Congratulations, Siena."
Moreover, the public address announcer took the opportunity to tell Siena
fans bus information for a trip to the NIT semifinals.

Big mistake.

[{{ ::1991_nit_final_four_t-shirt.jpg?direct&400|T-shirt as seen in an Etsy listing in 2021}}]
When play resumed, UMass forward [[Tony Barbee]] sank a 3-pointer as
time expired, sending the game into overtime. [[mccoy_jim|Jim McCoy]] hit the only
bucket in the extra frame to give UMass an 82-80 win, sending the
Minutemen into their first-ever NIT Final Four. UMass meets [[opponent_stanford|Stanford]]
tonight at 7 at [[wp>Madison Square Garden]].

"We should get great fan support; I hear the Siena fans are still coming,"
joked UMass coach [[calipari_john|John Calipari]]. "I thought that our chances of tying the
game were slim and none. We just happened to catch slim."

"When I saw them flash 'Congratulations Siena' up there, I knew it would
be the kiss of death," said [[Atlantic 10]] commissioner Ron Bertovich, who
was pleased to see six of his conference's teams advance to postseason
play ([[opponent_temple|Temple]], [[opponent_rutgers|Rutgers]], and [[opponent_penn_state|Penn State]] in [[wp>1991 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament|the NCAA]]; UMass, [[opponent_george_washington|George
Washington]] and [[opponent_west_virginia|West Virginia]] in the NIT).

The Minutemen shouldn't expect the warmest of receptions tonight, having
beaten two New York favorites -- Siena and [[game19910319_fordham|Fordham]] to join Stanford,
[[opponent_oklahoma|Oklahoma]] and [[opponent_colorado|Colorado]] in the Final Four.

"I don't think the NIT was excited about the possibility of having us in New
York. We're here, and they're glad, but you wonder when they send you to
both Fordham and Siena," said Calipari, who must concern himself with
Stanford center Adam Keefe. "Our problem is that we have no center, and
he's a pro prospect center.

===== Recaps =====
==== Boston Globe ====
**Stanford ends UMass' NIT spree**\\
By Joe Burris, [[http://bostonglobe.com/|The Boston Globe]], 3/26/1991

NEW YORK -- This was just the kind of game they wanted in the final
minutes -- close, tense and downright ugly. The poor foul shooting and
turnovers that plagued the University of Massachusetts most of the game
didn't matter. With 5:28 left, the Minutemen led by 1 and were prepared for
another fantastic finish.

What would it be this time? Another 3-point basket by [[Tony Barbee]] to
send the game into overtime, [[game19910321_siena|as was the case against Siena]]? Another
3-pointer by Rafer Giles to win it, like the one he hit against [[opponent_rhode_island|Rhode Island]]?
Another baseline bucket by Giles with 7 seconds left, like the one that beat
[[opponent_boston_college|Boston College]]? Having seen four contests go to overtime and five decided by 3
points or fewer this season, this was familiar territory for UMass.

But Stanford was equally equipped for such an ending. With players who
could shoot from the outside, inside and foul line, the Cardinal didn't fold.
Despite squandering an 8-point second-half lead, Stanford retook the lead
33 seconds after UMass grabbed it and used clutch free throw shooting to
hold on. No fantastic finish for UMass this time. Stanford claimed a 73-71
win over the Minutemen in last night's National Invitation Tournament
semifinal.

The Minutemen, whose 20-12 mark was their best since [[season_1976-77|1976-77]] (20-11),
won more games in this NIT (three) than in their previous seven
appearances combined.

"Last year when we went to the NIT, we were just glad to be there," said
center [[williams_harper|Harper Williams]]. "This year we wanted to go to the NCAAs, but
they sent us here. We just wanted to show people we belonged, that we were a
team to be reckoned with."

Stanford found out the hard way, blowing a 16-point first-half lead.

"I didn't make many changes," said UMass coach John Calipari. "I just
asked the players, 'What are you going to do on national TV -- get beat by
30 or make a game of it?' "

But after UMass took its 59-58 edge, Stanford guard John Patrick hit a 3-
point basket for a 61-59 lead with 4:55 to go. After a miss by UMass
forward [[mccoy_jim|Jim McCoy]], Stanford forward Andrew Vlahov sank two free
throws to put the Cardinal up, 63-59.

"Everything we did to try to get to them didn't affect them," said UMass
forward [[herndon_will|Will Herndon]], who said his team played catch-up so much he
didn't remember taking the lead. "We wanted to make the game sloppy,
helter-skelter."

It stayed that way over the last four minutes, and with 1:28 left, UMass
cut it to 67-66 on a 3-point play by Williams.

But in the final minute, with Stanford up, 69-66, the teams staged a free
throw shooting contest. That favored Stanford, since UMass shot miserably
from the line all game, including 36 percent in the first half.

Herndon made 1 of 2 to cut the lead to 2 at :18.1. Andy Ammann sank two
to put Stanford up, 71-67, at :17.6. McCoy sank two to cut it to 71-69 with
:10.1 to go.

Stanford put it away, however, with :5.7 left, as Vlahov, a 63 percent free
throw shooter, sank two for a 73-69 edge. A bucket by Williams at the
buzzer was too little too late.

"The pressure down the stretch didn't faze me," said Vlahov, a native of
Australia. "Being a senior and playing four years helps. It helped me all
season."

And it helped end the UMass season. But Calipari was pleased with his
team's showing in NIT play; in fact, he said he preferred winning three
games in this tourney over a first-round loss in the NCAAs.

"Three wins gave our program a 20-win season, and that's big for us," he
said.

==== Stanford Cardinal ====
//Excerpt from their 1991 NIT run coverage//((https://gostanford.com/news/2012/3/23/208077506.aspx))

Yet again Stanford jumped out to a hot start, roaring to a 24-8 lead against the John Calipari-coached Minutemen. UMass clawed back to trail at halftime by only four. Stanford countered with a strong second half start, with Keefe scoring eight of Stanford's first 11 points, but with five minutes remaining the game was tied. But then Patrick hit a three pointer and Vlahov started hitting free throws -- lots of them. With five seconds left, Vlahov hit two free throws -- the second of which was his 12th made free throw in 12 free throw attempts on the night -- and Stanford had itself a 73-71 semifinal game victory. Keefe had 24 points, and Vlahov had 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

===== Notes =====
  * Harper Williams tallied 18 points and 7 rebounds, UM's high in both categories.
  * Other UM point leaders: Jim McCoy 16, Rafer Giles 13, Will Herndon 11, Tony Barbee 10.

===== Box score =====
<code>
          H1  H2  Total
UMass     31  40    71
Stanford  35  38    73
</code>

{{tag>"1990-91 season" "Stanford" "NIT (Post-Season)" "Work in progress"}}