Table of Contents
March 10, 1994 - Temple vs. UMass
- Season: 1993-94
- Date: Thursday, March 10, 1994
- Opponent: Temple
- Start Time: 9:30 PM ET
- Site: Mullins Center
- Special Event: Atlantic 10 Tournament Final
- Television: ESPN
- Radio: WHMP
- Result: UMass (#9) 70, Temple (#12) 59
- Attendance: 9,493 (sellout)
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| vs Duquesne (3/7) | vs Southwest Texas State (3/17) |
Previews
This was the third UMass/Temple game of the season, and the third in a span of 25 dramatic days in the rivalry.
Home versus Temple on 2/13, a 56-55 UMass win, as Chaney confronts Calipari after the game.
At Temple on 2/24, a 51-50 UMass win, as the media swarmed all over the rematch story.
Temple fans show no class, respect for the Minutemen
By Arthur Stapleton Jr., The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Sports Editor, March 9, 1994
With a little over five minutes left in Monday's second Atlantic 10 semi-final, Philly fans started chanting, “We want UMass!” repeatedly. When the final buzzer sounded in the Palestra that evening, Temple fans got what they wanted - a trip up here to Amherst and their Owls' third shot at Massachusetts, this time in the championship game of the A-10 Tournament.
Throughout the weekend, Massachusetts had a target on its back; the hometown fans taunted Coach John Calipari every time he yelled at his players as well as the officials. The score didn't matter, unless the Minutemen were losing.
On occasions when St. Joseph's and Duquesne led Massachusetts, the fans were as loud as they would be if Temple had been playing. Then, when Calipari's team pulled away and buried both the Hawks and the Dukes, the crowd began to cheer for Temple.
At one point in the quarterfinal, St. Joe's cut a huge Massachusetts lead to 10 points with six minutes left in the game and the fans were on their feet smelling upset, 100 percent behind the Hawks. Or were they?
Even though they didn't get any closer, the Hawks never gave up - the Temple fans, however, did. With three minutes to go, they began cheering for the Owls who were due up next to play Rutgers. Classless.
That is not rooting for the underdog - it's harassing the underdog. During the final timeout of the contest, the St. Joseph's band, cheerleaders and mascot ran on the court, trying to show one last round of support for the Hawks, who most likely played their final game of the season. No respect from the Temple fans, who shouted throughout the timeout, “We want Temple,” drowning out the St. Joe's fight song.
The motto at St. Joseph's is, “The hawk will never die.” The mascot exemplifies this as he (it is a man; we learned this at the A-10 banquet) never stops flapping his wings. It is a novelty to make fun of the Hawk and how stupid it is. But when St. Joe's came up to the Mullins Center and got trounced by the Minutemen, the Hawk never stopped. Out student section tried to imitate the mascot and couldn't. What a great mascot.
Conversely, the one thing I remember about the Temple Owl was its cheap shot on the Minuteman prior to Victory No. 1. Classless.
I'm not going to babble on for the umpteenth time on L'affair Chaney. Classless.
And now the Owls come to town expecting to win tomorrow night in the Mullins Center. Talent-wise, damn straight they can leave with a win. Should they? Hell no. The Minutemen are undefeated in Death Roe because they have guys who will make the big shot - Mike Williams. Enough said. But that has to do with basketball on the court.
Calipari has always stressed that “UMass fans are the classiest fans in America.” Believe him if you want to, but that is the test for tomorrow night's crowd.
Because the game is the A-10 championship, the ticket distribution is different. UMass will take up about 60 percent of the crowd. The other 40 percent, you ask? Temple faithful, all the way up from Philly.
They are coming here, trying to show up the Massachusetts crowd as well as the team. They really think they're going to win. This season, UMass fans have been criticized for being uncreative, unenthusiastic, and just plain boring. A lot of people have said that the fans expect the Minutemen to win and they really don't care. If they don't care tomorrow night, Temple will rule Mullins.
So when the teams take the court tomorrow night, let John Chaney know what you think of his Owls. Let the Minutemen know what you think of them. Show ESPN the same fire and emotion that has allowed the University of Massachusetts the opportunities on national television in the first place.
But, most importantly, when the game is over and the winner hoists the A-10 trophy at center court, stop the fanfare. It is a basketball game. Remember that these two teams have a legitimate shot at the Final Four and the national championship. Don't be like Temple.
Classless.
The Brawl for it All
By Jeff Crofts, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, March 10, 1994
rivalry (rīvəlrē), n, Two or more stiving to reach or obtain that which only one can possess; as, rivalry of love, or rivalry of business.
Tonight's business is the Atlantic 10 Tournament Final and the two rivals striving to obtain the right to be called A-10 Champion are the No. 9 Massachusetts Minutemen and the No. 12 Temple Owls.
The showdown tonight at the William D. Mullins Center (9:30 p.m.) will mark the third time this season that the Minutemen (26-6) will have squared off with the Owls (22-6), Temple has never lost to an opponent three times in one year. Never.
But if there was one lesson learned from the first two Minuteman wins, both of which were by one point, it was to expect the unexpected when these two fierce competitors square off.
We take you back to the Mullins Center on February 13. The first UMass-Temple game. At the half it was the Minutemen by two, 30-28. But the Owls roared to take an eight-point lead at 49-41 with 6:27 to go in the game. UMass looked doomed.
But no, the Minutemen would fight back, getting to within one at 55-54 with 10.2 seconds left in the game. It was UMass ball and Coach John Calipari called on his trump card, junior guard Mike Williams for the heroics.
And Williams responded, spinning past Temple guard Rick Brunson and hitting a leaning jump shot in the lane to put UMass up one, 56-55, with just under four seconds left. A wild shot as time expired by Temple's Aaron McKie fell short and the Minutemen has their victory.
And then there was the aftermath.
Calipari was speaking in his post-game press conference when he was berated and then nearly physically attacked by Temple Coach John Chaney who was upset at the UMass coach for having words with a game official in a hallway after the game.
The attack, which received publicity similar to the Nancy Kerrigan - Tonya Harding fiasco, earned Chaney a one game suspension from the Atlantic 10.
UMass-Temple II took place nearly two weeks later in McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia. Chaney and Calipari embraced before the game; all was forgiven, the basketball game, between the two top teams in the A-10, was now the focus. And rightfully so.
The second battle resembled the first in a number of ways. First, it was a hard-fought, low scoring defensive battle featuring the ferocious UMass man-to-man D versus the tricky Temple match-up zone.
Another resembling characteristic was the fact that the Minutemen had the lead at the break (however, it was a nine (30-21) point bulge this time), only to watch the Owls storm back in the second stanza. Temple held a number of two point leads down the stretch.
And, of course, just like game one, it was Mike Williams who provided the drama via a game winning shot. Williams, with UMass down two 50-48, banked in a 25-foot shot from the right wing over Temple's Eddie Jones. Down 51-50, Jones missed a tough layup inside over Marcus Camby and the Minutemen ran out of McGonigle Hall with their second victory over Temple, and more importantly, their third straight A-10 regular season championship.
It is because UMass won the regular season title that the Minutemen are hosting tonight's championship game. This is very good news for UMass fans; the Minutemen are 18-0 in the two-year history of the Mullins Center and have won a total of 30 straight on-campus games, second only to Indiana in the nation.
This marks the second straight season which UMass and Temple have battled it out in the Mullins Center for the A-10 Championship. Last year, the Minutemen rallied past the owls 68-61 to earn their second straight A-10 Tourney title. Tonight it will attempt to make it three.
The A-10's best will be represented on the court tonight. Here's a list: Temple forward Eddie Jones (Player of the Year, All A-10 first team), UMass forward Lou Roe (All A-10 first team), Temple guard Aaron McKie (All A-10 first team), UMass center Marcus Camby (Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, All A-10 third team), Temple guard Rick Brunson (All A-10 second team), and UMass guard Mike Williams (All A-10 third team).
Pretty impressive stuff.
Seedings for both teams in the upcoming NCAA Tournament could be affected by tonight's outcome. With that said, both UMass and Temple should be looking at pretty high seedings in the Big Dance.
After the first game between the two rivals, Calipari praised the efforts of both teams.
“That was a terrific basketball game between two teams that I think have the chance to go somewhere in the NCAA's,” Calipari said. “It was a great college game, both teams fought like heck.”
But like most rivalries, only one came out victorious.
And it will be the same story in the A-10 championship game.
The William D. Mullins Center.
Tonight.
UMass-Temple, Round III.
What a rivalry!
Recaps
Minutemen sweep Temple, take A-10 crown
By Arthur Stapelton Jr., The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, March 11, 1994
There would be no buzzer-beaters on this night for Massachusetts and Mike Williams against Temple. Instead, Williams poured it on early in the second half, nailing two three-pointers on consecutive offensive sets which broke Temple's back, leading the No. 9 Minutemen over No. 12 Owls, 70-59, last night in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
With the victory, Massachusetts (27-6) became the first team to ever win three championships in a row, as well as the first team to hand the Owls (22-7) three losses in a season in 98 years.
(UMassHoops.com note: that “three championships in a row” is missing some context. We think the author meant to preface that with Atlantic 10 school.)
In the previous two contests, Williams' shots in the waning seconds sent the Owls home with a loss; this time, the A-10 Tournament's Most Valuable Player scored 21 points, dished out five assists, and snared seven rebounds, making sure that the outcome of the game was decided before the final buzzer.
“I was saying before the game that I don't want any more last second shots. I've had enough of those. I just wanted us to be up by 10 points with 30 seconds to go,” said Williams, who held his toddler daughter Mishawn in his arms when he received his MVP trophy at center court.
Massachusetts, the number one seed in the tourney and regular season champions for the third straight season, jumped out to a 15-2 advantage before the first stoppage of play. After a Temple time-out with 13:45 left in the first half, the Minutemen extended their lead to 24-3 behind a Derek Kellogg trey, two Dana Dingle free-throws and jumpers by Williams and Donta Bright.
The run was halted by a dunk from Temple's Derrick Battie some four minutes later.
“You're in the finals, you know you are going to get the person at their best. We knew Temple was going to come out and play its best,” said Massachusetts center Jeff Meyer, who has been on the team for all three championships.
“You've got to come out and play the same way. You've got to give them everything you've got; and personally, what we had was a little bit more than they had and we pulled it out.”
During the run which opened the game, Massachusetts shot nearly 60 percent while holding the Owls to only one field goal. The Minutemen out-rebounded Temple 18-11 in the first half, while forcing their opponents into 8-of-21 shooting (38 percent).
“I think we just defended them,” said Massachusetts forward Lou Roe. “They made some tough baskets in the first half, but I think we really defended them. The biggest thing was they missed shots and we were able to rebound 'em.”
“The biggest thing we did was we rebounded the basketball against a very big basketball team,” said Massachusetts Coach John Calipari.
Tailing 35-21 at halftime, Temple clawed its way back into the game by scoring the first 11 points of the second half, cutting the Massachusetts lead to three, 35-32, and forcing Calipari to call a time-out.
Temple's Aaron McKie and Eddie Jones, who were both named to the All-Tournament Team with Williams, Roe, and Duquesne's Derrick Alston, combined for all of the points in the comeback, beginning with a trey from each on the first two trips down the floor for the Owls. On the next series, Jones (18 points, eight rebounds, five assists) slammed one home, slicing the Minuteman lead to 35-29.
“Every shot Aaron and Eddie made tonight were tough shots,” said Temple Coach John Chaney. “They were all tough shots.”
McKie (game-high 33 points) followed on a dunk of his own with 16:41 left which pulled Temple within four points; the Owls' star guard was fouled in the act by Williams. With the completion of his three-point play, McKie brought Temple back from a 14-point deficit and the Owls seemed poised to take the lead away from the Minutemen. Then came Williams' two treys and a three-point margin that was disappearing became a comfortable nine-point bulge.
The closest Temple would get after Williams' shots was six points on two different occasions. Each time, the Owls efforts were thwarted by a Marcus Camby one-handed alley-oop, once from Williams and the other from Kellogg.
Temple's 2-3 match-up zone had shut down Roe in the scoring column in the two previous meetings, keeping him under double-digits in both games. However, early on in last night's championship game, Roe made it a point to get on the board, scoring nine of Massachusetts' first 15. The junior co-captain finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
“You look at these two guys right here [Roe and Williams],” said Calipari. “Champions step up in games like this. This is what you live for.”
Ticket system isn't working
By Ted Kottler, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, March 11, 1994
Good things come to those who wait. That is, unless you're in line for UMass basketball tickets. For my roommate, Colin, his five-hour display of the sort of rabid enthusiasm that this school's athletic program thrives on left him empty-handed.
Athletic Ticket Director Thorr Bjorn has utilized space on these pages each time tickets have been distributed to denote what I'll call the “6:30 policy.” For those who haven't read one of these notices, they read that if students form lines for tickets prior to 6:30 a.m., tickets will be distributed through a lottery.
Bjorn can't be knocked for his consistency. In the instances when diehards queued up at some ungodly hour, such as 4 a.m. Tuesday, out came the big red box, which was soon filled with thousands of student activity cards. Cards belonging to everyone from Colin, who missed one home game and was on line before 5 a.m. Tuesday, to kids who know the Atlantic 10 as a two-team league, whose cards had not a single punched hole. Guess who got the tickets?
It is Bjorn's notion that he is a legislator as well as athletic ticket director that I find fault with. Why can't he and his staff get off their high horses and stop telling students when they can and cannot get seats to watch the team they helped make great?
“You shouldn't be here,” Bjorn told a flock of a few hundred students outside the Cage early Tuesday morning. But they were there. They were there because they know their peers; if they weren't there before 6:30 a.m., someone else would be. And why not? Can someone - Bjorn, the UMass police, Chancellor Scott, John Calipari - please tell me the harm in students waiting patiently in 30-degree weather in hopes of seeing UMass become the first team to beat Temple three times in one season?
If any of these people believe there really is something wrong with these lines forming before 6:30 a.m., so be it. But it's disappointing that the thought process engaged by Thorn resulted in the worst possible scenario.
His lottery essentially punished Colin for wishing to continue to support the Minutemen needed to beat Temple the first time here this season, and George Washington, which UMass took by the same score of 56-55. UMass isn't 18-0 at Mullins for nothing, and people like Colin went a long way toward preserving that streak in those two nail-biters. Not the ones who haven't been to Mullins since Feb. 13, when the Owls last were here.
Also, I resented Bjorn's relish for his role as dictator. By going to the lottery, Thorn forced some of the students who were in line earliest to hang around the Cage well beyond when they would have received tickets had they been allowed to stay in line. Some missed classes, everyone was exhausted, and some still hadn't heard their name called when the announcement came shortly after 10 a.m. that all seats were sold. And Bjorn loved every minute of it. He didn't love having to be present all those hours and having to call off all those names, but he took genuine satisfaction in making those students suffer. He said so.
I suggest that students be rewarded for attending regular season games regularly by being assured seats to the Atlantic 10 Championship. That's odd, I think this policy is utilized elsewhere; ah, yes, for season ticket holders. You didn't see any middle-aged Ware residents strolling into the Mullins Center box office for the first time to purchase tickets, because they hadn't earned the privilege.
In conclusion, I must address opposing viewpoints introduced by two friends. One notes that a large student assembly requires police supervision, an additional cost to the University. I cannot dispute this, but the crowd was by no means hostile, and we're talking about one cop who appeared to have shown up on his own power at the same time the students did.
Finally, another friend offered the next in a long line of witticisms when he pointed out that you can't buy a Megabucks ticket after the drawing's begun. He referred to the students who sauntered into the Cage after 8 a.m., more than one hour after the drawing began, and dropped their cards in the box. And many of them, too, heard their names called well before Colin's. Poor kid - I gave him my other ticket.
Other content
- Video: Highlights from ESPN
Box score
