The Hoover Street Rag: The Vault: Michigan vs. Seton Hall, 1989 (OT)

And now the exciting conclusion to last week's Vault. You know you were waiting for it. This was a joint effort between Craig and myself.

1:19:00	Last OT was in '63, which is quite a drought considering that they had 4 OT games in a 20-year span preceding that. Musberger tips us to his age by talking about the 3OT Cincy game in '61. Higgins controls the tip for Michigan. Rice hits a quick jumper in the lane with a guy climbing his back. "Two seconds too late" Billy Packer quips, and dammit, we are forced to agree.
1:19:50	Billy Packer rambles about the first OT game in NCAA history. Utah won, but we all lose.
1:20:16	Michigan plays really good defense for 40 seconds, only to see the ball kicked out to a wide open Andrew Gaze, who hits a wide-open three, his first field goal of the game. We'd yell get a body on him, but it was his first field goal of the game! Higgins rolls all around the perimeter and hits a big shot to put Michigan back up one.
1:21:00	Greene gets a WIDE OPEN three that goes off the back of the iron. Walker, however, gets the miss and the refs unfortunately get it right with a goaltending call on what would have been an EPIC block by Mills. You have to go frame-by-frame, but the ball does pass the peak of its arc.
1:21:30	Greene steals the ball and drives for a layup, but Mills hustles back to make the block this time. Higgins takes it quickly to the basket on the other end and draws a foul from Walker. Hits the first, misses the second. We're tied at 76.
1:22:38	Morton is left alone at the top of the key and drains a three which looks like a backbreaker as a fan, but Matt Millen still thinks he's gay.
1:23:07	They rotate the ball around the perimeter to Higgins, but his 3 is way short. Seton Hall switches to their "double high". 2:03 left, you're up by 3 and PJ is already trying to kill clock? OK, Dr. Goofy... T/O, Buccos. And now we get our first crowd shot of some early adopters of the Jack Sparrow line of menswear. HAAAAA! One of them removes his hook so he can clap. STAY IN CHARACTER, GENTLEMEN.
1:24:18	Morton drives the lane, draws some contact, but no call from the ref and Glen Rice comes up with a huge rebound that we swear ended up being the Sports Illustrated cover that week. Michigan brings it up and Rice gets nicely open near the top of the arc, but fails to knock down the shot. Higgins grabs the rebound and lofts one as he falls away near the block, but it won't go either. Rumeal Robinson immediately fouls Greene. Are we sure Michigan wins this game?
1:24:58	Brent and Billy are convinced Michigan is being stupid for not getting the ball to Rumeal, listing the litany of where it's going wrong, only to have Billy posit that he might be getting tired. Way to cover your bases there Mr. Packer. 1:17 left to go, and things are looking grim, but he bricks the front half of the one and one. Oh and look, now Rumeal has the ball in his hand!
1:25:37	Seton Hall plays good defense, even far out on the perimeter. Rumeal can't get a look, Higgins can't get a look. Mills finally backs his was in, steps out for the turn-around, and goes right over Ramos for the basket, which forces Seton Hall to at least take one more shot. Good effort all around there. 79-78 Buccaneers of the Intercoastal Waterway, 0:55 left.
1:26:22	The Pirates are killing time, but they have to deal with that 8-second difference between the shot clock and game clock. Morton gets into the lane, but he has to go up with four Michigan defenders around him and they don't call the (slight) contact with Rice, who collects the rebound. 0:10 left.
1:26:32	Rumeal sensing the urgency, pushes the ball coast-to-coast and Greene is just careless with his feet, thinking he's got this game in the bag. He knocks into Rumeal just enough to draw the whistle. PJ, to say the least, is displeased. Rumeal was in the process of getting rid of the ball to someone else for an open shot. Instead, we've got him on the foul line. On the replay, Rumeal's push of the ball down court is actually a thing of beauty, executing no less than two crossover dribbles to keep the ball away from slapping hands. The beauty of an explanatory replay. Oh yeah, in case we hadn't mentioned it, one of Rumeal's only weak spots? He's a 64% free throw shooter. Oh boy…Wait, even better, he's 57% for the tournament. BUT…he's 7 for 8 in the game. So that's something.
1:27:52	0:03 left. Rumeal on the line for the one and one. We're tied at 79 all. Rumeal's parents; very pleased. PJ Carlisemo and the small pelt on his chin; angry. Wait, check that, he's just calling out the play. Meanwhile, Steve Fisher looks so relaxed and mellow, it's like he's been road tripping with Bob Hope. Mike Griffin, who can be seen this summer in the upcoming Bourne Ultimatum, checks in and gives Rumeal a word of encouragement. Mrs. Coach is concerned in the stands. Rumeal's all alone on the line, everyone else is back by half court. It's the proper play, but it always looks strange. Rumeal nails the second one – his follow through arm-up looks triumphant and relieved all at the same time – PJ calls time out, and strike up the band. Mrs. Coach is dour until she sees herself on the Jumbotron, which we find kind of hilarious.
1:29:49	Michigan looks in the mood to celebrate, but they still need one more stop. During the time out, we get CBS staying with another round of the Victors. Someone in the stands has a "Say 'YES' to Fisher" sign, echoing the classic Michigan tourism slogan. Hey, Seton Hall has a band too. Who knew? They look kind of old, so I think it might be an alumni band. Oh it has to be alumni, because some tuba player's adorable 3-year-old is asleep on his shoulder.
1:31:27	We get the switch to the Seton Hall fight song, which I believe is the same song you hear at the start of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Wait, even better irony. We can see from the flip cards that among the songs in the Seton Hall arsenal is "Old Time Rock and Roll". Did Michigan have some Springsteen in the quiver just to balance the Michigan/New Jersey showdown on that one? And now you can actually hear the Michigan contingent signing "The Victors."
1:31:42	OK, so now Michigan will guard the inbound passer, Mills on Ramos. Obviously no one from Kentucky ever watched this game. Ramos makes a great pass all the way to the opposite arc where only Walker and Greene can get to it. Walker comes down with the ball, turns around and fires an NBA 3 over a player I can't identify, off the glass and into Glen Rice's hands. Steve Fisher casually walks down the sideline, cup of water in hand... (This is the part where my mom and I begin jumping up and down in celebration, even though it's way past my bedtime on a school night 2nd Grade! Woo! –GZ). The bars empty out onto South U, some of which won't have their windows in the morning. Final score: Michigan 80, Seton Hall 79. A full "Victors" plays in the background as shots of Michigan celebrating fill the screen.