Four Years Ago Today Malachi Richardson Turned Into Michael Jordan And Helped Cuse Pull Off One Of The Greatest Comebacks In March Madness History
I'm not usually someone to blog or tweet something like "this day 14 years ago ____ made this shot" but considering today should be day two of the Sweet 16 and we should be watching March Madness right now I think we need some sports in any way, shape or form.
You don't care about this, but I had a really good run with sports during my time at Syracuse. My Freshman year we made the Final Four with Michael Carter Williams. My Sophomore year the team started a school best 26-0 led by Tyler Ennis and were number 1 in the country for a little bit. Still to this day I've yet to be at a sporting event in person that was better than Syracuse vs. Duke that year which went to OT on Sulaimon's crazy buzzer beater 3. Junior year was a wash because they sucked and the school imposed sanctions on themselves, but I deserved a little bit of a down year given what the first two brought me.
Senior year was madness, no pun intended. The team underperformed all year long and got bounced in the 2nd round of the ACC tournament by Pittsburgh. I remember being in Punta Cana with all my friends crowded around a Spanish version of the selection show having no clue if we were even getting in. Syracuse was the LAST at-large team to be announced into the dance. We went absolutely bonkers. I think I had more Mama Juana drinks in my body than blood that night. We jumped on each other like we were on the team and I remember my buddy at the bottom of it ended up with blood on his stomach because we were going so nuts.
In classic Syracuse fashion they entered the tourney as a 10 seed and a complete afterthought, but proceeded to make a miracle deep run. They started off by curb stomping 7 seeded Dayton in the first round, getting a little payback for being bounced by them two years prior. Middle Tennessee State upset Michigan State in the first round as a 15 seed but Cuse had no issue dismantling them in the 2nd round. The Orange then needed a miracle to overcome Gonzaga in the sweet 16 after trailing by five with under three minutes to go. A last minute put back by Gbinije and a Tyler Lydon block with 3 seconds to go sealed the W.
It made absolutely no sense that Syracuse was in the Elite 8, but 1 seed UVA was a different animal. They were absolutely dominating this basketball game. It was demoralizing. That fuck London Perrantes kept taking deep 3 after deep 3 and draining them all. There was nothing the 2-3 zone could do to stop him and his hair. Anytime Syracuse felt like they were gaining momentum he would hit another. We trailed by 15 with under 10 minutes to go. This shit was over.
And then Malachi Richardson happened.
I still don't know how. Lydon's three without one shoe. Syracuse finding their ability to hit more than two free throws in a row. Boehiem turning on the press that UVA had no response to. Malachi Richardson becoming Michael Jordan. Gbinije completely outplaying Brogdon down the stretch. It was an avalanche. Everything that team had lacked all year long just click all at once.
That roar from the crowd when Malachi's bomb goes down to give Cuse a four point lead is something I replay on YouTube at least once a week late at night when I'm bored.
Nothing will ever beat Tony Bennett's defeated stare into the distance realizing what the fuck just happened.
The party on campus was truly unreal. Fires everywhere, everyone hammered, and cops just hanging on back letting all of the chaos unfold. It was one of those nights you didn't want to ever end. Something I'll never forget.
What a fucking comeback. Fuck coronavirus, we should be watching all of this happen right now at a bar.
*WE'RE LIVE DOING THE BARSTOOL MLB LEAGUE NOW ON TWITCH*