2005 Illinois-Arizona Elite 8 Game

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the game.

Please share any memories from the game.

uofi09 said:

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the game.

Please share any memories from the game.

Click to expand...

I was a junior in high school. My brother was a freshman.

My parents left the house before tip because they knew I'd be unbearably crazy. I banished my brother to the basement when he told me with 5 minutes to go in the 2nd half that Illinois "still could come back."

After screaming at the game like a pubescent teenager and drinking a can of Mountain Dew every minute for the rest of regulation, I invited him back into the living room for overtime.

Easily my favorite memory as a sports fan.

Already watched the game in its entirety. I figured it was only right. Still got chills at certain moments in the comeback.

Biggest thing I noticed watching that game this morning was toughness. That game was the epitome of tough. It wasn't 'fake tough'. I felt like Salim Stoudemire had some 'fake tough' moments in that game. He was shook by the moment, and I remember thinking throughout the game, watching it live, that he couldn't handle ball pressure from any of our guards, especially in crunch time. What a benefit it was playing that game in Rosemont, but still the grit, intensity, and toughness of every player on our team was remarkable, and frankly inspiring. If a sports moment tops that in my lifetime, I will consider myself lucky.

uofi09 said:

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the game.

Please share any memories from the game.

Click to expand...

"This season CANNOT end like this. NONONONONONONONO!"

"OK, I have to watch to the end, these guys deserve that much."

"HOLY %(&*^(*^&*) WE WON!"

Was at the game with my sister who was dating a player on the team. We were in family area and the stadium was pretty quiet. We had just fouled Channing Frye and were down around 14 points. The scoreboard showed AZ shot in the high 70's from the free throw line and I said "this isn't good, this is probably over." Sister told me she didn't want to hear it. Rest is history

Sitting in my Dad's living room. Age 15. I remember my eyes getting glassy with tears around the 3:30 mark.

And then again at the end of regulation.

I've told this story many times over the years, and will probably out myself as my former alias at Rivals, but this one meant more to me than any other game, for obvious reasons.

I was an intern at the University of Arizona Athletic Department at the time, and everyone in that department was all too aware of my allegiances. Back then, people actually read papers, and my Mom being a Mom decided to send me the paper from each game we played, plus every special feature on the Illini. I had my entire office covered in these papers by the time the brackets were announced. All year long, I'd heard we were overrated, Big Ten was overrated, all that nonsense. I had no idea we'd end up in the same bracket, let alone playing for a trip to the Final 4, and having it end the way it did.

My parents were visiting in Tucson for Spring Break, staying at La Paloma (great spot) in the foothills, all crowded around 1 TV in the lobby, surrounded by 25+ Arizona fans (they are the absolute worst, trust me), and 2 IL fans outside of my family, one of whom's daughter played on the wheelchair basketball team.

One particular Arizona bro kept yelling "Hot Sauce!" at me every time Hassan Adams scored. I still don't get that, and I still hate that fan and Hassan Adams because of it. With 5 minutes left, that DBag yelled "It's OVER", and I begrudgingly agreed, asking my Mom for the room key so I could go pout myself to sleep. As luck would have it, she had locked the key in the room, so I had no out and decided to stay.

The game unfolds as it does, and by the end there's a crowd of literally 150 people around about a 30" TV. I've never seen anything like it. The funny thing is, when Hassan Adams Hot Sauced that 3ball off the backboard, there was a bit of a stumble in the crowd and everyone fell forward, and all I caught was Shakur grabbing the rebound and flipping it in. For a second, I legitimately thought they had won it at the buzzer, had no idea time had expired.

After that, my Dad bought a round of 2 shots of Patron for each of the Illini fans in the building. I took about a dozen more between tears of joy phone calls from all my buddies who knew I was trapped in Tucson, then drank some more until I puked and went to bed the happiest drunk guy of all time.

A few people in the athletic department literally didn't speak to me for 2 weeks after that game. Nerds.

Yeah it's one of two moments that I can say I shed tears watching sports. The tears didn't come until the end of overtime though unlike others who say the end of regulation. I figured we'd win when we forced OT, but who knows. I was in a dorm room over spring break so screaming when nearly nobody could hear me was surreal. Never forget that day or game. Never.

The other time was the Bartman game.

I was at Mother Hubbard's downtown Chicago, and I say without exaggeration, when DWill stuck that 3, that was the loudest I have ever screamed in my life. And after it was over, I was kissing strangers. Yeah...I was that guy.

I was in the building and when Deron hit the three to tie the game it was the loudest thing I have ever heard. I couldn't talk for a good 24 hours after the game because I shouted myself hoarse. It will probably be the best sporting event I will ever see, and I'm cool with that.

Plus I got to shake hands with Bill Murray.

Two days before I sent out invitations for my sons 1st birthday party - for the night of the Final Four, with an Illini theme. I was testing fate for sure.

The night of the game I sat there thinking how sad I was going to be at the birthday party but would carry on bc of my love for the O&B. We were watching at my parents house with my 3yo daughter toddling around, wanting attention. About halfway through the comeback, she toddles up to the TV and shuts it off. Pre-DVR days of course. I'm not sure she's been yelled at that loudly ever again in her lifetime.

It was/is my birthday, one heck of a present! The Flyin' Illini advanced past Syracuse on my birthday too! I am looking forward to 2016 and 2017.

At 75-60, my wife went upstairs to our bedroom not wanting to see the end, or, more accurately, not wanting to see me at the end. When Dee laid the ball in after the steal to make it 80-77, I screamed "WE GOT IT BACK TO THREE!!!!!!!!!" to get her back downstairs.

That, and "Illinois displaying the heart of a champion!"

That's a great birthday present--mine was Nick Anderson at IU, my son was born a few hours before Frank Williams turned Pierre Pierce into a pile of goo.

I was only 10 years old, and at some point when it was seemingly over I ran into my room with tears in my eyes, and I angrily ripped down a couple of the newspaper clippings from throughout the season that I had put on my wall. I don't know how long it was, but it was either my father or brother that asked me to come back, and I begrudgingly agreed. I believe when I came back into the living room that the score was 75-60 or 75-63 (it was the beginning of the comeback). The rest is history.

Okay... I don't know why I'm sharing this, because I might just get banned from Illinois sports for life, but ten years ago when I was 14, I was not an Illinois fan, and everyone around me was jumping on the Illinois bandwagon, wearing Illinois gear, saying they have always been a fan, etc and it annoyed me to no end. Therefore, I decided I would start rooting against Illinois. During the game, I was in Florida on family vacation, and I just remember watching the end of the game through a bar window, and the whole place was packed. Illinois game back and won and I was so pissed off. 4 years later I visited Illinois for the first time on a terrible rainy day, fell in love with it, and the rest is history. Now I get chills every time I watch the comeback video on YouTube. I'm sorry for my transgressions and I hope you all forgive me.

I remember when the announcers said..." Well Illinois had a wonderful season, but it just doesn't seem to be working out for them" Then the turnaround began.....I was on a cruise, and the bar was packed with Arizona fans...all smug, all saying Oh YEA...it's all over. What a comeback.....you could hear a pindrop in that bar....WOW...great memory!!! I still got the DVD of the game....I like to play it just to hear those announcers saying Illinois was done!! Crow anyone???? Best part of the whole experience.......Take a look at Lute at the after game press conference...He couldn't even speak!!!

Had a massive headache that entire day stressing about this game. I wanted to play Okla. St. because I knew Arizona was super talented and athletic. Waiting for the Louisville-W. Virginia game to end increased my headache even though that was a great game. Then the the game started out great and then Arizona got hot and there was nothing we could do about it. We hadn't been dominated like this the entire season and when Dee kicked the ball out of bounds and Lute drinking out of his little cup like he had it in the bag and I was like everyone else well it was fun but Arizona's gonna do it to me again... and then... well heart of champion happened.

The night before the game my wife and I had dinner at Harry Caray's O'hare. We went to the bar to watch the games that Saturday night. Little did we know that the team would be there for dinner as well.

As we sat in the bar, Dee Brown came to our table and asked if he could sit with us. Really. Later, coach Weber sat with us to watch MSU play Duke on TV.

The next day my wife and I went to Shoeless Joe's for in Rosemont for the pregame party and then we walked to the Allstate arena.

My wife does not get emotional about sports. She was shaking and cried when Deron hit the three.

I won't forget the Arizona game as long as I live.

Interestingly, another game that happened on March 26th 19 years before that was Illinois v. Syracuse in the Elite 8. Comes full circle with Kenny Battle in the news:

[YOUTUBE]9nvpGVfm4VA[/YOUTUBE]

I went with my cousin and her brother in-law to the game. Down 15 with 4 minutes to go I remember seeing Arizona start handing out the Final Four t-shirts and thinking to myself this is over isn't it. I looked at my cousin and said that this is probably over and she turns to me and says I have my lucky t-shirt on(when she said that I just rolled my eyes and was like whatever). Then the rest was history and after the game I remember going to Schoolyard getting drunk till like 4am and ending up on my cousin's porch asleep. Also, since I prayed for the win I went to church that morning(Easter Sunday) still in my Illinois gear with the biggest smile I've ever had.

Only 2 games in my life I remember every detail about where I was and what was going on. 2005 when the White Sox clinched and this one. Was at Champs in Oak Brook home on spring break. Place was nuts to butts packed. Everyone was pro Illini except the 5 Arizona fans at the table next to us. Most of the second half was dead silence in the place except for them going crazy. When overtime ended the manager of Champs had to help the 5 Zona fans pay their bill and walk them out.

invisible man said:

I was in the building and when Deron hit the three to tie the game it was the loudest thing I have ever heard. I couldn't talk for a good 24 hours after the game because I shouted myself hoarse. It will probably be the best sporting event I will ever see, and I'm cool with that.

Plus I got to shake hands with Bill Murray.

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Same here for all of that except I didn't get to meet Bill Murray

I was working second shift on the 28th floor of a high rise in downtown Chicago and had shut the radio off to deal with work stuff when my wife texted me to turn the game back on because they were coming back. After we won I was sprinting around my office cheering and had to make sure not to trip and throw myself through the windows to my untimely death.

Listening to the radio feed had some iconic moments. It was Brian Barnhart, Stephen Bardo, and Loren Tate. I've tried for years to get ahold of the full recording with no luck.

I just recall that when Deron hit the three to tie it, Barnhart said "Deron Williams! Just hit the biggest shot of his life!" When the overtime period started, everyone was just like "What just happened here?"

bootsy said:

Had a massive headache that entire day stressing about this game. I wanted to play Okla. St. because I knew Arizona was super talented and athletic. Waiting for the Louisville-W. Virginia game to end increased my headache even though that was a great game. Then the the game started out great and then Arizona got hot and there was nothing we could do about it. We hadn't been dominated like this the entire season and when Dee kicked the ball out of bounds and Lute drinking out of his little cup like he had it in the bag and I was like everyone else well it was fun but Arizona's gonna do it to me again... and then... well heart of champion happened.

Click to expand...

I had wholly underestimated Arizona. I just figured it was another stop on the revenge tour against teams who had beaten us in past tourneys. Turns out they were probably the only team besides UNC that could beat us that year.