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If you were to describe the experience of Cal basketball to a friend, which game or moment would you show them and why?
thedozen: Basketball #1: It happened on February 9, 2002. I was behind the basket at Haas Pavilion as Amit Tamir scored 39 points against Oregon. The 13th ranked Ducks were a quality team, boasting NBA-bound players Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour. Tamir hit a crucial bucket to send the game to overtime and scored the first five points of the second and final OT period. He finished 14-19 from the floor including 5-6 from three-point range to spark Cal's biggest comeback win since 1994. Honorable mention would go to Shantay Legans for scoring 22 of his own. Final score: Cal 107, Oregon 103.
Basketball #2: Even though I saw the game on TV, what sticks in my mind is the night of February 5, 2015. The Bears once led by 14 but seemed to be headed toward a loss with just 10 seconds remaining in the contest. After USC's Jordan McLaughlin opened the door a crack by missing a free throw, David Kravish snared the rebound. He lobbed the ball to Tyrone Wallace who had to leap to secure the pass. Wallace moved the ball up the floor before pump faking, pulling up in front of two defenders, and nailing a three-pointer. That single play visibly stunned every Trojan on the court and caused exuberant bedlam in Berkeley. Final score: Cal 70, USC 69.
boomtho: 2009 Cal vs UCLA. We had College Gameday on campus, Bob Knight riled up the student section and we roared right back, the stands were packed 2-3 hours before the game... and then some bullshit officiating happened, Darren Collison happened, and we couldn't claw all the way back.
Nik Jam: Even in down years the team can still be fun to watch, like the sweep of USC and UCLA with two buzzer beaters in 2015. The Bench is very loud and supportive and adds to the experience.