On This Date: University of Detroit 71, Memphis State 66
Feb 28, 2022 16:25:39 GMT -5
titantarheel likes this
Post by motorcitysam on Feb 28, 2022 16:25:39 GMT -5
On this date, February 28, in 1985, the U-D Titans upset third ranked Memphis State 71-66 before a crowd of over 8,000 in Calihan Hall. This is probably my personal favorite of all the great Titan wins for several reasons: I was a U-D student at the time, I was in attendance for the game (sitting in the bleachers with my friend Mike, who some of you know), I was friends with some of the Titan players, Memphis State was considered a national championship contender, etc. What a game. Hard to believe it was 37 years ago. I'm getting old.
The Commish lists this game as #12 on the list of great Titan wins, and objectively I can't argue with that. It says a lot about just how many big wins we've had in our history. But it's still my favorite of them all.
The Commissioner had this to say about the game in his rankings.
12. February 28, 1985: Detroit 71, #4 Memphis 66.
The rejuvenated Titans had won 10 of their last 12 as #4 Memphis, 23-2, came to Calihan to close out the 1985 regular season.
Before a crowd of 8133, the largest at Calihan in six years, the Titans jumped out early, leading 41-29 at the half. Memphis kept chipping away in the second half, cutting the lead to 65-62 with two minutes to play, but the Titans hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Greg Wendt scored 23 and Keith Gray 21 for Detroit, but the key to the win was the play of sophomore Brian Humes, who held Memphis All-American Keith Lee to just 5 of 18 shooting from the floor, while scoring 13 points himself.
With the win, the Titans had reason to hope for an NIT bid, but a first round loss to Xavier in the MCC tournament killed that possibility. The Titans’ win has also been tainted over the years by allegations that Memphis threw the game. There is some belief that Memphis players were initially trying to simply make sure that the Tigers won the game without beating the spread, only to have the Titans nab the whole thing. Arguably Memphis coach Dana Kirk’s post game comments - “Sometimes you come into a place like Detroit and the players don’t know what to expect, so they don’t play hard” – support the idea that Memphis players simply seemed lazy in the early going. However, the point-shaving allegations were never proven.
The Titans finished the year at 16-13, their only winning season between 1981 and 1993. To date, this game remains the Titans’ last victory over a Top 10 ranked team – far and away our longest drought ever.
For a look at how the game was perceived on a national basis, below you will see links to the coverage in the LA Times and the NY Times. In the LA coverage, you'll also see that Detroiter Robert Godbolt had a big game for Louisiana Tech that same day, and Butler beat Notre Dame.
www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-01-sp-23792-story.html
www.nytimes.com/1985/03/01/sports/college-basketball-memphis-state-toppled-by-detroit.html
I can't be the only member of this board who was at this game. Who else was there?
The Commish lists this game as #12 on the list of great Titan wins, and objectively I can't argue with that. It says a lot about just how many big wins we've had in our history. But it's still my favorite of them all.
The Commissioner had this to say about the game in his rankings.
12. February 28, 1985: Detroit 71, #4 Memphis 66.
The rejuvenated Titans had won 10 of their last 12 as #4 Memphis, 23-2, came to Calihan to close out the 1985 regular season.
Before a crowd of 8133, the largest at Calihan in six years, the Titans jumped out early, leading 41-29 at the half. Memphis kept chipping away in the second half, cutting the lead to 65-62 with two minutes to play, but the Titans hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Greg Wendt scored 23 and Keith Gray 21 for Detroit, but the key to the win was the play of sophomore Brian Humes, who held Memphis All-American Keith Lee to just 5 of 18 shooting from the floor, while scoring 13 points himself.
With the win, the Titans had reason to hope for an NIT bid, but a first round loss to Xavier in the MCC tournament killed that possibility. The Titans’ win has also been tainted over the years by allegations that Memphis threw the game. There is some belief that Memphis players were initially trying to simply make sure that the Tigers won the game without beating the spread, only to have the Titans nab the whole thing. Arguably Memphis coach Dana Kirk’s post game comments - “Sometimes you come into a place like Detroit and the players don’t know what to expect, so they don’t play hard” – support the idea that Memphis players simply seemed lazy in the early going. However, the point-shaving allegations were never proven.
The Titans finished the year at 16-13, their only winning season between 1981 and 1993. To date, this game remains the Titans’ last victory over a Top 10 ranked team – far and away our longest drought ever.
For a look at how the game was perceived on a national basis, below you will see links to the coverage in the LA Times and the NY Times. In the LA coverage, you'll also see that Detroiter Robert Godbolt had a big game for Louisiana Tech that same day, and Butler beat Notre Dame.
www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-01-sp-23792-story.html
www.nytimes.com/1985/03/01/sports/college-basketball-memphis-state-toppled-by-detroit.html
I can't be the only member of this board who was at this game. Who else was there?