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26 years ago conference tournament week

Plum Street

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Jun 21, 2009
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Billet beat the buzzer and beat Georgetown. Still our best conference tournament March moment since 1989. We were down 9 at the half. Great comeback and finish to get us to the semifinals for the first and only time.

On another note , seems this year the ncaa tournament is starting later? This is usually conference tournament week.
 
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Thanks for the memories!! I was workiing at Middlesex County Court House. I listened to the game on the radio (scary to think - as I would now just stream it on my phone/ipad/etc). We went nuts when they won. Amazingly, that was the second best thing to happen to me that day; as I met my wife that night at the Ale 'n 'Wich.
 
Billet beat the buzzer and beat Georgetown. Still our best conference tournament March moment since 1989. We were down 9 at the half. Great comeback and finish to get us to the semifinals for the first and only time.

On another note , seems this year the ncaa tournament is starting later? This is usually conference tournament week.

Did he play all 4 years at RU or did he transfer?
 
Did he play all 4 years at RU or did he transfer?

Geoff played all 4 years .
Todd transferred after bannon was fired, not wanting to play for waters . When todd returned as a member of Virginia there were “billet sucks” chants from the crowd. That divided the fanbase if I recall and really upset the billet family.
 
Geoff played all 4 years .
Todd transferred after bannon was fired, not wanting to play for waters . When todd returned as a member of Virginia there were “billet sucks” chants from the crowd. That divided the fanbase if I recall and really upset the billet family.
I don’t remember the fan base be divided. Billet family wasn’t happy but honestly not sure what else they were expecting.
 
This was one of the best all time ...I was in the garden that afternoon

The game is out there on YouTube
 
Just re-watched that ending. It was crazier than I remember. Eric Clark, a 59 percent free throw shooter, hits two free throws to put Rutgers up 1 with 33 seconds left. Georgetown comes down and hits a tough foul line jumper to go back up one with 9 seconds left. Then Billet does his thing with virtually no time left.
 
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I don’t remember the fan base be divided. Billet family wasn’t happy but honestly not sure what else they were expecting.

Fanbse was divided as some fans thought that Todd deserved the boos and chants. Some fans thought he didn’t.
 
Fanbse was divided as some fans thought that Todd deserved the boos and chants. Some fans thought he didn’t.
I remember it that way as well. Some here thought it was best to let it go because of Geoff's history with the program.
 
Has to be my favorite RU sports moment (along with UL in 2006), and why GB will be #1 in my book for a long time.
 
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I was working at 111 Broadway...my first job on "the street" and unable to get to MSG so I watched the 2nd half downstairs at Suspenders, proceeded to get shitfaced, and never made it back to the office anyway. DOH!!
 
I was working at 111 Broadway...my first job on "the street" and unable to get to MSG so I watched the 2nd half downstairs at Suspenders, proceeded to get shitfaced, and never made it back to the office anyway. DOH!!
Suspenders? Sounds like a place that has caused many to not return to the office.
 
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Watching that play it was actually a terribile last possssion by rutgers off the timeout. It took way too long to get the ball to billet and we were aided by the Georgetown guy just didn’t want to foul. Billet was automatic from the line. He got the shot off with a half a second to spare.
 
I was at the game and remembered thinking wow Geoff has some vertical (the way he jumped on the scorers table to celebrate). I never saw those ups during a game. ;)
 
Thanks for the memories!! I was workiing at Middlesex County Court House. I listened to the game on the radio (scary to think - as I would now just stream it on my phone/ipad/etc). We went nuts when they won. Amazingly, that was the second best thing to happen to me that day; as I met my wife that night at the Ale 'n 'Wich.

Great story!
 
Georgetown was not good that year..the 13th seed who beat 4th seed Miami, Rutgers more impressive win was the blowout of ranked WVU the 5th seed, the day before.

that run and making the BE semis against UConn was the first time you felt RU was a Big East schools and unfortunately one of the few times in all the years in the BE you could say that. What looked to be the start of something really never took off.
 
Billet beat the buzzer and beat Georgetown. Still our best conference tournament March moment since 1989. We were down 9 at the half. Great comeback and finish to get us to the semifinals for the first and only time.

On another note , seems this year the ncaa tournament is starting later? This is usually conference tournament week.
Awesome memory, was sitting right behind Georgetown bench , courtesy of tickets from Coach Bannon, and almost jumped as high as Geoff did after that shot went in. That team only finished 6-12 in the big East, but it set up the team for the following year. I Thought that 1998-1999 team of Billet and Hodgson was going to make the NCAA ‘s but we lose a couple down the stretch , lose by 2 to seton Hall in the Meadowlands and to Georgetown at home by 2 and then Miami on the road by 5 and Miami finished 2nd that year , that cost us a bid. On February 7, we beat Providence on the road by 11and things were looking great. We finished 9-9 in the Big East , and 19-13 after the NiT split but man , I really thought that team was playing well and should have made the dance and might have win a game once they got there.
 
Awesome memory, was sitting right behind Georgetown bench , courtesy of tickets from Coach Bannon, and almost jumped as high as Geoff did after that shot went in. That team only finished 6-12 in the big East, but it set up the team for the following year. I Thought that 1998-1999 team of Billet and Hodgson was going to make the NCAA ‘s but we lose a couple down the stretch , lose by 2 to seton Hall in the Meadowlands and to Georgetown at home by 2 and then Miami on the road by 5 and Miami finished 2nd that year , that cost us a bid. On February 7, we beat Providence on the road by 11and things were looking great. We finished 9-9 in the Big East , and 19-13 after the NiT split but man , I really thought that team was playing well and should have made the dance and might have win a game once they got there.

Yes, the momentum carried into the next year . With 4 to play, in typical Rutgers fashion we collapsed and lost all 4 down the stretch. One win would have got us in. Then we went 1-1 in the BET, which included getting run out of the building by St. John’s . But we were still on the bubble ...and basically everything that could go wrong for us in other conference tournaments did. And we haven’t been back on the bubble since .
 
Yes, the momentum carried into the next year . With 4 to play, in typical Rutgers fashion we collapsed and lost all 4 down the stretch. One win would have got us in. Then we went 1-1 in the BET, which included getting run out of the building by St. John’s . But we were still on the bubble ...and basically everything that could go wrong for us in other conference tournaments did. And we haven’t been back on the bubble since .

We were on the bubble for sure in '02 and possibly in '04 but I get your point.
 
That year with Hodgson & Billet we should have made the NCAA. We got shafted as we finished the regular season as # 42 in the RPI. Emphasis though was so much at that time on how you finish the season. In today's NCAA selections we would have easily made the field. Indiana lost 12 of 13 and are still being touted as a possible NCAA team. I remember that loss to SHU when the ball went out of bounds off Hodgson's leg. What a disappointment.
 
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That year with Hodgson & Billet we should have made the NCAA. We got shafted as we finished the regular season as # 42 in the RPI. Emphasis though was so much at that time on how you finish the season. In today's NCAA selections we would have easily made the field. Indiana lost 12 of 13 and are still being touted as a possible NCAA team. I remember that loss to SHU when the ball went out of bounds off Hodgson's leg. What a disappointment.
Art, oh no the ball goes off Hodgson’s leg, one of many bitter , terrible , memories and gut punches of our Rutgers fandom.
 
That year with Hodgson & Billet we should have made the NCAA. We got shafted as we finished the regular season as # 42 in the RPI. Emphasis though was so much at that time on how you finish the season. In today's NCAA selections we would have easily made the field. Indiana lost 12 of 13 and are still being touted as a possible NCAA team. I remember that loss to SHU when the ball went out of bounds off Hodgson's leg. What a disappointment.
After recalling that bitter memory , how about a pleasant one that season when Hodgson went like 10-10 or 12-12 in a game . We were really playing good tough ball that year.
 
That year with Hodgson & Billet we should have made the NCAA. We got shafted as we finished the regular season as # 42 in the RPI. Emphasis though was so much at that time on how you finish the season. In today's NCAA selections we would have easily made the field. Indiana lost 12l

We should have won at least one of those last 4.
 
We were on the bubble for sure in '02 and possibly in '04 but I get your point.

I don’t think so. Maybe late in the year . But by the time selection Sunday rolled around in 2002 and 2004 we knew we were Not In the Tournament (and we rejoiced in the NIT) . I believe we collapsed late those years too.
In 1999, we still were on the bubble selection Sunday, even CBS sent a camera crew to watch our guys cry .
 
Billet beat the buzzer and beat Georgetown. Still our best conference tournament March moment since 1989. We were down 9 at the half. Great comeback and finish to get us to the semifinals for the first and only time.

On another note , seems this year the ncaa tournament is starting later? This is usually conference tournament week.
Watched that on the TV screen in the Busch Student Center next to Gerlanda's.
 
I don’t think so. Maybe late in the year . But by the time selection Sunday rolled around in 2002 and 2004 we knew we were Not In the Tournament (and we rejoiced in the NIT) . I believe we collapsed late those years too.
In 1999, we still were on the bubble selection Sunday, even CBS sent a camera crew to watch our guys cry .

That was a rough one to swallow

We were 18-12...and 7 of our losses were to UConn (1 seed-once), St. John’s (2 seed-three Times), and Miami (3 seed-twice), and a high seeded auburn team

We were 17-8 after playing number one UConn tough on the roads (down 5 with 7-8 min to go)...and lead in all four games we lost after that late in the second half ....

Just could not get over the hump
 
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That was a rough one to swallow

We were 18-12...and 7 of our losses were to UConn (1 seed-once), St. John’s (2 seed-three Times), and Miami (3 seed-twice), and a high seeded auburn team

We were 17-8 after playing number one UConn tough on the roads (down 5 with 7-8 min to go)...and lead in all four games we lost after that late in the second half ....

Just could not get over the hump

Yeah. But still a great moment in 1998.
 
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We also a victim of the last 10 games criteria which they claim they don't use as part of the selection process anymore. It was so arbitrary and often had more to do with who happened to be on your schedule down the stretch than anything. In the end, I think we probably overachieved to get to where we were on the bubble. We were a solid fundamental team that won a lot of games based on having some excellent foul shooters like Hodgson and Billet who allowed us to win those tight games.
 
Still the only time we made a conference tournament semifinal in the past 33 years since 1990. Billet beat the buzzer !
 
Georgetown was not good that year..the 13th seed who beat 4th seed Miami, Rutgers more impressive win was the blowout of ranked WVU the 5th seed, the day before.

that run and making the BE semis against UConn was the first time you felt RU was a Big East schools and unfortunately one of the few times in all the years in the BE you could say that. What looked to be the start of something really never took off.
For a while there it looked like Bannon could coach AND recruit. Then came the late season collapse, Dahntay Jones transfer, and of course the scandal
 
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