If we had played tonight's tournament Value Add Basketball Game as a home game for Rutgers in 1976, they would have won by double digits as expected against last year's Duquesne team. Not only would they have had the normal home edge of being able to flip rolls of 36 and 66 to get a couple of extra calls, but no shots would have counted as 3-pointers since they went undefeated until the Final 4 ten years before college adopted the 3-point line.
Phil Sellers was outrebounding the Duquesne team for much of the game and finished with a dominant 18 rebounds to help Rutgers outrebound Duquesne by one of the most lopsided margins we've ever had in a Value Add game - 48-29.
However, we played on a neutral court, meaning a 3-point line, and it was Jimmy Clark who was the equalizer with 8 steals, and on 5 of them either hit a 3-pointer or dished to team leader Dae Dae Grant for a 3-pointer to constantly bring Duquesne back. Duquesne won the steal battle against a Rutgers team that also had exceptional ball hawks 15-10, and won the three-point battle 9-2.
The clash in styles lead to one of our greatest games ever with 18 lead changes and 10 tie games.
Here is the play by play starting with the 8 possessions (4:35) to play in regulation.
8 possessions to play - With Duquesne leading 63-60, Jake DiMichele has a chance for a back breaker when he is fouled on a 3-point shot. However, as a 60% free throw shooter (1-12 good, 13-20 miss) he only hits the 3rd of 3 freethrows to leave it within reach 64-60.
7 to play - Both teams miss, but Rutgers defense on the glass continues, as James Bailey grabs and offensive rebound and passes to Eddie Jordan, who scores to make it 64-62.
6 to play - Grant and Sellers trade baskets, 66-64 Duquesne.
5 to play - Sellers scores again after a Duquesne miss, 66-66.
4 to play - Duquesne misses, and Mike Dabney scores to give Rutgers the 68-66 lead.
3 to play - Fousseyni Drame hits a 3-pointer, but Dabney hits a bucket to take the lead back for Rutgers 70-69.
2 to play - Both teams come up with stops but Dabney's steal to start the back and forth creates an extra possession (in the final 9 possessions if a guard comes up with a steal, or a forward comes up with a steal on an odd number roll of 11, 13, 15 or 31 then an extra possession is created, or if there is a foul on either team an extra possessions is created.
Extra possession. Both teams comes up with stops, so it is still 70-69 Rutgers.
1 possession to play - Drame draws a foul to create and extra possession, but hits only one of two free throws to pull within 72-70, however Rutgers turns it over.
Extra possession - David Dixon powers inside for the game tying score to make it 72-72. On Rutgers chance to win it, Bailey misses but Rutgers continues to dominate the board as Sellers and Dabney grab rebounds both both miss follow-ups and finally Dixon grabs the defensive rebound to end regulation tied 72-72 with Duquesne still having a chance to advance with a huge upset after being a 13-point underdog.
Overtime
9 possessions to play - Neither team scores, but another Clark steal creates and extra possession.
Extra possession - Neither team score, but Sellers grabs one of his 18 rebounds and feeds to Dabney, who scores to make it 74-72 Rutgers.
8 possessions to play - both teams turn it over.
7 possessions to play - Clark hits another 3-pointer to make it 75-74 Duquesne, but Jordan scores at the other end to give Rutgers back the 76-75 edge.
6 possessions to play - both teams turn it over.
5 possessions to play - Clark hits his 4th and final three to make it 78-76 Duquesne, but Sellers hits his 5th and final basket to tie it at 78-78.
4 possessions to play - Dabney scores to give Rutgers the 80-78 lead.
3 possessions to play - Clark and Bailey trade baskets to leave Rutgers up 82-80. However,
2 possessions to play - Grant and Dabney trade baskets to make it 84-82 Rutgers.
1 possession to play - Duquesne misses and Bailey grabs the rebound. In order to force another possession, Duquesne uses the "foul or turnover" strategy always used in this possession. Instead of rolling the normal 4 dice (1-8 dice to see which offensive players gets the ball, two 6-sided dice to get an 11-66 defensive roll, and 20-sided die for if there is a shot) on the first three dice are rolled and the result is a foul of the player who gets the ball UNLESS the result of the defensive dice is a steal or turnover - which allows a final trip on a fast break by the defense or a ball thrown out of bounds quickly by the offense for a turnover with enough time for one possession.
The strategy works as a 43 is a turnover by Bailey, in his 41-43 turnover range, and the extra possession is created for Duquesne still trailing 84-82.
Extra possession - Jake DiMichele gets a shot off but just misses on a "12" (a 10-11 would have resulted in him being fouled for two final shots) and Sellers grabs his 18th rebound to seal the 84-82 win.
Rutgers survives and will play the winner of 1953 LSU and 2021 Colorado in the Sweet 16 of this tournament.
Here is the complete box score from one of our best games ever.
| Pos | Duquesne 2024 | Pts | 3pt | 2pt | FT | Att | Reb | Stl | Blk | Fl | Ht | Season Actual |
|---|
| 1-PG | Jimmy Clark | 24 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 6'3 | 15.0 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 3.8 Ast |
| 2-SG | Dae Dae Grant | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6'2 | 16.4 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 2.4 Ast |
| 3-SF | Jake DiMichele | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6'4 | 6.4 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 1.0 Ast |
| 4-PF | Fousseyni Drame | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6'7 | 6.9 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 1.1 Ast |
| 5-C | David Dixon | 12 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6'9 | 7.2 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 0.7 Ast |
| 1-PG | Andrei Savrasov | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6'7 | 5.9 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 1.1 Ast |
| 2-SG | Kareem Rozier | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5'9 | 5.2 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 2.4 Ast |
| 3-SF | Tre Williams | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6'7 | 3.6 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.6 Ast |
| 4-PF | Jakub Necas | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6'8 | 2.6 Pts, 1.9 Reb, 0.4 Ast |
| 5-C | Dusan Mahorcic | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6'10 | 4.5 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.5 Ast |
| | Dukes Totals | 82 | 9 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 29 | 15 | 7 | 14 | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pos | Rutgers 1976 | Pts | 3pt | 2pt | FT | Att | Reb | Stl | Blk | Fl | Hts | Season Actual |
| 1-PG | Eddie Jordan | 18 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6'1 | 14.1 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 5.3 Ast |
| 2-SG | Mike Dabney | 19 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6'4 | 19.1 Pts, 4.5 Reb, 3.5 Ast |
| 3-SF | Phil Sellers | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6'5 | 19.2 Pts, 10.2 Reb, 3.2 Ast |
| 4-PF | Hollis Copeland | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6'6 | 12.9 Pts, 6.7 Reb, 1.5 Ast |
| 5-C | James Bailey | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6'9 | 8.5 Pts, 7.1 Reb, 0.6 Ast |
| 1-PG | Steve Hefele | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6'5 | 3.4 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 0.9 Ast |
| 2-SG | Mark Conlin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6'2 | 2.1 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 1.4 Ast |
| 3-SF | Jeff Kleinbaum | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6'2 | 2.7 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.2 Ast |
| 4-PF | Mike Palko | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6'7 | 1.9 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.2 Ast |
| 5-C | Abdel Anderson | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6'7 | 9.4 Pts, 4.4 Reb, 0.6 Ast |
| | Scarlett Knights | 84 | 1 | 37 | 7 | 9 | 48 | 11 | 6 | 18 | | |
Still 3 for 3 on scratch favorites winning this round, but that was close:
| Seed | Men's unbeaten | Player #All-Time Rank | Round of 32 & Sweet 16 |
|---|
| 1 | Connecticut 2023, #7 | Adama Sanogo | bye (next Gonz-TX) |
| 2 | Connecticut 1996, #14 | Ray Allen #52 | bye (next SMU-KS) |
| 3 | Western Kentucky 1966, #24 | Clem Haskins | bye (next UNC-Xavier) |
| 4 | Houston 2021, #26 | Quentin Grimes | bye (next Duke-Mia) |
| 5 | Purdue 2024, #35 | Zach Edey | W 69-42 vs. UMass 1971, #219 (2nd R Gtown-ASU) |
| 6 | Michigan 1993, #36 | Chris Webber #65 | W 73-62 vs Gonzaga 1981, #216 (if W TN-Ore St) |
| 7 | Rutgers 1976, #39 | Phil Sellers | W 84-82 OT vs. Duquesne 2024, #203 (Col-LSU) |
| 8 | North Carolina 1972, #40 | Bob McAdoo #54 | L 69-71 vs Louisville 1968, #178 (eliminated) |
| 9 | UCLA 2008, #44 | Russell Westbrook #46 | v nc stare 2024, #153 (if W UNC-Lville) |
| 10 | Colorado 2021, #56 | McKinley Wright | vs. LSU 1953, #147 (if W Rutg-Duqu) |
| 11 | Tennessee 2023, #59 | Santiago Vescovi | vs. Oregon St. 1990, #140 (if W MI-Gonz) |
| 12 | Georgetown 1989, #63 | Alonzo Mourning #69 | vs. Arizona St. 2009, #139 (if W Purdue) |
| 13 | Duke 2015, #65 | Justise Winslow | vs. Miami 2023, #131 (if W Houston) |
| 14 | North Carolina 2022, #67 | Armando Bacot | vs. Xavier 2023, #86 (if W West KY) |
| 15 | SMU 2017, #70 | Semi Ojeleye | vs. Kansas 2022, #79 (if W Uconn 1996) |
| 16 | Texas 2023, #71 | Marcus Carr | vs. Gonzaga 2023, #76 (if W Uconn 2023) |
| 17 | Gonzaga 2023, #76 | Drew Timme | vs. Texas 2023, #71 (if W Uconn 2023) |
| 18 | Kansas 2022, #79 | Ochai Agbaji | vs. SMU 2017, #70 (if W Uconn 1996) |
| 19 | Xavier 2023, #86 | Jack Nunge | vs. North Carolina 2022, #67 (if W West KY) |
| 20 | Miami 2023, #131 | Norchad Omier | vs. Duke 2015, #65 (if W Houston) |
| 21 | Arizona St. 2009, #139 | James Harden #33 | vs. Georgetown 1989, #63 (if W Purdue) |
| 22 | Oregon St. 1990, #140 | Gary Payton #48 | vs. Tennessee 2023, #59 (if W MI-Gonz) |
| 23 | LSU 1953, #147 | Bob Pettit #31 | vs. Colorado 2021, #56 (if W Rutg-Duqu) |
| 24 | NC St. 2024, #153 | D.J. Burns | vs. UCLA 2008, #44 (if W UNC-Lville) |
| 25 | Louisville 1968, #178 | Wes Unseld #60 | W 71-69 vs. North Carolina 1972, #40 (UCLA-NC St) |
| 26 | Duquesne 2024, #203 | Jimmy Clark | L 84-82 OT vs Rutgers 1976 (Eliminated) |
| 27 | Gonzaga 1981, #216 | John Stockton #25 | vs. Michigan 1993, #36 Eliminated |
| 28 | Massachusetts 1971, #219 | Julius Erving #19 | L 42-69 vs. Purdue 2024 #35, Eliminated, |
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