Eight Crazy Nights in Arizona Wildcats History
By Brad Malone
As Arizona Wildcats fans celebrate the Holidays, ZonaZealots brings you ‘Eight Crazy Nights of Arizona Wildcats History.’
Arizona Wildcats Athletics is on the minds of many elementary school kids, but one of the best things for some kids about being in school is knowing Christmas is coming.
That’s until you meet a kid on the playground who tells you his or her family celebrates Hanukkah and they gets gifts each night for eight nights.
Dreidels and gifts for over a week made Hanukkah sound pretty cool as a kid.
As an adult, I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to Hanukkah knowledge. I don’t know much more about Hanukkah than I did as a child, except that Adam Sandler wrote and performed the ‘Hanukkah Song’ and made an animated movie called ‘8 Crazy Nights.’
During this holiday season, I wondered how could I link this to the Arizona Wildcats, so I came up with “Eight Crazy Nights” in Arizona Wildcats history.
1. McClutch
Jan. 23, 1986
Arizona 63 Oregon State 62 (OT)
Remember the most famous play in college basketball history?
to Christian Laettner in 1992?
Kentucky fans are still crying about it, even though they have hung seven Final Four and three National Title banners since the incident 23 years ago.
Arizona had a similar play go their way with much less on the line.
The Cats trailed by one in overtime and had to inbound the ball under their own basket. Steve Kerr threw a baseball pass the length of the court. The ball ricocheted into the hands of Craig McMillan. The sophomore laid it in at the buzzer and the McClutch was born.
Sep. 20, 2014
Arizona 49 Cal 45
When Cal came to town last season, Wildcats fans were not expecting much of a game from one of the previous doormats of the Pac-12.
Thirty-six Arizona points in a quarter sounds crazy. The craziest part was how the final six points were scored.
Trailing by two the Cats were well out of field goal range. With one last play, Arizona would have to rely on the arm of freshman quarterback Anu Solomon.
RELATED STORY –> Top 5 Anu Solomon Games at Arizona
The fans who stayed were in for a treat of football biblical proportions. Solomon launched the ball 60 yards down field right into the hands of Austin Hill for the win.
3. 2012 New Mexico Bowl/Arizona Vs. Florida at McKale
Dec. 15, 2012
New Mexico Bowl: Arizona 49 Nevada 48
McKale: Arizona 65 Florida 64
Matt Scott throws the ball …
The first year of the Rich Rodriguez era brought Arizona fans one of the greatest comebacks in school history.
The Cats went bowling in New Mexico and were trailing by 13 to the Nevada Wolfpack with under two minutes left.
Senior quarterback Matt Scott led the Cats downfield for a quick score. After a successful onside kick, Scott took the Cats to another trip into the red zone. Scott found Tyler Slavin for a touchdown and the Cats escaped with a one-point win.
Later that evening Rich Rod and company were showered with applause when they showed off their New Mexico hardware at halftime of the Arizona/Florida game at McKale Center.
The battle of two top ten basketball teams ended in another great comeback.
The Cats trailed by six with under a minute left. A sweet Mark Lyons layup late in the game gave the Cats the lead for good and Arizona won another game in which the ghosts of McKale seemed to play a big part.
Both teams won by one point. Will it be Deja Vu this weekend?
4. Miracle at the Madhouse at McDowell
Feb 11, 1996
Arizona 79 Cincinnati 76
Before Miles Simon said Championship in 1997, he created a frenzy for the Arizona fans who attended the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats up in Phoenix at the 7up Shootout in 1996.
With the game tied and only seconds remaining in a chaotic Bearcats half of the court, Simon picked up a loose ball and let it fly from 70 feet.
The bank was open on that Sunday. Simon’s heave banked in off the backboard and the Cats won a classic at the buzzer against Bob Huggins squad.
5. Skowron comes through in the clutch
Nov 15, 2014; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats place kicker Casey Skowron (41) kicks a field goal during the second quarter against the Washington Huskies at Arizona Stadium. Arizona won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Nov. 15, 2014
Arizona 27 Washington 26
Last year Arizona fans talked about Casey Skowron’s missed field goal against USC as much as they talked about no bye weeks this year. Skowron had the last laugh against the doubters vs. the Huskies.
He turned heads in Arizona Stadium when he scored a touchdown on a fake field goal in the second quarter.
What was crazy about this game is the Cats probably should have never been in a position to win. It appeared all Washington had to do was take a few knees and the game would be over. At worst they would have had to punt with only seconds left on the clock. The Huskies decided to run the ball one last time with under a minute left and the ball popped loose.
The Cats recovered and a few plays later Skowron was the hero with a game-winning field goal as time expired.
RELATED STORY –> Arizona Wildcats Kicker Casey Skowron: Villan to Hero
6. Lute’s First Win in Tempe
Feb. 17, 1984
May 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Former college basketball coach Lute Olson smiles before a press conference for Steve Kerr (not pictured) as the new head coach for the Golden State Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona 65 ASU 64
The last time Arizona Basketball had a losing record was in Lute Olson’s inaugural year in 1983-84 when the Cats finished 11-17. The second half of the year is when the Cats put it all together and won six of their last eight games. The first game they won in that stretch was on the road against their rival from Tempe.
With under a minute left the Devils led by nine points. Considering there was no three-point shot at the time, the Cats had a tough hill to climb.
Arizona chipped away and had a chance to take the lead with under ten seconds left. Junior college transfer Eddie Smith made an and one. His free throw gave the Cats a one-point lead and eventual victory, to the shock of the Tempe fans who were still in the stands.
7. The Streak Lives
Nov. 28, 1987
Arizona 24 Arizona State 24
There was a time in the 1980’s when Arizona had a nine-game non-losing streak to that team up North. It almost ended at five games in 1987, but strange things happen in rivalry clashes. The Devils had the game all but won. All Sparky had to do was punt the ball away and the game would be just about history.
Sparky muffed the punt and Arizona defensive great, Chuck Cecil recovered setting up a game-tying field goal by Gary Coston. Overtime did not exist in 1987, so the Cats unbeaten streak to the Devils continued thanks to a 24-24 tie.
8. Comeback Cats
Jan. 24, 2009
Arizona 96 Houston 90 (OT)
With 52 seconds left, the Cats trailed the Houston Cougars by 10 points.
Arizona improbably shaved the lead to three with 10 seconds left. Nic Wise tied the game with a three-pointer and the Cats pushed the Cougars into overtime.
The Cats would prevail 96-90.
Besides the improbable comeback, the game against Houston is most remembered for Aubrey Coleman stomping on Chase Budinger’s face.
Next: Arizona Wildcats: The Twelve Wildcats Days of Christmas
Do you remember a crazy night in Arizona history we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments below or Tweet it to us at @zonazealots.
Happy Holidays and Bear Down!