Mike Montgomery was coaching the Cardinal. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
In advance of Saturday’s game at Maples Pavilion between Stanford and No. 6 Duke (3:00 PM PT on ACC Network), I thought it would be fun to take a look back at one of the early battles that Stanford had with Duke around the turn of the century:
On Wednesday, November 10th, 1999, No. 13 Stanford defeated No. 10 Duke 80-79 in overtime in New York at the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament, held in Madison Square Garden. The next year, on Wednesday, December 20th, 2000, the two teams met in the Bay Area at the Pete Newell Challenge at Oakland Arena. No. 3 Stanford once again pulled out a one point victory over No. 1 Duke 84-83 as Casey Jacobsen banked in the game winner with 3.6 seconds left.
GoStanford.com: No. 13 Cardinal holds off No. 10 Duke in Overtime
GoStanford.com: Cardinal Topples No.1 Blue Devils
What I want to do is take a closer look at Stanford’s win at the Pete Newell Challenge. It was a thrilling victory for the Cardinal and is a game that is still talked about 25+ years later out here in the Bay Area.
Duke got off to an early 18-11 lead with 12:25 to go in the first half as Shane Battier and Jason (Jay) Williams started to heat up. After a bucket inside from Battier plus the foul, Duke led 36-24 with 2:22 to go in the half as Battier was up to 17 points. Casey Jacobsen was up to 13 points for Stanford but was in need of getting more help. Jason Collins and his twin brother Jarron Collins were doing what they could inside for Stanford, bringing a good physical presence in the post on both ends of the floor. Duke would lead 43-30 at halftime after Jason Williams banked in a 3-pointer and then got a transition dunk to close the half. The Blue Devils were in firm control.
In the second half, Duke got off to a good start, leading 57-43 with 13:00 to go. After Casey Jacobsen missed a layup inside, Mike Dunleavy Jr. would get an easy layup on the other end to make it a 63-48 lead for the Blue Devils with 9:58 to go. Time would be running out for the Cardinal. A 3-point play by senior forward Ryan Mendez gave the Cardinal a spark of life as he got the hoop plus the foul inside and made the free throw, making it a 65-55 game with 8:22 to go. Dunleavy would quickly extend the lead to 13 points for the Blue Devils after making a 3-pointer from the wing, making it a 68-55 game with 8:09 to go.
A huge sequence was Stanford sophomore guard Julius Barnes rejecting Duke senior small forward Nate James at the rim, setting up a pair of foul shots on the other end for Mendez. That prevented Duke from going up by 15 points. With under 4:00 to go, Stanford trailed by 11 points (77-66). At this point, it looked like Duke was going to win rather comfortably.
But then, Stanford started to make their comeback. A bucket inside by Jacobsen made it 77-68. Stanford would then get a stop after which Mendez scored on the other end to make it 77-70 with 3:10 to go. Stanford would force another miss as one of the Collins twins got the rebound. Senior guard Michael McDonald then hit a pull up 3-pointer in transition to make it 77-73 with 2:29 to go. After a slam dunk by one of the Collins twins inside, it would be a 78-75 game as the Cardinal trailed by just three points with 2:04 to go. One of the Collins twins would find the other inside for a bucket to make it 78-77 with 1:33 to go. It was now a one point game.
A floater inside by Barnes tied the game up 79-79 with 1:10 to go. Dunleavy then banked in a shot inside to make it 81-79 with 51.2 to go. With Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier both now fouled out for Duke, Jason Collins would go to the foul line for Stanford hoping to tie it up. Collins would go 1-2, making it 81-80 with 35.7 to go.
Chris Duhon would go to the charity stripe and make both foul shots for Duke, making it an 83-80 lead for the Blue Devils with 34.7 to go. On the next possession off a miss, Jason Collins would find his brother Jarron for the bucket inside. It was now an 83-82 game with 16.9 to go as the Cardinal trailed by just one point. With 14.4 to go, Dunleavy, a 75 percent foul shooter, went to the foul line to shoot two shots for the Blue Devils. He would miss both, giving the Cardinal some daylight to win the game in regulation after securing the rebound and getting the ball across half court as Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery was screaming for the timeout. Barnes had possession and would get the timeout called with 7.0 to go. As the Golden State Warriors used to say back then, it was a great timeout.
Out of the timeout, Jacobsen got the ball for the Cardinal and went to the left baseline, shooting a shot off the glass and in, making it an 84-83 lead for Stanford with 3.6 to go. The final possession was Jason Williams attacking the rim for the win only for his floater to not drop. 84-83 No.3 Stanford defeated No. 1 Duke.
Looking back on this game and really this era, it’s a reminder of what used to be when Stanford and Duke faced each other. Two top ranked programs with Ivy League prestige duking it out (pun intended) on the hardwood. Stanford associated head coach Eric Reveno, who was an assistant coach back then under Mike Montgomery, loves to play video of this game around the team. He uses it as a reminder to the current team of what Stanford men’s basketball can be.
“It was 2000? I was gonna say, but that’s, gosh, that dates me,” current Stanford head coach Kyle Smith said when asked about the game. “Because it seems like yesterday. I just know that Casey had made a big shot, if I recall. I’ve watched him. Coach Rev runs it in the office all the time just to remind people that this is what Stanford can be. I think we had Jason or Jarron Collins open on the dump down, but Casey decided to shoot it. He made it. Those are some of the stories that I heard, but there was a little rivalry there and you know, playing Duke and was a big deal and Stanford had closed that gap and like I said, get climbing all the way to being ranked number one in the country during that little era.
“So, you know, our alums, they remember it. And these alums have been awesome for the supporting this program. You know, from day one when I got here, Casey’s been a big guy. You know, obviously he’s prominent with his broadcasting app, but he’s a guy I’ve known since he was 12. I coached his, what his older brother at San Diego, so it’s kind of neat to have this relationship with him and try to make his program, get it back to where it used to be. That’s how I feel. That’s my charge here is to try to get this program back where it was and this will be a good, we’ll find out, this good measuring stick.”
One of the Stanford alums that still remembers that game is Mark Madsen, who is now the head coach across the bay at Cal. Earlier this week, I asked Madsen if he had any memories of that game even though he was in the NBA at the time as a rookie.
“Well, yeah, I mean, I was, I think that was my rookie year in the NBA, the year before we had played Duke at Madison Square Garden and so I remember Casey making an unbelievable shot,” Madsen recalled. “And we ended up winning the game. I remember the picture of Tiger Woods. I think he was courtside. It was big. It was big for the Stanford program because I think we were 2-0 against Duke at that time. You know, in two consecutive years. And those things all ebb and flow, but it was an exciting time to be part of the Stanford family because, you know, guys stepped up and made plays and it was, basketball was big. Basketball was important in the Bay Area at the college level. And I know that over here at Cal and also at Stanford, we’re trying to get that back to where it was back then. The Warriors obviously are doing it and it’s our job specifically at Cal and I know Stanford’s doing the same thing to try to elevate the quality and the winning ways of college basketball programs here in the Bay Area.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s meeting at Maples between Stanford and No. 6 Duke, it really is cool that these two programs are going to be facing each other again with regularity. Hopefully for Stanford, the opportunity to play Duke every year will be good thing for the program as they look to get back to being the kind of program they want to be. In order to be the best, you have to play the best and in college basketball, Duke has always represented the best. It’ll be fun to see how things shake out this weekend.
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