Friar Basketball
Home / General News / Featured / PC at UConn in 12 Minutes (2004)

PC at UConn in 12 Minutes (2004)

ryan_gomes_1

Here it is — the game that led to Jim Calhoun’s epic rant about not recruiting Ryan Gomes.

If you need a refresher:

This was Gomes’ junior year at Providence, and the second consecutive season that he returned to his home state to lead an upset of Connecticut. Providence was 12-3 entering this game against #4 Connecticut (the eventual national champions), and very well could have been 14-1 if not for buzzer beater losses to Texas and Rutgers earlier in January.

This game came two weeks after PC’s loss to Rutgers, but the Friars had bounced back, winning at Seton Hall and versus West Virginia, Villanova, and Loyola-Chicago in consecutive games.

Gomes was at the height of his powers, averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, while shooting 88% at the free throw line at this point of the season. He had expanded his game beyond the 3-point line, making him perhaps the most difficult inside-out cover in the country. He would be named a 1st Team All American at the conclusion of the season.

Providence hadn’t won a road game against a top ten team since knocking off Syracuse at the Carrier Dome in 1990, and the Friars were without starter Rob Sanders who was out with a broken finger. UConn had won 19 in a row at the Hartford Civic Center.

This was the Gomes show early, as the PC star was 9-12 from the field at one point, while his teammates were a combined 7-30. That all changed late, however, as Gomes picked up his fourth foul with eight minutes to go.

Seniors Sheiku Kabba and Chris Anrin combined to knock down a trio of 3-pointers while Gomes was on the bench in the final minutes, on an afternoon in which Providence was otherwise horrible from deep (6-23).

Gomes finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Kabba (10 points) was the only other Friar to score in double figures in a 66-56 victory.

Below is the game condensed to 12 minutes, as well as an interview with Calhoun in which he addresses his postgame outburst.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login