MBB : Last time they played: Syracuse 95, Kansas State 87
Rudy Hackett’s left-handed hook shot sent the game into overtime, and Syracuse used that momentum to defeat the Big Eight conference runner-up in overtime.
The Orangemen defeated Kansas State 95-87 to win the NCAA East Regional championship game in Providence, R.I. on March 22, 1975. With the victory, SU advanced to play Kentucky in the national semifinals in San Diego.
Hackett scored four points in overtime and finished with a team-high 28 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. He led the Orangemen back from a lengthy second-half deficit, tarnishing a 35-point effort from KSU’s Chuckie Williams.
Williams, who played all 45 minutes of the contest, provided the Wildcats with an apparent 20-foot game-winning shot. The bucket gave KSU a 76-74 lead with just five seconds left.
But Syracuse guard Jim Williams took the ball off the inbounds pass and raced upcourt. He found the 6-foot-9 Hackett under the basket, who flipped the ball in as time expired.
In overtime, Hackett struck again. He scored the first two points of the period, sparking an 8-2 SU run. Jim Lee’s three-point play with 1:43 remaining gave the Orangemen an 87-80 lead, sealing their 23rd win of the season.
Lee, who scored 25 points, caught fire in the opening minutes, helping Syracuse to an early 18-9 lead. Williams pulled the Wildcats back ahead with 15 first-half points. The two teams entered their respective locker rooms at halftime with KSU ahead 38-36.
They battled back and forth in the second half. An 8-0 SU run gave the Orangemen a 70-66 lead with just under three minutes left.
Williams reeled off six points in a span of 90 seconds to give Kansas State a two-point lead, but Lee tied it with a pair of free throws with 1:05 left in regulation.
Williams broke that tie when freshman Mike Evans found him in the left corner in the final seconds. The Wildcats appeared to have won, but Hackett shocked the 9,295 in attendance just moments later, and Syracuse took it from there.
-Compiled by Stephen Bailey, asst. copy editor, sebail01@syr.edu
