During a recent appearance at Run it again On the show, Mike Bibby recalled the experience of the 1997 NCAA Tournament. The NBA veteran explained that his team had almost no pressure on them to perform because they were the losers of the tournament. He also talked about facing Paul Pierce at the time and how his team was able to take the win and mark his name in the NCAA history books.
Bibby played for the Arizona Wildcats from 1996 to 1998. His reputation as a basketball player skyrocketed once they won the NCAA tournament and as a result of that, the Vancouver Grizzlies made him a first-round pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.
, second general election. Bibby had a good career in the NBA playing for almost 14 years and during his time with the Miami Heat, he was a teammate of LeBron James.
But, the way his team won the 1997 NCAA championship, he remains the highlight of his basketball career.
Bibby said his team almost didn’t make it to the 1997 NCAA championship because they were losing games early on. After that, no one had any real expectations of the Wildcats and that might have driven them to seek the throne since they had nothing to lose. Despite that, their journey was not going to be easy as they had to face some of the strongest teams and players like Paul Pierce.
He said, “There was really no pressure on us, no one expected us to do any damage, we were supposed to lose every round… We just went in and played.”
As difficult as the start of the Arizona Wildcats’ 1997 campaign was, as they progressed through the tournament, the competition became tougher. But, to everyone’s surprise, they emerged victorious, beating the best teams and creating several records in the process. To this day, they are the only team in the NCAA history to beat three number one seeds in the tournament. They beat Kansas, North Carolina and then Kentucky in the finals.
The final game was one for the ages, as beat Kentucky 84-79, according to Sports Reference. Bibby and Miles Simon led the charge for their team and Bibby finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Simon dropped 30 points with three rebounds and one assist. An added layer of pride in their victory is the fact that the Kentucky team was comprised of five future NBA players and two NBA coaches.
