The BIAH Advent Calendar: Day 3

Yup, it is December. And as the temperatures outside drop, the heat is rising on college campuses across the country as basketball season kicks into full swing. But December is also a time to reflect on the past year. This December is special, because as we draw closer to the new year, we get closer to the end of the aughts. In the spirit of the holidays, we are going to celebrate the decade past by counting down the top 25 games, players, and teams of the last 10 years with the BIAH advent calender. Each day, we will be unveiling the next on each of our lists, culminating with our gift to you on Christmas Day: the best game, the best player, and the best team of the 2000's.

Here is No. 23:


2005: Vermont vs. Syracuse: UVM head coach Tom Brennan was, and for the most part still is, a legend in Burlington. But Brennan announced prior to the 2004-2005 season that it would be his last coaching the Catamounts. He picked a good time to go out, as the Cats headed into the season as one of the best mid-majors in the country with Taylor Coppenrath and TJ Sorrentine on the roster. UVM didn't disappoint that season, as they rolled through the America East regular season and conference tournament, earning a 13 seed and drawing Syracuse in the first round of the dance.

The Cats really slowed the pace against the Orange, which prevented either team from really establishing a rhythm in the game. Syracuse committed 24 turnovers in the game, and UVM capitalized as they too a five point lead, the largest of the game for either team, midway through the second half. But Syracuse would respond, as they went on an 8-2 run, capped by two Hakim Warrick dunks, to turn a 45-41 deficit into a 49-47 lead. After trading baskets, Coppenrath drilled a 17 footer to tie the game at 51. After getting a stop, Germain Mopa-Njila drove the lane and finished what seemed to be game-winner, but he had stepped out of bounds with 3.7 seconds, sending the game to OT.

Syracuse would take a two point lead with two minutes left in the OT, setting up this series.



The Cats would hang on to win 60-57. Mopa-Njila led the way with 20 points, while Sorrentine added 17.


Andrew Bogut, Utah: Bogut's career at Utah was short, but it sure was impressive. As a freshman, the 7'0" Croatian-Australian (he parents immigrated from Croatia to Melbourne) came within four rebounds of averaging a double-double as he was named Mountain West freshman of the year. Bogut would go for 17 points and 14 boards in the MWC conference title game before the Utes lost to BC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Andrew Bogut won most of the 2005 National Player of the Year awards.
(photo credit: Best Sports Photos)

After a promising performance for Australia in the 2004 Olympics (he averaged 14 and 8), people were expecting a big year from Bogut. But no one could have expected the season he had. Bogut averaged 20.4 ppg, 12.2 rpg, and 1.8 bpg while shooting 62% from the field. He was won the AP and ESPN.com player of the year awards, while also winning the Naismith and Wooden awards, the first non-American player to do so. Bogut would leave after his sophomore season, becoming the first pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.


2008 Memphis Tigers: Can you be one of the top 25 teams of the decade if your season doesn't actually exist anymore? For us, yes. The 2008 Memphis Tigers were absolutely loaded. We were used to John Calipari's Memphis team rolling through C-USA, but this season was special. The Tigers rolled through the regular season, blowing out everyone in their league en route to another perfect conference season and a 33-1 record heading into the tournament. The one loss came as then-No. 1 Memphis lost to then-No. 2 Tennessee.

Memphis rolled through C-USA in '07-'08.
(photo credit: Da Bullz)

During the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers seemed to hit their stride. All-world freshman Derrick Rose hit his stride, carrying the Tigers all the way to the title game, where the Tigers would face the Kansas Jayhawks. Memphis would take a late nine point lead, and if it weren't for some shoddy free throw shooting late, Memphis would have won the national title.

The issue for Memphis this season was never talent; it was the character of the players. Multiple players were arrested, including Robert Dozier for domestic violence. Pierre Henderson-Niles infamously slapped a UAB fan as the team got into after an exciting win in Birmingham. Three players had issues with their SAT scores, including Derrick Rose, which was eventually he reason that their season was wiped from the record books.


No. 24: UConn v. Miami, Luke Harangody, and Kansas's 2003 team
No. 25: Drake v. Western Kentucky, Wayne Simien, and Louisville's 2009 team.