The Most Famous Stopped Clock in NCAA History

Thirty years ago, a stuck clock led to one of the most controversial games in college basketball history.  The error was so contagious, that Warner Wolf couldn't find the videotape of the game -- and had to describe it to his audience!  (Click here to watch Warner's original broadcast, and the new remastered version with game footage added).

The date: March 21, 1986.  The place: Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.  The contest: Michigan State vs. Kansas in the NCAA Midwest Regional, starring Scott Skiles for the Spartans, and Danny Manning for the Jayhawks.

Everything about this game sets the hearts of 80s sports nostalgia fans a-flutter -- even the CBS Sports pregame show, where Verne Lundquist introduces his very young play-by-play man as "former Harvard player James Brown" (JB didn't start sportscasting nationally until 1987).

Like most college basketball games, each team had its peaks and valleys, exchanging the lead several times.  With 2:20 remaining, Michigan State's Vernon Carr made a free throw to put the Spartans up by four.

And that's when things started to go a little sideways.

Kansas' Greg Dreiling inbounded the ball to Cedric Hunter, who let the ball bounce to about half-court before he picked up his dribble -- presumably to save time.  What he didn't realize is that the clock never started at all.

Both teams continued to play, and Kansas' Ron Kellogg made a put-back to bring them within two.  Michigan State inbounded the ball and started up the court.  Still, the clock stayed at 2:20.

Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote noticed the error, and dashed to the scorer's table to holler at the operator (at which point the clock did resume).  The Spartans hesitated, as if looking for a timeout, but then continued playing.  Skiles drove to the lane, and appeared to be fouled by Kansas' Ron Kellogg -- his 5th foul, sending him out of the game (replays showed that Kellogg was barely involved in the play).

As Lundquist points out in the broadcast, both coaches were simultaneously arguing with officials.  Jud Heathcote demanded satisfaction for the 15 seconds lost by the clock error.  Meanwhile Kansas coach Larry Brown, livid about the bogus call against Kellogg, received a technical foul.

During this stoppage in play, could the clock error have been resolved?  Warner Wolf seemed to think so; his "Boo of the Week" went to the game officials for not taking any action to resolve the issue.  After the game, NCAA officials claimed that time cannot be added or subtracted to a game clock unless the exact amount is known.  Ironically, Kemper Arena had experienced similar clock errors the previous week at the NAIA tournament -- but assuming it to be a one-time problem, no NCAA official was keeping backup time.  While Warner's staff couldn't find his videotape, we've re-created the highlight here to confirm that exactly 15 seconds was lost:

The story doesn't end well for Michigan State.  Down by six with 1:08 to go, Kansas began fouling Michigan State players -- who all missed their free throws.  Kansas tied the game with ten seconds to go, and dominated the overtime to defeat Michigan State 96-86.

So did the clock operator cost Michigan State the game?  Both sides have a decent case.  Had the clock ticked off those 15 seconds, Jud Heathcote might not have been distracted, and more importantly, Kansas might not have had time to score their tying basket with 10 seconds left.  However, Michigan State wouldn't have needed the clock defense if they had made any of their free throws (or, indeed, not bottomed out during the overtime).

Kansas ended up losing to Duke in the 1986 semifinal, but returned two years later (with Danny Manning as a senior) to win the championship.  Manning ended up playing 15 years in the NBA, and then returned to Kansas -- winning a second championship twenty years later as an assistant coach.  Scott Skiles also went pro, playing for the Orlando Magic (he is now their head coach).  You might also recognize Michigan State's Carlton Valentine, whose son Denzel Valentine just completed his senior season with Michigan State as college basketball's National Player of the Year.

Michigan State-Kansas is now an annual rivalry, and ironically, both teams' current head coaches were actually at the clock game 30 years ago.  Michigan State's Tom Izzo was a graduate assistant in 1986, and claimed to be the first one to point out the clock error to Heathcote (who subsequently "told me where to go.")  Kansas' Bill Self was also a graduate assistant, but claims he "didn't have many responsibilities" at the time.

And finally, like many other sports, NCAA basketball now embraces videotape replay for all sorts of plays -- who knocked the ball out of bounds, was a three-point shooter on the line, or even the flagrancy of a foul.  Many complain that the incessant stop-and-looks make the ending of college basketball games a laborious affair.  But in 1986, Michigan State fans would have been thrilled to wait, if they had gotten their 15 seconds back.

Warner Wolf's Plays of the Month
March 28, 1986

• 0:00 The lore around this desperation buzzer-beater by Chris Coles of Buena Vista High School in Saginaw, Michigan has outlasted even the school itself -- it closed in 2013.  Not only was this basket Coles' only two points in the game (no 3-pointers in high school back then), it was Coles' final shot in competitive basketball -- check out this documentary about the shot, including an interview with "fainting" coach Norwaine Reed.  Coles stayed in the game, however; he now coaches for Olivet College in Michigan.
• 3:11 Lou Carnesecca did indeed win the Big East in 1986 -- but never won the Final Four in his 25+ years of coaching.  However, respect for Carnesecca runs so deep that St. John's basketball venue is now called Carnesecca Arena.
• 3:19 Rare mistake from Warner: hall-of-famer Gary Suter played for the Calgary Flames, not the Red Wings.
• 3:25 According to HockeyFights.com, George McPhee got the best of Rick Tocchet in this particular fight, and lead the Rangers with 8 fights that year -- but Tocchet had 23!
• 3:46 Stan Jefferson, who made that catch during his brief career with the Mets, eventually became a NYC cop, who was on duty (and on the scene) during 9/11. 
• 4:00 Ulf Findeisen's crazy ski-flying accident was one of several that occurred during the March 9, 1986 event in Kulm, Bad Mittendorf, Austria.  In fact, Findeisen didn't "get up and try it again"; his injuries prevented him from ever competing again.  After events like this, most ski-jumpers adopted the "flying V" form, which is much more stable.
• 4:16 Calvin Peete didn't just ace this hole at the USF&G Classic; he won the entire event -- his final PGA Tour win, before passing away last year.