December 30, 1964 ECAC Holiday Festival - SemiFinal Round Madison Square Garden New York, NY Fifty years ago, in a game which featured two of the top college basketball players in the country - Bill Bradley of Princeton University and Cazzie Russell of the University of Michigan - met in the semifinals of the ECAC Hoiday Festival at Madison Square Garden - when the Garden was still located at 49th Street and 8th Avenue. In a close contest, after Bradley fouled out with 41 points, Michigan chipped away at a large deficit until Russell hit a 15-foot jump shot with just 00:03 remaining to provide the margin of victory for Michigan. The significance of this game was that it marked the return of meaningful high-profile college basketball to the Garden following the controversial point-shaving scandals of the late 1940s and early 1950s, which had robbed New York City colleges of the credibility to host meaningful games and/or tournaments. Also, In a year when the Civil Rights Act had been deemed the capstone on President Lyndon Johnsons Great Society, the racial overtones of this classic matchup of white star (Bradley) versus African-American star (Russell) were a significant component of the pre-game hype. Ironically, Russell and Bradley would be Knick teammates from 1967 through 1971 - helping the Knicks win their first NBA championship in May 1970. Here is an excellent account of the backdrop and details of this historic college basketball game, provided by the ECAC website: Just before the calendar turned from 1964 to 1965, six of the nation’s premier college basketball teams descended upon New York City for the 13th annual ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. The tournament also featured the country’s two best players, as Princeton University’s Bill Bradley and University of Michigan’s Cazzie Russell were National Player of the Year candidates and both had participated in the 1964 Olympic Trials. After Bradley and the Tigers had knocked off Syracuse University and Russell and the Wolverines beat Manhattan College, it set up the matchup everyone in college basketball was hoping for. Michigan entered the ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal against Princeton as the No. 1 team in the country and a 12-point favorite. In the first-half, Bradley lived up to, if not exceeded the hype going into the contest as he poured in 23 points, including the final 12 for his team as they went to the locker room up 39-37. Russell, on the other hand, hampered by a shoe that did not fit and smothering defense from Princeton’s Don Rodenbach, finished the opening half with six points. The game that was billed as Princeton vs. Michigan with Bradley vs. Russell as the undercard was quickly becoming Bradley vs. Michigan, with the underdog taking the upper hand into the second-half. When the teams hit the floor for the last half, Rodenbach picked up two early fouls and was forced to the bench. With the team’s point guard watching for much of the start of the second-half, Bradley moved to the back-court and assumed the ball handling responsibilities on top of being the primary scorer and rebounder for the Tigers. Bradley thrived as the floor-general for Princeton, staking them to a 12-point lead with 4:37 left in the game before he committed his fifth personal foul, ending his historic evening. Bradley finished the night with 41 points, nine rebounds, four assists and defensively, he held the man he was guarding to just one point and came away with a handful of steals. Upon exiting the court, he received a four-minute standing ovation from the 18,499-person sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. I didnt think that any one fellow on any club could dominate a game against another team, Michigans Dave Strack said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. I knew he was great—Cazzie had played with him in the Olympic trials and told me he was. We were willing to give him even 35 or 40 points, but I just never thought that one man could control a game like that.” After a Gary Walters layup extended the Princeton lead to 14, Michigan mounted a monumental comeback over the game’s final three minutes, holding the Tigers to just one shot during that span. Thanks in large part to Russell, George Pomey and John Thompson, the Wolverines used a full-court press to force multiple turnovers that led to easy baskets. With under a minute left in regulation, Pomey stole an inbound pass and found a cutting Thompson to tie the game at 78 with 36 seconds left to go. Michigan had the ball with less than 10 seconds to play and gave it to its best player. Russell took the ball at the top of the key, drove left and hit a 15-foot jumper with three seconds left to win it, sending the top-ranked Wolverines to the tournament final. The two teams would again go head-to-head in a tournament setting, the second game coming in the 1965 NCAA Final Four. Michigan would again come out victorious before falling in the National Championship Game to John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins. In the consolation game, Bradley finished his college career by scoring 58 points in a 118-82 win over Wichita St., en route to being named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Bradley and Russell would go on to become teammates in the NBA with the New York Knicks from 1967-1971. In 1970, they combined with Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett and Dave DeBusschere to lead the Knicks to the NBA Championship and two seasons later, were elected NBA All-Stars. The ECAC, proud partners of the 2013 Madison Square Garden Holliday Festival, is pleased to salute the 1964-1965 Princeton University and University of Michigan Men’s Basketball teams. For more information on the 2013 Holiday Festival, click here.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 02:07:53 +0000
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