3: 1992 James Forest’s first career 3 ball
Georgia Tech beating USC in the round of 32 was perhaps one of the most surprising things to happen in the history of college basketball. Georgia Tech needed the stars to align if they even wanted a shot at winning this one, and boy did they.
Coach Bobby Cremins led the Yellow Jackets to a 23-12 record that landed them a No. 7 seed, where they faced off against the heavily favored USC Trojans in the round of 32. They were able to hang around for most of the game until Rodney Chatman hit a shot with 2 seconds remaining giving USC a two point advantage. Georgia Tech had to travel the length of the floor and make any shot in order to keep their tournament hopes alive against USC.
After a pass was deflected out-of-bounds, leaving 0.8 seconds left, the Yellow Jackets in-bounded the ball at half court. Matt Geiger was the in-bounder and as the referee handed him the ball, he could not find one of his guards to pass it to. So, to avoid the five-second violation, he threw the ball to forward James Forest at the three-point line. Mind you, Forest had only attempted three, 3-point shots that year and had not found the bottom of the net on any of them. But as the clock hit zero and he released his shot, the ball sailed through the air and swished for 3 points.
This game will forever go down in the history of NCAA basketball as one of the all-time greats. It had all the proper elements: a David vs. Goliath story, back and forth scoring, and an unlikely hero that saved the day. USC fans to this day cannot believe Forest made that shot. And I’m sure there is a certain disbelief in the mind of Forest as well.
Next: Alley-oop