Worst College Basketball Game Ever

So on December fifteenth, nineteen seventy three, the Temple Owls basketball team went to visit the Tennessee Balls in a game. Of two good college basketball teams. Fans come to see this game, Unknowingly they were about to witness arguably the worst college basketball game ever played, with the final score of eleven to six. Tennessee did get the win, but they had to be part of history of the lowest scoring game that very well changed into wa basketball forever. Join us today as we dive into this terrible game and how it happened today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide because I would be ecstatic if I could score eleven points in the basketball game. So let's go back to the nineteen seventies. Basketball, especially college basketball, was growing. It was getting more popular. But it was still very regionalized. Fans were really fans of the local teams. You didn't have do North Carolina, Florida, Yukon, all these power basketball schools that have fans across the country. You didn't really have that. You rooted for your local team because not all basketball was played on TV. Maybe seeing the National Championship maybe some tournament games, but it was really regionalized, so fans were regionalized, which created local rivalries and gave you very good home court advantishes because the fans wanted to come see you because they couldn't probably see you on TV. Now, this would all change at the end of the decade when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson played the most viewed game in college basketball history with their national championship against Michigan State and Indiana State. But we were still years away from that. In nineteen six. Three when the Temple Owls came to visit Tennessee. Now, up to this point, neither one was a major basketball winner, although Temple actually had a little bit more success as they won the NIT in nineteen thirty eight and nineteen sixty nine as well as winning conference championships multiple times. And in nineteen seventy three, they were led by Don Casey and they were starting the season pretty good. They were three to one and really were looking to take on Tennessee because they were a strong competitor, a bigger school at the time, and they were a defensive specialist team using this as a big strength through their team, and this would come into play for this game. Now, Tennessee was a pretty good team as well. Now, they've never won any after season title, but they have won multiple conference titles throughout the years and been pretty good up until this point in. The SEC Conference. Now, they were led by Ray Meyers, and they were a big team. See, the tallest player on Temple's basketball team was six'. Ten there was only one, player and he was the only player above. Six seven on their. Team, now this was common back in the. Day mainly people weren't as. Tall we've gotten taller as a. Society but they were still pretty good and they were well rounded their starting five that averaged. Over ten points a. Game but The Tennessee balls were a much bigger team with more. Resources they had two guys that stood over six' nine and one was a, seven footer which was a big deal at. The time and they had a three headed monster led By Freshman ernie gunfeld who averaged over seventeen points a game this season and would eventually go on to JOIN, the nba and, their sinner who was a Seven Footer, lynn kamowski would averaged sixteen points a game and almost. Ten rebounds really helped anchor their defense. As well so because of this high Advantage that tennessee had and their offensive firepower that, They had temple and Their Coach don casey put a new strategy into. This game So on, december fifteenth nineteen, seventy Three At Tennessee Stokely, Athletic center tennessee brought in a full crowd over eleven thousand fans eager to see a competitive basketball game against two. Good teams that is exactly what they did not see see in the. First half don kind of got scared or had this strategy that you've probably seen in The. MOVIE hoosiers i call It. The, hoosier strategy and it's the worst strategy if you want to watch. A game worked great in The movie hoosiers for that small mindland school to win, the championship but it's terrible to watch as, a fan and it's holding the. Ball back then at, this TIME the nba did have a, shot clock BUT the ncuba did not have a, shot clock mainly because they have way more games than the technical difficulties to get this at every single stadium and get it to matchup but is, very challenging and so they didn't have. It yet so you could hold the ball as long as, you wanted as long as you were moving the, ball around and that's what. They did with about eleven minutes and forty four seconds left in the, First half don instructed his team to implement, the stall holding the ball, for stretches having two players pass the ball back and forth at. The top of. The key now this was a, legal tactic but very boring. To watch nothing was, really Happening and tennessee responded by playing, a zone Effectively limiting temple's scoring chances as it kept their big center in, the lane so they had to shoot jump shots if they wanted to really have, a chance and they didn't really want to do. That either it was so bad that at the end of the first half the score was seven. To, five now scoring was not as high, back then but the average was thirty to forty points and. A half on the, low end you might be. Around twenty but this. Was admiral and what's crazy is the teams didn't change their streateg a in the. Second half you would think you'd try, something different even if You were tennessee trying To make temple. Do Anything Force hilly foul do, something different and they. Did not, in fact they only scored four points in the, second half but it worked Out because temple scored. One point it was a crazy low. Scoring game, in fact in the, second half neither team even scored a. FIELD goal i just imagine a fan being there and. Falling asleep nothing. Was happening how many. Of us cheer for. Free throws that's not what we want. To see we want to see the. Fast breaks we want to see maybe dunks or, crazy shots or great passes for great layups. Or whatever it doesn't even have to, be crazy just some regular shot go in and we could. Be excited it. Didn't happen, In fact temple held the ball for thirty two of the forty minutes of. The game Temple's Coach don casey said it was, uncharged territory trying the strategy as it, was experimental trying to secure, a. Win and it didn't. Even work Tennessee's Coach ray mehers said the team maintained their, defensive zones but it negated any breaks in the game and it made. The, score very. Very, low now this was the lowest scoring GAME in ncaa basketball history since nineteen, thirty eight when they were still learning how to. Play basketball there was no. Entertainment value fans were not excited. By this it was an awful show. For basketball and the crazy thing is both these teams ended up with a. Good Season The temple owls finished sixteen and a nine finished third in, their conference While The tennessee balls finished seventeen and nine with an average of seventy two points a Game and temple averaged sixty points. A game so this game was just a crazy monopoly trying something. Else that ended up being. Just awful and what's, even crazier even though this game is looked at as a game that changed and led to them getting the shot, clock badly it wasn't until nineteen eighty five when they actually adopted the, shot clock which is. Absolutely crazy twelve years later they finally adopted the. Shot clock now this was used and as, a nample but it was. Still terrible this is the score of. A little league, basketball game not teams that feature players that would go on TO the nba had practice for years that would have winning records on, a season but sometimes you got to have. A strategy and the crazy thing is they didn't play each other again until two thousand, and side which is crazy to, think About and temple was able to win, that one but it just this game left so much bad blood between these two teams. That, they're like we're not going to play each other again for a. Long time and these bad games did happen from time to time because of there being no sh shot clock and. Installing tactics now the shot clock SAVE, the nba and you could say it kind of saved college. Basketball too could you imagine going to a game today where teams did not even try? To shoot you would turn that game off or walk out immediately because nobody wants to. SEE that i want to thank you for listening to today's daily. Sports history if you, like this please like and subscribe wherever. You're at, that way you. Do not miss. A thing we'll see you on the. Next one