NCAA TOURNAMENT

Vermont looking for another upset in Milwaukee

Michael Cohen

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On April 20, 2012, retired Vermont basketball coach Tom Brennan spoke at a banquet organized by T.J. Sorrentine, one of his most accomplished former players.

Brennan, who guided the Catamounts to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2003-'05, had agreed to the appearance more than a month before the event. But because it was planned by Sorrentine, the point guard whose 28-foot shot to beat Syracuse is cemented in March Madness lore, Brennan prefaced his remarks with a warning.

“You know what?” Sorrentine recalled Brennan saying a few weeks before the event, “The first thing I’m going to say to those kids is that they all have one free pass. Any time coach calls a play, you can just shrug him off, wave your hand and say, ‘Nope Coach, I got it,’ and do whatever you want.

“Only one time though. I guess I’ve got to live with that. I guess I’ve got to live with it for one time.”

Twelve years ago this week, Sorrentine disobeyed his coach and shrugged off his teammates to let fly an improbable three-pointer that, with 66 seconds left in overtime, stunned fourth-seeded Syracuse in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. And while the Catamounts lost to Michigan State two days later, memories of Sorrentine’s stunner still reverberate.

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Big Ten player of the year Caleb Swanigan and Purdue will play at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Flash forward to the present and Vermont is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years. The Catamounts (29-5), who breezed through the America East Conference with an undefeated record, are once again seeded 13th, just as they were for their upset of Syracuse. Now they'll search for their next bit of magic against fourth-seeded Purdue (25-7, 14-4 Big Ten) at the BMO Harris Bradley Center at 6:27 p.m. Thursday.

“Every time the tournament comes around, that shot seems to follow me,” Sorrentine said in 2012. “Every time March Madness hits, everyone will start talking about that again. … It forces me to think about it, which obviously isn’t a bad thing because it was the best time of my life.”

It unfolded like this: Sorrentine jogged the ball across midcourt with 90 seconds remaining in overtime; the Catamounts clung to an unlikely 1-point lead. He passed the ball to a teammate on the right wing; the teammate passed right back.

Sorrentine backpedaled as the shot clock bled to 15 seconds, and replays of the game show frantic gesturing by an assistant coach and a very confused shooting guard. None of it mattered. Sorrentine, who had already attempted 15 3-pointers in the game, made up his mind to shoot.

He dribbled forward to a spot five feet beyond the NBA arc and buried the shot he will never forget.

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Sorrentine's shot gave Vermont a 59-55 lead with 1:06 remaining in overtime. The Catamounts held on to win, 60-57, for the biggest victory in school history.

“When that went in, I thought I might burst,” Brennan said after the game. “I thought you might find me in pieces around the arena because there’s no drug, nothing in the world that is that feeling. There's nothing that can make you feel like that except competition and going through a lot with your guys, especially ones you love.”

Fans attending the games in Milwaukee may be familiar with some of the other schools competing in the Bradley Center. Big Ten foes Purdue and Minnesota played Wisconsin this season. Butler swept Marquette in Big East play, and Iowa State is loaded with talent from Milwaukee and the state.

Here's the schedule for NCAA Tournament games Thursday in Milwaukee:

(4) Butler (23-8) vs. (13) Winthrop (26-6) 12:30 p.m. (TNT)

(5) Minnesota (24-9) vs. (12) Middle Tennessee State (30-4), approx. 3 p.m. (TNT)

(4) Purdue (25-7) vs. (13) Vermont (29-5), 6:27 p.m. (TruTV)

(5) Iowa State (23-10) vs. (12) Nevada (28-6), approx. 8:57 p.m (TruTV)