February 3, 2002 — In what many people (OK, maybe just my group of friends) call the Mike Sanzere Game, Southern Illinois beats Creighton 79-77 thanks to a last-second foul call.
After tying the game at 77 thanks to two free throws by Mike Grimes with 4 seconds left, Sanzere whistled DeAnthony Bowden for a foul against SIU’s Kent Williams as he attempted a 3-pointer with three-tenths of a second left. Williams made two of the three free throw attempts, and the Salukis left Omaha with the win.
Kyle Korver led the Bluejays with 27 points in the losing effort.
The two teams would share the regular season title in the Valley, and then meet in the championship game at Arch Madness, where the Bluejays would prevail and pick up the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.