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Chicago Bulls: Ranking the roster’s craziest March Madness moments

By Candice Evans

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 11: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the USC Trojans loses the ball on his drive to the basket against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at the Galen Center on January 11, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 11: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the USC Trojans loses the ball on his drive to the basket against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at the Galen Center on January 11, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 14: Guard DeMar DeRozan #10 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 14: Guard DeMar DeRozan #10 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

7. DeMar DeRozan and Vucevic Sent Home After Botched Call

The 2009 USC team was a weird bunch looking back. They existed in a time when Taj Gibson was the leading scorer and DeMar DeRozan was a role player. Yup, “weird” is an understatement.

In their game to advance to the Sweet 16, the Trojans gave the entire west coast a heart attack 14 times. In a five-point loss to Michigan State, there were 14 lead changes — seven in the last eight minutes — and 16 ties.

Gibson, USC’s leading scorer, only had three points and fouled out. DeRozan put up 18 points while Vucevic had six. The game didn’t come down to lack of scoring, though … it came down to a missed call.

USC’s Daniel Hackett stole a pass in the Michigan State backcourt with 1:48 left in the game with the Trojans down 71-69. He attacked the basket with a defender waiting in the restricted area. He went up, the defender fell, and the ball was stripped. There was contact — it should’ve either been called a block or a charge — but the refs swallowed the whistle. Instead, Michigan State retained posssession, and iced the game with free throws.

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