| Pistol Pete Maravich's Top College Games
1. February 21, 1970 Kentucky at LSU (Sr.)
This Saturday afternoon coast-to-coast telecast placed the floppy-socked Pete into the national conscience. It was all on display: the no-look passes, behind the back dribbling, and the wild shooting. In his final home game at LSU the Pistol hit 55% of his shots for a total of 64 points. But Dan Isle pumped in 51 for Kentucky who defeated the overmatched Tigers 121-105. One of the most legendary shootouts in basketball history.
2. March 8, 1969 LSU at Georgia (Jr.)
The height of showtime. The legendary double-overtime win in a jam-packed (10,500) gymnasium in Athens. Pete scored 58 points but none more dramatic than his final attempt. After avoiding Bulldog defenders with a Globtrotter-esque dribbling exhibition – the Pistol flipped up an audacious 35-foot hook shot that swished through as time expired. He was then swamped by ecstatic Georgia fans and cheerleaders. Final 90-80.
Click here to view LSU's actual scoresheet from this game.
Click here to view Georgia's actual scoresheet from this game.
3. December 30, 1968 Duquesne vs. LSU (Jr.)
Despite an ice-storm that blanketed Oklahoma City, a record 8,336 fans jammed the State Fair Arena to watch LSU’s All American. Undefeated Duquesne was the clear favorite in the Oklahoma City Tournament finals. They were ranked ninth in the nation, and a defensive powerhouse that allowed a nation-leading 57.3 ppg. The game was hard fought as LSU held a 48-46 halftime lead. But Duquesne marched back and with 8:24 remaining were up, 76-66. But Maravich closed the gap with an incredible late run.
When the smoke cleared Pete converted 18 of 36 shots and 17 free throws (10 in a row in the final four minutes) for 53 points. LSU won 94-91, a performance that still has fans shaking their heads in wonderment. Pete was named tournament MVP.
Pete’s teammate Rusty Bergman: “When we won the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City, to me, those three games we played better together on offense and defense in my whole time at LSU.”
Click here to view LSU's actual scoresheet from this game.
Click here to view Duquesne's actual scoresheet from this game.
4. December 29, 1969 LSU vs. St. John’s (Hawaii’s Rainbow Classic) (Sr.)
Facing top-20 St. John’s University in a Christmas tourney, Pete helped cement his legend with a spectacular finish. After intermission Pete outscored the entire Redmen team with 40 second half points (total 0f 53) as he steered the Tigers to a 80-70 victory. Pete’s final exclamation point was a half-court pass off the backboard for an assist.
“It was the most electrifying 15 minutes of basketball I’ve ever seen. He almost hypnotizes you on the court. Here I am trying to coach my club, watching the action all over the court. And what am I doing? Watching him,” gushed St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca afterwards. “You talk of Jerry West or Oscar Robertson or any of the great ones who scored and passed so well. Maravich is better.”
5. January 31, 1970 Mississippi at LSU (Sr.)
Going to the contest Pete needed 40 points to pass Oscar Robertson’s NCAA career scoring record. With 7:58 remaining, Pete banked in a 25-footer giving him 39 points. The overflow crowd began booming in unison “One, one, one, one …”. As the news cameras turned and with photographer’s flash bulbs popping on his every release – Pete missed five consecutive shots. Finally with 4:43 on the clock, he rose up and swished a 17 foot jump shot. Since that moment Pete Maravich has remained college basketball’s most prolific scorer. Often overlooked is Pete’s additional 12 points scored in the final minutes along with 12 assists in LSU’s 109-86 victory. The basketball from that game was sold at auction in 2003 for $42,093.
6. December 20, 1970 LSU at Clemson (Charlotte) (Sr.)
Clemson – the sleepy college town where the legend of “Pistol Pete” was born and where Press once coached. Because of the overwhelming ticket demand the game was played at the Charlotte Coliseum in North Carolina. Tickets were $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for students. Pete produced the most efficient shooting night of his college career. He hit 22 of 30 shots netting 49 points in the 111-103 LSU win. “But the figures in the record book will never capture the impression that Pete Maravich made on the Clemson team and the 7,282 fans,” wrote Harry Lloyd in the Charlotte Observer. “His passing was even more spectacular than his deadly shooting.” Pete added 9 assists and 6 rebounds.
7. December 22, 1967 Mississippi State at LSU (Soph.)
Pete had just 16 points in the first half but caught fire after intermission and rattled home another 42. His 58-point total broke the single game SEC scoring record set in 1954 by LSU All-American, Bob Petit. LSU cruised 111-87. One of the officials calling the Mississippi State contest was Lou Bello who made an incredible statement to Bruce Phillips of the State Times afterwards.
‘I have seen all of the great modern scorers. Groat, Heyman, Mullins of Duke, Rosenbluth, Cunningham, Lewis of UNC, Hemric, Long of Wake Forest, Dickey, Ranzino of N.C. State, Grady Wallace of South Carolina, Buzz Wilkinson of Virginia, Robertson of Cincinnati, Lucas of Ohio State, Bradley of Princeton. And in this, my 27th year of officiating, I have never seen a shooter and scorer with the range and accuracy of Pete Maravich.’
Click here to view LSU's actual scoresheet from this game.
Click here to view Mississippi State's actual scoresheet from this game.
8. January 11, 1968 LSU at Tulane (Soph.)
The Tigers didn’t have to travel far to meet Tulane … the school was just down the road in New Orleans and the students were fired up for their cross town rival. The game had been sold out for three weeks and the Green Wave’s coach, Tom Nissalke, had carefully researched tendencies. “We charted Pete in the last ten games and hoped to defend him successfully by making him go left.”
Throughout the game Nissalke kept yelling, “Make him go left. He can’t go left.” The plan almost worked when Pete picked by his fourth foul just two minutes into the second half. But Press wasn’t worried, “They forced Pete over to that (left) side where he likes to shoot his bank shot. And he just kept poppin’ ‘em in the basket. It’s one of his best shots; he just hasn’t used it much before because he hasn’t had to.”
Pete ended the night with 52 points and 8 assists as the Tigers picked up another road victory 100-91. Frank Wilson of the Morning Advocate – “Pete Maravich amazed the 5,500 fans that jammed the Tulane Gymnasium Thursday night with a spectacular display of basketball showmanship, coupled with accurate shooting which earned him a standing ovation from the crowd when he finally left the game in the final minute.”
Click here to view LSU's actual scoresheet from this game.
Click here to view Tulane's actual scoresheet from this game.
9. February 3, 1970 LSU at Alabama (Sr.)
On Saturday afternoon, February 7th, the Tigers flew in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. And despite being televised throughout the South (and parts of the East Coast) the Pistol drew another record crowd to the game. “This was the heart of football country. Bear Bryant.” Recalled Pete’s tutor Donald Kennard. “And from the plane we saw a double line of people, a quarter mile long, waiting for tickets to see Pete. Waiting in line at 3 o’clock in the afternoon for a chance to see the Pistol.” The University of Alabama set an attendance record that day as 15,043 jammed the brand new Memorial Coliseum.
Pete netted 22 points in the first half but the game was quite physical and the Alabama fans were delighted in jeering Pete (screaming “hot dog” every time he touched the ball). The atmosphere was tense, Danny Hester was ejected after striking Alabama’s Doug Gamble, and Pete picked up a technical arguing the call. At a halftime ceremony, University of Alabama president Dr. David Mathews presented Pete with a ball citing his unique contributions to the game of basketball. Pete politely thanked the fans and got ready for an historic second half. In that half Pete bucked 47 points but, incredibly, it wasn’t enough. The Tigers lost 106-104. And to add insult some rowdy fans pelted the team with paper cups as they tried to exit.
Pete finished with a career-high 69, setting an NCAA record for most points against a Division I opponent and breaking Niagara’s Calvin Murphy’s single game mark of 68 set against Syracuse in December 1968. (Pete’s single game scoring record lasted 20 years, until Kevin Bradshaw, of U.S. International, scored 72 points against Loyola Marymount in 1990.)
10. December 2, 1968 LSU at Loyola of New Orleans (Jr.)
The Tigers opened their junior year in spectacular fashion as they marched into the lion’s den at the Loyola Field House in New Orleans. The arena was filled to capacity with 6,600 rabid fans.
From the opening tap, Loyola went into a zone defense while Pete went into a shooting zone. By the 13:30 mark, LSU had jumped to a 26-11 lead. By halftime, the lead had soared to an embarrassing 62-34 with Maravich supplying not only dead-eye shooting, but a never-ending supply of tricks, including a sailing 40-foot behind-the-back pass for one of the 11 assists of the night.
“Maravich was simply fantastic,” reported Will Penneguy of The Times-Picayune. “What Maravich did with the ball against Loyola’s confused defense bordered on criminal.”
In all, Maravich hit 22 of 34 shots from the floor (64.7 percent), went 8-9 at the free throw line and assaulted the Loyola Pack for 52 points on the night.
Bonus - December 22, 1969 LSU at Oregon State (Sr.)
A wild night in Corvalis as Oregon State fans packed Gill Coliseum and witnessed a flurry of technical fouls (three on Pete alone) and more than a few fights. The Beavers decided to foul Pete, hard, each time he attempted a shot. The strategy backfired. Pete attempted 31 free throws and made 30 of them – a NCAA record that stands to this day. In fact no player in the NBA has ever made 30 free throws in a regulation game. Pete finished with 46 points in LSU’s 76-68 road victory.
List compiled by Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill |
