50 in 50: Doc Rivers banks in a prayer to beat Notre Dame

With the sports world on hold, we present a countdown of the 50 greatest moments in Wisconsin sports history over the past 50 years. This is No. 37.

So often, it was centered around Digger vs. Al, but in 1981, one of Milwaukee's most underrated rivalries was given another need-no-explanation single moniker as its poster boy.

Doc.

The nickname bestowed upon Glenn Rivers by longtime Marquette assistant Rick Majerus was still in the maturation phase when Rivers was a freshman at Marquette University. He had chosen the Warriors program over DePaul -- then the No. 1 team in the nation -- and Notre Dame, a squad that had been a thorn in Marquette's side.

In 1973, Dwight Clay's jump shot with 2 seconds left gave the Irish a 71-69 win that snapped the Warriors' 81-game home winning streak. In 1978, No. 1-ranked and defending champion Marquette fell at Notre Dame, 65-59. The Warriors had gotten a measure of vengeance in 1980 with a 77-74 win over the No. 10-ranked Irish, but Marquette was a serious underdog heading into the home battle against No. 5 Notre Dame on Jan. 10, 1981.

Just days earlier, Marquette had endured a bad home loss to Southern Mississippi, an 84-72 setback that came with one bright spot: a game-high 26 points from the freshman Rivers. 

Rivers, who hadn't been among the starters unless Marquette went to a three-guard lineup, was still in the starting lineup even though MU went to a traditional two-guard setup against the Irish (inserting center Dean Marquardt into the starting five). Rivers had expressed some frustration about watching from the bench, but he was on the floor at tip-off this time.

More importantly, he was also on the floor with 1 second left, when he caught an inbound pass and pushed a shot from 35 feet off the backboard and down to give Marquette a 54-52 victory.

"He's not afraid," then-MU coach Hank Raymonds said. "He wanted it. I said all along that he wasn't afraid to take the last shot. That's my freshman All-American. He put it in."

"When I let go, I didn't know where the ball was going," Rivers said. "I just aimed for the backboard. But when I saw where it was going to hit on the board, I jumped up and down before it even went in. I knew it was going to go in. I just knew it would go in."

Notre Dame was blessed with some talented names, led in scoring and rebounding by Kelly Trupicka (19.9 points, 8.5 rebounds) but also bolstered by John Paxson, Orlando Woolridge and Tracy Jackson.

But in the closing seconds, Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps decided to employ a four-corners offense to try and absorb the final 3 minutes and 29 seconds and hold for the final shot with the game tied at 52. But the Irish only drained 3:25. 

The turnover and the heave

Marquette's Michael Wilson and Rivers double teamed Jackson, and Rivers reached in to force a jump ball. With 4 seconds left, Rivers and Jackson both missed on the jump ball (this was before the turnover arrow), though Jackson tried deflecting it to Wooldridge on the way down. But Woolridge fell and lost the ball out of bounds with one second left. 

"We got the jump, and I thought Orlando got tripped when he went out of bounds," Phelps said afterward. "And nothing was called."

Marquette called timeout to plan the final shot.

"We set up a play in which Oliver Lee was to run along the baseline and Marquardt was to set a pick for him," Raymonds said. "If Notre Dame switched, the pass was to go to Marquardt or Terrell Schlundt underneath."

Wilson saw Lee was covered and went to Rivers instead after Doc made a run across midcourt toward the Notre Dame goal. Rivers gathered, turned and fired the off balance shot that set Milwaukee ablaze. 

"This is the most satisfying victory in my 20 years at Marquette," said Raymonds, who inherited the Marquette reins from famed coach Al McGuire after McGuire stepped aside following the 1977 championship season. "I say that because we weren't supposed to win that game. We felt so bad that we had let everyone down when we lost to Southern Mississippi the other night. But these players bounced back. Boy, did they put on a show. It was just a hell of a victory."

Fans stormed the court immediately. Wilson celebrated by climbing on top of the basket and perched on the bracket as part of the memorable scene. It wasn't just a last-second victory; it was a last-second victory over Notre Dame.

The Dean Marquardt Game

Most fans will remember that it was also the game of Marquardt's career.

He scored 15 points, making all six of his shots, and blocked three shots. With Notre Dame boasting three big centers (Joe Kleine, Tim Andree, Gil Salinas), not to mention the 6-9 Woolridge, Raymonds felt he had to get a big in the lineup and abandon the three-guard setup that had failed against Southern Miss.

Marquardt, a former Milwaukee Washington High School standout, had been a disappointment thus far in 1980-81 and met with Majerus the night before to try and clear the air and get on the same page. Phelps supposedly shouted in frustration at his staff during the game, asking why the scouting report had suggested Marquardt couldn't shoot.

"Yes, it gave me great personal satisfaction," Marquardt said afterward. "I thought I'd be able to come out of my slump. I was just hoping it wouldn't be too late. ... Playing against Woolridge presented a challenge, because he's the same size and two or three steps quicker, but I was able to handle him pretty well."

He enabled Marquette to keep the game close throughout, leading into the final heroics for Rivers.

"I don't ever remember making a shot like that," Rivers said. "Maybe in practice, but never in a game. I've made a layup to win a game, but never a shot like that. And to have it come against Notre Dame, it's just too much."

Betty Rivers, his mother, said afterward, "When the shot went in, I threw my purse in the air. Can you believe it? I actually threw my purse up in the air."

When Glenn Rivers became 'Doc'

Rivers was a McDonald's All-American at Proviso East in Maywood, a suburb of Chicago, and his commitment to Marquette was a big deal. He'd met Majerus years earlier at a Medalist basketball camp when Rivers was in eighth grade.

"Over the years, Rick has helped me to develop my game a great deal," Rivers said when he committed to Marquette. "I used to have bad shooting form until Rick helped me. I've probably learned more basketball from him than anyone."

Majerus, who became Marquette coach in 1984, relayed the origins of the "Doc" story in the Milwaukee Journal, stemming from a T-shirt that referenced "Dr. J" Julius Erving.

"I talked to him when he was an eighth-grader at one of our camps," Majerus said. "Glenn was wearing a T-shirt that said "Dr. G" on it. So I went up to him and asked him, 'Hey Doc, you any good?' and he said, 'I'm OK.' And he showed me by tomahawk-dunking the basketball with as much grace and style as I've ever seen for a kid his age.

"Glenn is a great player. He's a Sidney Moncrief type. He has that pro body. He's a great passer who can also score."

How the moment lives on

There's still plenty of rivalry between Marquette and Notre Dame, though the Irish have unquestionably the upper hand in the rivalry, with a 45-25 advantage in the programs' 70 games against each other. From 1982-92, Notre Dame won 17 of 18 meetings.

But with the Irish not a part of the refashioned Big East, the teams haven't met since 2013 (a 73-65 win for the Irish), though they announced a renewal of the rivalry starting in 2022.

Rivers became a beloved member of the Marquette family. His No. 31 jersey now hangs in the rafters at Fiserv Forum, and he left after his junior year for the NBA, where he was drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks in 1983.

He played for 13 seasons, including an All-Star campaign in 1988, before turning to coaching, where he's truly made his mark on the NBA.

In 2008, he guided the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship and to a second NBA Finals, and today he's head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. He owns a career .580 winning percentage (938-678).

The 1980-81 Marquette team finished 20-11 and lost in the first round of the NIT, but Rivers played in two NCAA Tournaments in subsequent years.

The Wes Matthews buzzer beater

The Rivers buzzer beater may live on in the context of a spirited rivalry, but a Wes Matthews buzzer beater in 1979 came from greater distance and led to a bigger upset, even though it was the final game of the Wisconsin Badgers season.

Matthews hit a runner from halfcourt against Michigan State, a powerhouse team led by Magic Johnson that went on to win the 1979 NCAA title, for an 83-81 win over the Spartans at the UW Field House on March 3.

"I definitely have fantasized before about making a shot like that to win a game," Matthews said. "But it's one of those things that you never really believe will ever come true. I mean, a 55 foot shot at the buzzer to beat Michigan State, the fourth ranked team in the country. This has to be one of the greatest experiences of my life."

Wisconsin endured a 10-game losing streak before winning the final four games of the year, closing at 12-15 overall. But those final wins included an upset of No. 17 Ohio State, and then MSU, which defeated Larry Bird's Indiana State team for the title. 

Rules of the 50 in 50 series

• Moments are recorded over the 50-year window from 1970 to 2019 (sorry 2020, but you're disqualified)
• These are moments and not achievements, although that largely goes hand-in-hand.
• These are "greatest" 50 moments, so you won't see moments that are pivotal but ultimately heartbreaking (like the NFC Championship loss to Seattle, Kareem getting traded, etc.)
• You also won't see (many) moments that came to be recognized for their greatness later, such as the day the Bucks drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo or the day the Packers traded for Brett Favre.
• Moments considered include teams based in Wisconsin and Wisconsin athletes competing in individual sports or as part of national teams (such as the Olympics), or moments on Wisconsin soil.
• These are singular moments. You're supposed to remember where you were when they happened.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.