Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
Team Captures the Hearts of Entire State
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 28, 1998
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Governor's Mansion roared with cheers, a bartender sprinted through his tavern in his skivvies and the Delta Center crowd gave a standing ovation during a Utah Jazz game.
The reason for their celebrations? Utah's 65-59 win over North Carolina on Saturday.
The victory puts Utah (30-3) in the NCAA championship game for the first time in 54 years. The Utes play Kentucky on Monday in San Antonio.
"We got it, oh, I can't believe it," shouted cab driver Rex O'Neil as Utah's Hanno Mattola sank a free throw with seconds left.
O'Neil had taken a break to watch the last few minutes of the game at O'Shucks Bar & Grill, where about 75 Utes fans cheered "Utah, Utah, Utah ..." as the last seconds ticked off.
And when the final horn sounded, the bartender lived up to a promise that a Utah win would mean he would run around the cramped tavern in his boxer shorts - to the cheers and laughter of his patrons.
At a less rowdy, yet equally as loud celebration, Gov. Mike Leavitt and about 70 friends and family members gathered to watch the game at the executive mansion.
Leavitt was worried he wasted money on a ticket to San Antonio for Monday's game as the Tar Heels closed within four points.
"That was the longest eight minutes of my life," he said of Utah holding off a North Carolina second-half rally.
Utah won the NCAA championship in 1944, beating Dartmouth in overtime 42-40.
During a break in the Jazz game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the final score of the Utah-North Carolina contest flashed on the JumboTron and the crowd responded with a standing ovation.
"I couldn't be happier," said Jazz president Frank Layden. "It's wonderful to see a program of quality student athletes succeed. There's a new face in town in college basketball."
Back on campus, about 200 students crammed into a small television lounge at the student Union Building to cheer the Utes.
The school is expected to open up a larger area for students to view Monday's game.
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