If it was a Purdue-Minnesota game in the mid-1970s it was likely bound for overtime. In four straight games during the 1976-77 seasons, the Boilermakers and Gophers went to an extra period with Purdue winning three of the four games.

Of course, the two teams have had a long history of overtime clashes, going back to the six overtime game played Jan. 29, 1955, at Purdue. Minnesota won that game 59-56.

Minnesota, who later had to forfeit all its games that season due to NCAA violations, had a team with three future standout NBA players. Ray Williams a 6-foot-3 leaper was the 10th overall pick of the 1977 draft and played 10 years in the league, mostly for the Knicks. Mychal Thompson, was the No. 1 overall pick in the '78 draft and subsequently logged 13 years in the NBA, mostly for the Trail Blazers and Lakers. A skinny 6-10 freshman named Kevin McHale played 13 years in the NBA and is listed as one of the 50 best NBA players of all time.

For good measure, one of the Gophers starting guards was Flip Saunders, who now coaches the Detroit Pistons. Simply put, Coach Jim Dutcher's Gophers were one of the most talented teams in the history of the Big Ten.

Purdue wasn't void of NBA caliber players themselves. Boilermaker guard Jerry Sichting and center Joe Barry Carroll, who was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1980 draft, had long NBA careers and Walter Jordan had a brief stint in the league with Cleveland.

In this contest, Purdue actually never trailed. But the game was close from the get-go. The two teams known for their offense, managed just 55 points in regulation. Sichting's 14-foot jumper with 7:42 left gave Purdue a 55-50 lead, but the Boilermakers wouldn't score again before overtime. Thompson tied the game with 4:19 left in the game, but from that point forward the Boilermakers used their three-guard offense with Sichting, Bruce Parkinson and Eugene Parker. The Boilermakers worked for a last-second shot, but Parker was left to loft an errant 25-footer with three seconds left. The junior guard from Fort Wayne was the hero a year earlier by sending the game into overtime with a long bomb with seven seconds left.

The teams traded baskets until junior forward Wayne Walls, who was Purdue's defensive stopper all day, gave Purdue the lead for good. The Gophers followed with two critical turnovers allowing the Boilermakers to put the game away on baskets by Jordan and Carroll. McHale converted a three-point play with 21 seconds to go to cut it to 65-62, but Parker hit a free throw with six seconds left for a 66-62 spread. Dave Winey's tip-in at the buzzer cut the final margin to two, but when the smoke cleared Purdue was on top of the Big Ten with a 4-0 record and 10-3 overall.

Thompson, who came into the game with a gaudy .627 shooting percentage, was held to 8-of-20 shooting and 17 points. Williams had 16, and McHale was held to seven though he tied Jordan for game-high rebounding honors with 10.

Wins over top-10 ranked teams have been relatively rare for Purdue in Mackey Arena, yet this was one of 15. No it wasn't the famous Blizzard of '78 game with the Gophers, but it easily classifies as one of the great ones. Also, the 1976-77 team needed this victory to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school annals as this squad will go down as the best of Coach Fred Schaus' teams (along with the 1974 NIT champs).

Over the next several weeks, we will be chronicling, in chronological order no less, our top 40 games played in Mackey Arena to commemorate the four decades the building has been the home to Purdue basketball.

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