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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Tom Dierberger

ESPN Announcers Compare Ugly Clemson-SMU Play to Infamous Jets 'Butt Fumble'

Clemson ESPN SMU Mark Sanchez Christian Reeves ACC Jaeden Zackery Kevin Brown
Clemson defeated SMU 57–54 in the ACC tournament on Thursday night. | ESPN

You never know what you're going to see on any given night of a college basketball conference tournament in March.

For ESPN announcers Kevin Brown and Jon Crispin, they certainly weren't expecting to witness a recreation of former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez's infamous "butt fumble" during an ACC tournament quarterfinal matchup Thursday night between No. 3-seeded Clemson and No. 6-seeded SMU.

Midway through the second half of a tightly contested game, Clemson guard Jaeden Zackery drove to the hoop only to find the paint rather clogged. He ran right into the back side of 7'2" teammate Christian Reeves, who was looking up at the hoop waiting for a rebound.

The ball deflected off Reeves into a crowd of players and out of bounds, causing Brown and Crispin to fondly recall the "butt fumble."

"Zackery ... oh, he ran into Reeves's back! Looking like Mark Sanchez on Thanksgiving night," Brown said.

"Ah, the butt fumble," Crispin said. "Never thought the butt fumble would make it into our broadcast."

Unlike Sanchez, who coughed up the football on his butt fumble, leading to a New England Patriots scoop-and-score on Thanksgiving in 2012, Clemson was awarded the basketball after it glanced off an SMU player and out of bounds.

Clemson continued its hot streak Thursday night, winning its ninth straight game by defeating the Mustangs 57–54 behind 21 points from senior guard Chase Hunter.

The Tigers now advance to the ACC tournament semifinals, where the No. 13 Louisville Cardinals await. That game tips off Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.

More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN Announcers Compare Ugly Clemson-SMU Play to Infamous Jets 'Butt Fumble'.

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