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

Tom Dierberger

Clemson defeated SMU 57–54 in the ACC tournament on Thursday night.
Clemson defeated SMU 57–54 in the ACC tournament on Thursday night. / ESPN
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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.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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