NCAA Basketball

“ONIONS!” Morehead State Stuns Louisville, Bill Raftery Breaks Out Signature Call

If you had to name one college basketball announcer whose style appeals to you, and you weren’t allowed to pick Gus Johnson, there’s a good chance you’d choose Bill Raftery. From “Get the lingerie off the deck!” to his trademark “Onions!” he’s solidly entrenched as a fan favorite thanks to his transparent enthusiasm. So when he gets to call a thrilling NCAA Tournament upset, you might imagine he’d be in rare form.

You’d be correct. Raftery was on the mike for 13th-seeded Morehead State’s 62-61 upset over Louisville today (the author of this post may or may not have had Louisville in the Final Four), and Morehead took the lead on a dramatic three by senior guard Demonte Harper with 4.2 seconds left. Raftery, it’s fair to say, was enthused:

He was more enthused then than he was when the game ended – mostly because the initial reaction was shock that a foul wasn’t called on Morehead. Replays, however, seemed to indicate that the no-call was a smart one, and with that, some brackets were seriously busted. Raftery’s passion, though, remains happily intact.

Video via Mocksession (again)