Just as No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic was on the verge of locking up its first Final Four berth in program history Saturday night with a win over No. 3 seed Kansas State, the absolute worst-case scenario was playing out for at least one radio broadcaster calling the game.
FAU radio broadcaster Ken LaVicka, in a video shared by college hoops reporter Andy Katz, said the ethernet in his media row at Madison Square Garden “went out” for about 30 seconds with 18.6 seconds left in the game.
It was a moment Katz perfectly described as “the call of [LaVicka’s] life,” and every broadcaster’s worst nightmare was playing out instead.
Ken LaVicka of the FAU Radio network had quite a hectic final minute of his broadcast. You can’t make this up. He nearly missed his career call for @FAUMBB to go to @MarchMadnessMBB @MFinalFour: pic.twitter.com/H3gRXsFZYG
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) March 26, 2023
LaVicka told Katz:
“We actually got saved by a Kansas State layup and a timeout called by Jerome Tang that gave me time to scramble. And you saw me, Andy. It was getting a little rough. My life’s dream is crumbling before me.
“I grabbed from that second table an ethernet cord, plug it into my broadcast equipment. One of my teammates from ESPN West Palm and West Palm Beach sitting next to me held the Comrex unit while I called the final 15 seconds of the game and the day was saved.”
So what was LaVicka’s call, for those who weren’t tuned into the the radio broadcast?
“I said, ‘Houston, you have a problem. Florida Atlantic’s coming to win a championship.’ — or along those lines.”
😏 #FAU🦉
you should listen… https://t.co/hlede8Z0dh
— Ken LaVicka (@KLV1063) March 26, 2023
LaVicka said he loved his call of the game’s final moments, and thankfully for him, he ensured it happened, as the Owls topped the Wildcats, 79-76.
