NCAA Tournament Best Moments
Since the first NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1939, there have been numerous moments immortalized because of their brilliance and significance. Some of these moments are great performances by individual stars and others are thrilling upsets. Let’s take a look at the best moments in NCAA tournament history.
Cardiac Pack
The story goes that Jimmy V. pulled Lorenzo Charles aside following the final timeout of the 1983 NCAA Tournament Championship Game. He told Charles, in true Jimmy V. fashion, that he hadn’t done anything all night. We all know what happens next. N.C. State guard Dereck Whittenburg launched his famous 35-foot air ball which Charles dunked through to give the Pack a national championship over top ranked Houston. This truly is one of the most thrilling finishes to any game and one of the greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
Magic vs. Bird
The two best players in the country on the two best teams faced off in the 1979 Final Four championship game. Earvin Magic Johnson led the Michigan State Spartans to the championship over Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores. This game was great on so many levels. To this day, this game remains the highest rated game in the history of televised college hoops. Even more importantly, it was the birth of one of the best rivalries in the history of any sport.
Lucky Number 7
The UCLA men’s basketball team won its seventh straight NCAA title in 1973 over Memphis State. Bill Walton was named the tournaments most outstanding player. The legendary John Wooden was the genius behind this unprecedented dominance. UCLA won 10 titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975. They went undefeated a record 4 times during this run, including the magical 1973 season.
On the Map
Michael Jordan is the best clutch shooter the game of basketball has ever seen. In the 1982 NCAA championship game against Georgetown, he hit his first of what would be many big time shots. With 17 seconds left and the Tar Heels down by 1 point, a freshman from Laney High made the game winning shot from the left wing to put himself on the map and to bring a title to Chapel Hill in the process.
Laettner’s Buzzer Beater
Let’s set the stage. Duke vs. Kentucky, two universities rich in basketball tradition battling for a chance to go to the Final Four. Two great coaches, Krzyzewski vs. Pitino. Defending NCAA champion Duke vs. a proud Kentucky team. With 2.1 seconds remaining, Grant Hill throws a three-quarter court pass to Christian Laettner who hits a fade away at the buzzer to move on to the Final Four. The Blue Devils would go on to win it all.
Other Notables:
1985 – #8 seed Villanova becomes the lowest seed to win the NCAA tournament championship.
1997 – Arizona becomes the first school to defeat three #1 seeds on its way to the national championship.
1976 – Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers complete an undefeated season by cutting down the nets after beating Michigan in the championship game. The Hoosiers are the last team to go undefeated.
1974 – N.C. State ends UCLA’s title run, defeating the Bruins in the national semifinals in double OT.
2006 – George Mason’s Cinderella run to the Final Four as an 11-seed.
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