Sports Then and Now

Michigan's "Fab Five" made an improbable NCAA Tournament run in 1992.

We have entered the month of March which means one thing for diehard sports fans: March Madness.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is regarded as perhaps the greatest sporting event in America because of the great individual performances, mid-majors knocking off the giants of college basketball, and the many last-second buzzer beaters.

Here I have compiled the Ultimate March Madness List, a countdown of the 65 greatest moments, performances or stories to come out of the NCAA Tournament.

The reason I chose 65 is pretty obvious with there being 65 teams in the tournament.

Included in this list, all of the some greatest runs in the tournament in which a team complied more than one memorable moment during their journey in March.

Now that I have made myself clear, here is Part I of the Ultimate March Madness List, starting with moments 65-41.

65. 1981 Wichita State-Kansas
Living up to their nickname, the Wichita State Shockers upset their intrastate rival, the Kansas Jayhawks, 66-65 in their Sweet Sixteen matchup as Wichita State guard Mike Jones makes two baskets from more than 20 feet in the final 45 seconds.

64. 1986 Kansas-Michigan State
The Jayhawks, aided by 10 extra seconds of play while the game clock was stopped at 2:21, erase a six-point deficit in the final minute to force overtime where they would outscore the Spartans 16-6 in overtime for a 96-86 win in their Sweet Sixteen matchup.

This incident leads the NCAA to require that referees use television replays to fix timing errors.

63. 1990 Georgia Tech-Michigan State
Four years later, the Spartans are the victim of another controversial call in the Sweet Sixteen as Georgia Tech guard Kenny Anderson makes a game-tying shot at the end of regulation even though video replays showed the ball was still in Anderson’s hands as the clock struck 0:00.

Tech guard Dennis Scott makes the go-ahead basket with seven seconds to go in overtime as the Yellow Jackets prevail in overtime 81-80.

62. 1992 Michigan-Ohio State
The Fab Five, Michigan’s starting lineup of five freshmen consisting of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, knock off their arch rivals, Ohio State 75-71 in overtime in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four.

It is the first time a Final Four team had a starting lineup that consisted of five freshmen.

61. 1997 Coppin State-South Carolina
#15 seed Coppin State, a 30-point underdog, knock off #2 seed South Carolina 78-65 to become the third #15 seed to win a game in NCAA Tournament history.

60. 1970 Notre Dame-TCU

Austin Carr scored 61 points in a 1970 NCAA Tournament game against TCU.

Notre Dame guard Austin Carr hits 25 of 44 shots for 61 points in an easy 112-82 win over Ohio University in the Fighting Irish’s opening round game.

The field goals made, field goals attempted, and points scored are all tournament records that stand to this day.

59. 1999 Weber State-North Carolina
Nicknamed “The Show”, Weber State guard Harold Arceneaux steals the show as he scores 36 points, including five 3-pointers as the #14 seed Wildcats knock off #3 seed North Carolina 76- 74, handing the Tar Heels their first opening round loss in 23 years.

58. 1986 Cleveland State and Arkansas-Little Rock
On the same afternoon, Cleveland State and Arkansas-Little Rock become the first #14 seeds to win games as they defeat Indiana (83-79) and Notre Dame (90-83), respectively.

While Arkansas-Little Rock was knocked out in the second round, Cleveland State would go to defeat St. Joseph’s 75-69 to become the lowest seed to ever reach the Sweet Sixteen.

57. 1987 Austin Peay-Illlinois
ESPN analyst Dick Vitale was so confident that #3 seed Illinois would defeat #14 seed Austin Peay that if the Illini lost he would stand on his hand.

After Austin Peay guard Tony Raye hit two free throws with two seconds left to give the Governors a 68-67 win, Vitale kept his word and stood on his head.

56. 1979 Indiana State-Arkansas
Indiana State guard Bob Henton becomes the “Miracle Man” when he makes an off-balance left handed shot that bounces twice one the rim before going through the net as time expired giving the undefeated Sycamores a 73-71 win and their first trip to the Final Four.

This buzzer beater leads to Indiana State and player of the year Larry Bird to the national championship game where they would meet Michigan State and Magic Johnson.

55. 1999 Gonzaga-Florida
Quentin Hall misses a running 10-foot shot, but the ball is tipped in by Casey Calvary with 4.9 seconds left giving the #10 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs an 73-72 upset over #6 seed Florida and begins their run as a mid-major power.

54. 1956 Canisius-N.C. State
In the longest game in NCAA Tournament history, Canisius upsets second-ranked N.C. State 79-78 in quadruple overtime.

Canisius guard Fran Corcoran makes the game-winning basket with a left-handed jumper with four seconds to go in the fourth overtime.

The 1950 CCNY squad is the only team to ever win the NCAA and NIT titles in the same year.

53. 1950 CCNY-Bradley
Ten days after defeating Bradley 69-61 in the NIT championship game, the City College of New York beats Bradley 71-68 in the NCAA final to become the only team to win the NCAA tournament and the postseason NIT tournament in the same year.

52. 2006 Gonzaga-UCLA
Trailing 71-62 with 3:26 remaining, the Bruins go on an 11-0 run to win their Sweet Sixteen matchup with Gonzaga and win the game 73-71, causing Gonzaga star Adam Morrison to lie in the middle of the court and cry after the game.

51. 1981 Indiana-North Carolina
The NCAA almost postpones the national championship game after President Ronald Reagan is shot, but decides to go on with the game after doctors tell the press that the President will pull through and be okay.

The Hoosiers go on to win the game as sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas scores 19 of his 23 points in the second half for a 63-50 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

50. 1979 Black Sunday
The day is known as “Black Sunday” on Tobacco Road as top seeded North Carolina and #2 seed Duke both lose their second round matchups in their home state on the same afternoon
UNC falls to Penn 72-71, followed by Duke losing to St. John’s 80-78, the #9 and #10 seeds respectively.

Penn and St. John’s would advance to the regional final where Penn would defeat St. John’s 64-62 to advance to their first ever Final Four.

Steve Nash led Santa Clara to an upset victory over Arizona in the 1993 NCAA Tournament.

49. 1993 Santa Clara-Arizona
Santa Clara, led by future Suns point guard Steve Nash, withstand a 25-0 run and defeat the #2 seed Arizona Wildcats 64-61 to become the second #15 seed to win an NCAA tournament game.

48. 2001 Maryland-Duke
The Blue Devils pull off the greatest comeback in Final Four history as they rally from a 39-17 deficit in the first half to outscore their ACC rivals 78-45 over the last 27 minutes of the game and win 95-84 to advance to the title game where they would defeat Arizona 82-72 for their third national championship.

47. 2009 Villanova-Pittsburgh
Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds makes a floating jumper from the lane with 0.5 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 78-76 victory over top-seeded Pittsburgh and secure Nova’s first trip to the Final Four since 1985.

46. 1983 Louisville-Houston
Houston’s “Phi Slamma Jamma” and Louisville’s “Doctors of Dunk” combine for 19 slam dunks in the Cougars’ 94-81 win of their national semifinal that begins an era of basketball where the game would be played above the rim.

45. 1986 Louisville-Duke
“Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison became the second freshman player to be named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four as he scored 25 points and pulled in 11 rebounds to give the Cardinals their second national championship in seven years as the Cardinals defeat the Duke Blue Devils 72-69 in the title game.

44. 1992 Georgia Tech-USC
With 0.8 seconds left, Georgia Tech forward James Forrest catches an inbounds pass from midcourt and drills a three-pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a miraculous 79-78 win over #2 seed USC in their second round matchup in the Midwest Regional.

43. 1977 Marquette-North Carolina

In his final game as a head coach, Al McGuire led Marquette to a national title victory over North Carolina.

In his final game as head coach, Al McGuire goes out a winner as his Golden Eagles hold North Carolina to four points in a 12-minute span during the second half as Marquette come away with a 67-59 victory for the school’s first national championship.

McGuire retired after 13 seasons at Marquette and with nearly 300 wins.

42. 1978 Kentucky-Duke
Jack Givens single handily leads Kentucky to their first national championship in 27 years as he scores 41 points on 18-of-27 shooting in a 94-88 win over the Duke Blue Devils in the championship game.

41. 1984 Indiana-North Carolina
Unheralded guard Dan Dakich holds Michael Jordan to just 13 points, leading Indiana to a 72-68 victory in the Sweet Sixteen and knocking the #1 ranked Tar Heels out of the tournament and ending Jordan’s college career.

Be sure and check back for the rest of the list later this week.