Sports Then and Now

Christian Laettner's game-winning shot ended one of the great games in NCAA Tournament history.

Welcome to the third and final part of the Ultimate March Madness List.
This installment features the top 20 moments in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

20. 1998 Valparaiso-Ole Miss
With 2.5 seconds left and trailing 69-67, Valpo’s Jaime Skyes throws a 60-foot pass down the length of the court that is caught by Bill Jenkins, who then passes it over to Bryce Drew (the head coach’s son), who then proceeds to drill a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give #13 seed Valparaiso an improbable 70-69 victory over the #4 seed Ole Miss Rebels in their first round game.

19. 1990 Connecticut-Clemson
With exactly one second left, Uconn guard Tate George catches a full-court pass from Scott Burrell, lands, then squares up to shoots a jumper that goes in the basket at the buzzer to give the Huskies a miraculous 71-70 win over the Clemson Tigers and send Connecticut to their first ever Elite Eight.

18. 1991 Duke-UNLV
One year after losing to UNLV 103-73 in the championship game, Duke avenges that humiliating by knocking off the undefeated and defending national champion Runnin’ Rebels 79-77 as Christian Lattener hits two free throws with 12.7 seconds left.

Duke would win the national championship two nights later as they defeated Kansas 72-65 to give coach Mike Krzyzewski his first national title after five trips to the Final Four. Read the rest of this entry →

Danny Ainge made a magical shot to defeat Notre Dame in the 1981 NCAA Tournament.

Welcome to Part 2 of the Ultimate March Madness List. Today, we explore moments 40-21.

40. 2003 Syracuse-Kansas
Syracuse’s Hakim Warrick blocks a potential tying 3-point shot by Kansas’s Michael Lee with 0.7 seconds left to preserve the 81-78 win and securing the first national championship for Syracuse and coach Jim Boeheim.

39. 1998 Washington-Connecticut
On the third shot attempt in the final eight seconds of the game, UConn’s Richard Hamilton hits a short fade away jumper at the buzzer that wins the game for the Huskies 75-74 in their Sweet Sixteen game with Washington and sends UConn to the Elite Eight.

38. 2008 Davidson
Stephen Curry, son of former NBA player Del Curry, becomes the star of the 2008 Tournament as he leads his Davidson Wildcats on a memorable run to the elite eight.

Curry scores 40 points in Davidson’s first round matchup with Gonzaga, followed by a 30-point performance in the second round against Georgetown as he outscored the Hoyas 25-22 in the final 14:24 of the second half to lead the Wildcats back from a 17-point deficit, then scored 33 in a rout of Wisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen, and then 25 in a two-point loss to Kansas in the Midwest Regional Final. Read the rest of this entry →

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. Read the rest of this entry →

The experts predict that Big 12 Champion Kansas will be holding up an even bigger trophy in three weeks.

America’s work productivity will take a big hit this week as people across the country contemplate their brackets for the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

While Kansas is the prohibitive favorite, there seems to be plenty of programs with a chance to put together a run and reach the Final Four in Indianapolis.

In addition to Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse earned spots at the top of the four brackets. Some experts thought West Virginia and even Ohio State deserved a spot among the top four, but based on overall season performance, I think the committee got it right.

It is always funny to listen to the “experts” talk about which teams are on the bubble as it is a moving target that changes almost daily over the last couple weeks of the season.

Despite nearly upsetting number two ranked Kentucky, Mississippi State will be toiling away in the NIT. Same is true for Virginia Tech (23-8, tied for third in ACC) and Illinois (19-14, 10-8 in Big Ten), both of which seemed destined for the NCAA before suffering some late season losses.

Among the teams that did make the field of 65, UTEP, Minnesota and Florida were among the last to get at-large bids.

If history is any guide, the first two days will include some surprising upsets with lower seeds proving they belonged while some higher seeds prove unworthy of their lofty perch.

The 12-5 matchup is traditionally one where upsets happen. Last year three of the four matchups went to the lower seed. Among those games in 2010, #12 Cornell against #5 Temple and #12 UTEP against #5 Butler would seem to be the ripest for upset. Read the rest of this entry →

Sherron Collins and the Kansas Jayhawks seem poised for the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Selection Sunday is getting closer and closer and the way things are shaping up I’m ready to make some NCAA Basketball predictions for the four teams that will be the number one seed in each region.

I’m really enjoying the way Kansas is playing right now, even though they had a few problems against Texas A&M they found a way to win and that gives me a feeling they are a championship caliber team.

Looking at their schedule I don’t see any team that can stop them until the tourney starts.  They do go up against Kansas State, but that game is at home and I don’t think they will lose.  That’s why I have Kansas as the top team in the Big 12 and in the country in general.

Kansas will lead the Midwest bracket.

I am a nut when it comes to sports and I look at every angle, and having said that I don’t trust Kentucky as much as other people. Read the rest of this entry →