Nick's Lists: Top 10 Games in NCAA Tournament History (5-1)

We conclude our look at the top 10 games in NCAA tournament history with a quick first look at some honorable mentions. 

Please remember that as disgusted as I might be at some of these, we try to remain objective at Caputo's Corner.  The significance of the game is what allows it to make this list, not my personal disgust with either the team(s) involved (**cough cough Duke cough cough**) or the outcome. 

Duke 79 UNLV 77 (1991 National Semifinal)-Duke gets redemption for a 30 point blowout the year before.  This is probably the last time we ever heard the words "Duke" and "upset" in the same sentence when Duke was doing the upsetting.

North Carolina 77 Michigan 71 (1993 National Championship)-The "timeout."  Don't forget also that Chris Webber blatantly traveled on that last possession (just getting ready for the NBA as they say).  His timeout that wasn't gave the Heels two free throws that put the game on ice.  The Fab 5 never got the the title that Ed Martin desperately wanted to buy...

UCLA 75 Missouri 74 (1995 West Regional Second Round)-Tyus Edney's coast to coast lay up to beat Mizzou was the highlight of UCLA's first title in 20 years and 11th overall. 

Duke 95 Maryland 84 (2001 National Semifinal)-Maryland led by as many as 22 in the first half in the 4th meeting of the year between the two.  The prior meetings were all extremely close affairs, including this disaster at Cole Field House in January.  Maryland exacted a measure of revenge 1 month later on Shane Battier's senior night, only to see Duke win again in the ACC tournament semifinal on a Nate James tip in with 1 second left.  This series of games led to the height of the Duke-Maryland rivalry that persisted throughout the 2000s (rioting students aside...).

Florida 84 Ohio State 75 (2007 National Championship)-Florida became the last team to complete back to back titles since Duke in 1991 and 1992, mostly because Al Horford, Taurean Green, and Joakim Noah spurned big bucks in the NBA for one season to try to do something that had not been done in 15 years.  They could have tried to go for a 3-peat, but that was asking too much...

Now let's finish off our countdown of the top 10 games in NCAA Tournament history!  Enjoy.


5) Michigan State 75 Indiana State 64 (1979 National Championship)


Getty Images


Throughout the 1970s, the Indiana State Sycamores were usually overshadowed in the state of Indiana by their Bloomington Bretheren (and one famous chair-tossing head coach).  However, the arrival in 1976 of a certain golden-haired fellow by the name of Larry Bird rocketed Indiana State from relative obscurity to the biggest stage in college sports, going undefeated in 1979.  On the other hand, the Michigan State Spartans featured a hometown boy who spurned offers from powerhouses such as UCLA.  His name was Earvin, but his friends called him Magic.  Of course the game itself was pretty much dominated by the individual performances of the two, Magic earning the first upper hand with Michigan State's victory.  The game between the two soon-to-be superstars was (and still is today) one of the highest rated college basketball games period, and ushered in two distinct eras in the history of basketball.  The first was the so-called "modern era" of college basketball, where more and more games would be seen on TV (1979 also happened to be the year ESPN launched...and Dick Vitale wore glasses).  The second was at the professional level, as both Magic and Bird entered the NBA that year kicking off one of the most important basketball rivalries of the 1980s between Magic's Lakers and Bird's Celtics.  In the pros, Magic continued his dominance over Bird, winning 5 championships for the Lakers in the 1980s versus 3 for the Celtics.  By the time the 90s came around...a certain guy named Jordan overshadowed all of them...



4) North Carolina 63 Georgetown 62 (1982 National Championship)


From chapelhillmemories.com


For years, Dean Smith just could not win the big one, and nobody really gave them much of a shot in 1982.  In the championship game that year, they had to deal with probably the most feared big man in college basketball since Bill Walton: Patrick Ewing.  Just a freshman, Ewing played well beyond his years (and his size) in that game.  North Carolina, however, had another talented youngster.  You might have heard of him.  His name was Jordan.  Michael Jordan.  Most will probably remember his famous shot that gave Carolina the 1-point lead with only a few seconds left in the game.  Yes, it was the game-winner, but the game was far from over.  James Worthy ended up being the recipient of an errant Fred Brown pass on Georgetown's final possession which sealed the game for the Tar Heels.  The legacy of this game lasted beyond the final score.  This was Jordan's arrival on the college basketball scene.  He would soon be overshadowed by another youngster by the name of Len Bias at the University of Maryland.  Of course we all know the Len Bias story, and Jordon would go on to have an OK NBA career (just OK).  Ewing would get his national title in 1984 over Phi Slamma Jamma and the University of Houston...only to be victimized by another title game upset in 1985 before joining the pros in the (allegedly) biggest NBA draft lottery scam in history.

3) Duke 104 Kentucky 103-OT (1992 East Regional Final)

"The Shot:" Even if you hate Duke (which probably most readers of this blog do...except for Donnie and Lumi of course), even if you think Christian Laettner belongs in jail for stomping on Kentucky's Aminu Timberlake earlier in the game, you had to be shocked at how this game ended, one of the most dramatic conclusions to a basketball game, nevermind level or stakes, ever.  To this day, pundits question why Rick Pitino did not tell anybody on the Kentucky side to guard Grant Hill's inbounds pass.  Everybody knew that with 2.1 seconds left, the pass had to go at least 3/4 court.  At the very least, somebody could have harrassed the pass.  Pitino had to know that all Duke had time for was a catch, one dribble, and shot.  The more difficult his charges could make that, the better off he'd be.  However, this game gets dissected mostly for one shot at the end of the game.  Regulation ended in a 93-93 tie in what was truly a back and forth affair from the start.  Many people forget that the whole reason it came to that was because Kentucky's Sean Woods made a miraculous running one-hander off the glass to give Kentucky a 1 point lead with those 2.1 seconds left.  At that point, Mike Krzyzewski quickly called timeout to set up the winning play (fully expecting the inbounds pass to be guarded as we discussed).  Laettner's winning shot made him 10 for 10 shooting on the day, and everybody remembers him for that shot...and not the stomp.  As is usually the case with Duke players in the pros, he became a journeyman playing for 6 different teams before finally retiring in 2005. 

2) George Mason 86 UConn 84-OT (2006 Washington DC Regional Final)

When we think of "Cinderella" in the NCAA Tournament, we usually think of the plucky double-digit seed who wins a game, maybe two, over competition who would clearly beat them 9 times out of 10 if they played that many.  After their big win, they then proceed to do what they were supposed to do all along: turn back into a pumpkin and go home where they belong.  The Final Four is no place for mid majors to crash the party.  The big stage is reserved for the big boys in the big conferences.  Occasionally, non BCS schools like Memphis do enough to earn invites, but only in rare occasions. 

Nobody told that to Jim Larranaga and the George Mason Patriots in 2006

Enter the Connecticut Assassination Association, otherwise known as the Colonial Athletic Association. 

In what is probably the most stunning run of upsets in NCAA tournament history, the tiny commuter school just down the road from Caputo's Corner in Fairfax, VA KOed in succession Michigan State (their only game I called correctly that year, by the way), defending champion North Carolina, Wichita State (Fresh off a major upset of Tennessee themselves), and UConn.  The game against UConn was by far the most heart-wrenching game of the whole tournament that year.  Whether you wanted to admit it or not, you were rooting for Mason.  What did you care?  Your bracket was probably in the shredder by that point anyway, regardless of whether or not you had UConn going all the way.  Even if it wasn't, how could you not root for the CAA upstart looking to crash the big boys' party in Indianapolis that year?  Mason was everybody's underdog.  Having a home court advantage at the Verizon Center in DC didn't hurt either.  No doubt, the crowd energy put the Patriots over the top in the overtime, even after missed free throws at the end of regulation took it to OT in the first place.  Missed free throws also gave Denim Brown a chance at a 3-pointer at the end of overtime that he missed long.  No matter, however.  Destiny was determined.  Washington, DC turned green and gold for one memorable weekend in March 2006.  Yes, they finally fell to eventual champion Florida in the National Semis, but the names of who-dats Tony Skinn, Jai Lewis, and Folarin Campbell (just to name a few) will echo in DC baskeball lore for years to come.  Enjoy the final moments of this masterpiece.  Bill Raftery is amazing, by the way.

So if this game is #2...what could possibly be #1?

1) NC State 54 Houston 52 (1983 National Championship)


From thebleacherreport.com


Who can forget the scene of Jim Valvano running across the floor at the University of New Mexico Pit just looking for someone to hug.  His NC State Wolfpack had just pulled off probably the most improbably championshp game upset in the history of the NCAA tournament (up to that point).  Meet Phi Slamma Jamma.  Want to know where they got that nickname?  Check this out.  Boy those guys could jump.  The University of Houston Cougars were loaded...to say the least.  Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler would lead the Houston Rockets to back to back NBA titles in the 90s, and they had quite the successful run in the college ranks as well...until they reached the final games.  1982 was no different.  Houston was heavily favored over the much smaller NC State lineup.  Oddly enough, the game was won on a little taste of Houston's own medicine: a dunk.  To this day, people debate as to whether or not Derek Whittenburg's shot was actually a pass.  I personally believe that it was nothing more than a desperation heave.  Lorenzo Charles just happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch the airball.  Yes, folks, it was an airball.  Fortunately for NC State, Whittenburg underestimated how much time was left.  He shot the ball with 3 seconds left, just enough time for Charles to catch it and have the presence of mind to go up and flush it.  It's amazing how the human brain works in pressure cooker situations like that, to have the instinct to know how much time is left, who you are playing, and where you are on the floor.  If Charles had just decided to lay it in, Olajuwon was right there to send it into the 1st row.  Who knows how the game would have ended if it had gone to overtime?  We'll never knows because Lorenzo Charles (who only had 4 points in the game...the biggest 4 points of his life) jumped up and threw it down as the clock hit all zeros.  NC State became the lowest seeded team to win the NCAA Tournament (only to be bettered by 8-seeded Villanova 2 years later), having knocked off two #1 seeds in the process (Houston and Ralph Sampson's Virginia squad). 

As most of us know, we lost Jim Valvano to cancer in 1993.  His speech at the ESPYs that year started the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.  The Jimmy V classic preseason tournament at Madison Square Garden is usually one of the better tournament draws in terms of teams playing and fans attending. 

Thanks for reading this special edition of Nick's Lists.  Enjoy the rest of the 2011 NCAA Tournament and good luck with your brackets (what's left of them :-)).