Spring Break
Top three: NCAA tourney moments
Matt Cullen
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: Opinion
1.) 1983 - North Carolina State Wolfpack upsets No. 1 ranked University of Houston
This was George Mason before George Mason. Why? N.C. State Head Coach Jim Valvano's team beat a University of Houston team, a.k.a Phi Slamma Jamma, featuring Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. It set the bar for all other tournament upsets to be measured by.
2.) 1992 - Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater stuns Kentucky in overtime
Quite possibly the greatest game in tournament history. Two of the best teams that season went into overtime with a trip to the Final Four at stake. Pressure? Not for Laettner, whose Jimmy Chitwood-esque shot from the free-throw line capped a miracle finish for Duke.
3.) 2006 - George Mason makes the Final Four
If not for Valvano's Wolfpack, this would be the Cinderella story of the tournament's history. Having been on the bubble just before Selection Sunday, the Patriots pulled a string of upsets over top dogs Michigan St., North Carolina, and Connecticut.
This was George Mason before George Mason. Why? N.C. State Head Coach Jim Valvano's team beat a University of Houston team, a.k.a Phi Slamma Jamma, featuring Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. It set the bar for all other tournament upsets to be measured by.
2.) 1992 - Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater stuns Kentucky in overtime
Quite possibly the greatest game in tournament history. Two of the best teams that season went into overtime with a trip to the Final Four at stake. Pressure? Not for Laettner, whose Jimmy Chitwood-esque shot from the free-throw line capped a miracle finish for Duke.
3.) 2006 - George Mason makes the Final Four
If not for Valvano's Wolfpack, this would be the Cinderella story of the tournament's history. Having been on the bubble just before Selection Sunday, the Patriots pulled a string of upsets over top dogs Michigan St., North Carolina, and Connecticut.
Be the first to comment on this story