Although the NCAA Tournament has already begun with the “opening round” games, the action gets underway in earnest tomorrow afternoon. To celebrate, here are my three top March Madness buzzer beaters.
Off the top of my head, the greatest buzzer beater ever is probably the late Lorenzo Charles’dunk to win the 1983 title for N.C. State. (Tyus Edney is up there, too.) I was all of four years old when Charles put the Wolfpack over the top, so I can’t really count that one as a personal favorite. With that in mind, I’ve included only shots that I recall seeing as they happened.
3. Drew Nicholas (Maryland) v. UNC Wilmington, 2003: Mostly for the way that Nicholas ran off the floor immediately after the shot. Maryland, the 2002 champion, defeated UNC Wilmington and Xavier before being eliminated from the 2003 tourney by Michigan State.
2. Christian Laettner (Duke) v. Kentucky, 1992: Cliché, I know, but I have a vivid recollection of practicing that shot in my parents’ driveway immediately after the end of the game.
1. Richard “Rip” Hamilton (UConn) v. Washington, 1998: I watched this one with my roommates during my freshman year of college. The suspense increased with each UConn attempt and finally reached an unbearable level before Hamilton won the game for the Huskies.
Least Favorite: Matt Howard (Butler) v. ODU, 2011: This game still has the ODU Monarchs and their fans wondering what might have been. After this first-round victory, Butler advanced all the way to the national final before losing to UConn.
CBS will air the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 6:00 p.m. today and unveil the NCAA Tournament bracket. The following are the Top 11 games that the bracket might bring:
11. Cincinnati v. Xavier: Because we’ll never get Pacquiao – Mayweather, we may as well watch this again.
The NCAA Selection Committee is unlikely to share this sentiment, however, and will probably not even let these teams play on the same side of the country, let alone the same side of the bracket.
This was the baddest man in college basketball when he played for UNLV. He was also the first pick in the 1991 NBA Draft.
9. Duke v. UNLV: These two teams haven’t played each other since their 1991 tournament semifinal game. Duke won that game en route to the 1991 title, getting some revenge for the 1990 championship game in which UNLV waxed the Blue Devils 103-73.
Still, it would be fun to see the teams square off again.
8. Notre Dame v. Florida State: These schools renewed their storied football rivalry a few months ago in the Champs Sports Bowl. Florida State took that one 18-14.
Despite repeated gridiron match-ups, Florida State and Notre Dame have faced each other in exactly one basketball game: in last year’s NCAA Tournament, ten-seed Florida State knocked off the second-seeded Irish 71-57 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
I apparently missed this game last year: maybe I will get another chance this March.
10 out of 10 bracketologists agree: if Michigan State and UNC play each other in the Big Dance, the game will definitely not be played on an aircraft carrier. Photo by Mike Blake (Reuters), courtesy of nytimes.com.
6. Michigan State v. UNC: The Tar Heels have won the last six meetings between these programs. Included in that streak are the 2009 national title game and the first game of this season, which was played on the deck of an aircraft carrier in San Diego (I am not making that up).
Michigan State is 3-11 all-time against UNC and last defeated the Tar Heels on November 29, 2000. Here’s hoping Izzo and the Spartans get another crack at Ol’ Roy’s bunch (and come out on the right side).
Wisconsin forward Ryan Evans (5) has the second-best haircut in college basketball. He is also the Badgers' second-leading scorer. Coincidence? AP photo, courtesy of bostonherald.com.
5. U.Va. v. Wisconsin: If you are a fan of offense, you may want to skip this one. Through games of March 8, Wisconsin led the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 51.9 points per game. U.Va. was second, giving up 53.2 per contest. (Word to the wise: bet the under.)
This match-up would also pit U.Va. head coach Tony Bennett against his former boss, Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan.
4. Wichita State v. Kansas: Wichita State is the defending NIT Champion and looks solid to earn an at-large bid out of the Missouri Valley Conference. This is a David and Goliath in-state rivalry that was last played on January 6, 1993, a 103-54 home victory for Kansas. Kansas holds the all-time edge over Shockers 12-2, so it would be cool to see Wichita State with a chance to notch some measure of payback when the stakes are high.
Interestingly, Wichita State’s first victory in the series came on March 20, 1981, when the two teams played in the NCAA tournament. Wichita State won that game 66-65 and advanced to the Elite Eight.
Bleedin’ Kansas, indeed.
Big brother. Photo by Nick Laham, courtesy of foxsports.com.
3. Indiana v. UNC: I’m normally not much for “storyline” games, and it pains me to include UNC twice, but this one could be great. Not quite the Civil War, but still brother against brother. Which Zeller would you bet on: ACC Player of the Year Tyler, or Big Ten Freshman of the Year Cody?
Little brother. Photo by Andy Lyons (Getty Images North America).
2. VCU v. Missouri: The old boxing adage says that styles make fights. These teams’ styles are opposite sides of the same coin. I will be glued to the television if the Tigers’ potent four-guard offense is matched up against the Rams’ “havoc” pressure defense.
The entertainment value in this one would be through the roof, and there is a bonus for novelty as well: the teams have played only once previously, when Missouri defeated VCU 71-66 on December 9, 1971. Rams coach Shaka Smart had not even been born when that game was played.
1. Kentucky v. Syracuse: These two teams have been 1 and 1(a) all season long, so it would be a worthy (if unlikely) national final. Kentucky coach John Calipari is probably the best current college coach not to have won a national championship; Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim formerly held that distinction (and should be forever grateful to Carmelo Anthony for lifting that albatross).
It would also be interesting to see how Kentucky’s freshman sensation Anthony Davis would fare against burly Fab Melo of the Orange.
Check your bracket tonight to see if any of these might actually come to pass.
Norris Cole of the Heat puts the pressure on Jeremy Lin (17). Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images, courtesy of cnnsi.com.
The Miami Heat closed out the first half of the season with a 102-88 victory over the New York Knicks last night. The Heat go into the All-Star break with a 26-7 overall record and are currently riding an eight-game winning streak. The Heat have won each of those eight games by at least twelve points.
Last night, the Heat restored some measure of sanity by holding the Knicks’ Jeremy Lin to eight points (1-11 from the floor). The Heat also forced Lin into eight turnovers, one of which came on Norris Cole’s steal and led to this dunk (the judges will deduct points for not sticking the landing):
Following the game, LeBron James remarked that Lin is “a good player, a really good player … But for us, we come in and take care of business.” Speaking of taking care of business, LeBron posted the following line for the game: 20 points (7-16 from the floor), 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks.
In fairness to Lin, this game came at the end of a ten-day stretch during which the Knicks played seven games. Lin has been playing a ton of minutes since he burst into the lineup, so fatigue is almost certainly a factor. There will be no rest for the weary, though, as Lin has been added to the lineup for tonight’s Rising Stars Challenge game.
Andre Dawkins led Duke with 22 points in a 74-66 win over Florida State. Photo by Phil Sears (AP), courtesy of cnnsi.com.
In last night’s college action, Duke junior guard Andre Dawkins (Chesapeake / Atlantic Shores Christian) came off the bench to score in 22 points in 21 minutes to help the Blue Devils defeat Florida State and avenge the last-second home loss to the Seminoles earlier this year. Dawkins canned six three-pointers, with five of those coming in the first half (on six attempts).
Dawkins’ play was a key to the win, as his 18 first-half points made up for the fact that Duke forwards Miles Plumlee, Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly struggled with first-half foul trouble.
