Digger Phelps’ Notre Dame program had started to become a national force in 1974, when they ended the 88-game winning streak of John Wooden’s UCLA and subsequently made the Sweet 16. They returned to the regional semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament in 1975. The 1976 Irish basketball season was—for better or for worse—more of […]
Al McGuire successfully integrated several new players into the Marquette lineup in 1975 while keeping the Warriors on the national landscape. In 1976, that growth continued. Marquette was again a nationally elite team. In fact, this team came very close to perfection and was only blocked from the Final Four by a team that actually […]
Ray Meyer spent the early-to-mid 1970s gradually building the DePaul basketball program back into prominence at a time when Al McGuire’s Marquette and Digger Phelps’ Notre Dame teams ruled the roost for Catholic college hoops in the Midwest. The 1975 DePaul edition was getting closer—while they wouldn’t what make was then just a 32-team NCAA […]
Notre Dame basketball came into the 1975 season off a ’74 campaign that had marked a historic breakthrough. The breakthrough came from Digger Phelps, in his third season, getting to the NCAA Tournament for the first time and reaching the Sweet 16. The historic part came from ending the 88-game winning streak of John Wooden’s […]
Marquette was coming off a breakthrough Final Four appearance in 1974, but Al McGuire’s program had some rebuilding to do. Maurice Lucas, their great power forward, had left early for the NBA. The only senior starter, center Jerry Homan, didn’t average in double figures. The Warriors didn’t match their ’74 performance. But with the emergence […]
Dean Smith had some rebuilding to do. A guy named Michael Jordan had departed from Chapel Hill. After winning a national title in 1982, UNC had continued to produce great teams with Jordan in 1983 and 1984, but there was disappointment in March. The Tar Heels had failed to win the conference tournament—a big deal […]
The 2015 Final Four was defined by Kentucky’s pursuit of history and an epic rematch with Wisconsin. But it ended with a familiar sight—Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils hoisting their fifth NCAA championship banner. Here’s a look back at the paths Duke, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Michigan State all took to get to Indianapolis: […]
Just three years removed from making a surprise run to the national title, the University of Connecticut had an even more out-of-nowhere run to the top of college basketball. Here’s a look back at how UConn, along with Kentucky, Florida, and Wisconsin, all reached the 2014 Final Four in Dallas. UCONN After the 2011 NCAA […]
Dean Smith was on a high. The Tar Heel coach, ultimately headed for the Hall of Fame, was already one of college basketball’s best. He had reached four Final Fours in his first 15 years at Chapel Hill. In the summer of 1976, he won an Olympic gold medal. The 1977 North Carolina basketball team […]
Dean Smith came to North Carolina in 1962, and over his first decade, he took the Tar Heels to the Final Four on four different occasions. From 1973 through 1975, UNC took a back seat to N.C. State and Maryland in the ACC but winning the conference tournament in ’75 got them back into an […]
Louisville was seeking their first national title since 1986, when the legendary Denny Crum was still on the sidelines. The Cardinals reached the summit, triumphing in a 2013 Final Four that included Michigan, Syracuse, and Wichita State. Here’s a look back on the road those four teams traveled to reach Atlanta. LOUISVILLE Rick Pitino had […]
John Calipari changed college basketball with his ability to bring in top-flight “one-and-done” players, who would leave for the NBA after their freshman year, and still mold them into winning teams at Kentucky. That was never more evident than in 2012. Kentucky was joined by Kansas, Ohio State, and Louisville on the sport’s biggest stage […]