Providence basketball entered Dave Gavitt’s third year on an upward trajectory. The Friars were coming off a 20-win season that saw them reach the quarterfinals of the NIT. In 1972 Providence kept on improving, making the NCAA Tournament, and setting the stage for even bigger things in the immediate future. BARNES & DIGREGORIO TAKE CENTER […]
To a modern audience, Dave Gavitt is a college basketball legend, the man who spearheaded formation of the Big East and transformed the sport in the 1980s. But before that, Gavitt was a simply a solid basketball coach. After spending two seasons at Dartmouth, he took the job at Providence in 1970, and his 1971 […]
The opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament is defined by chaos and possibility. By the Sweet 16, that uncertainty begins to narrow, and the tournament gets its focus. Our Road to the Final Four series begins here, focusing on the fifteen games that lead us to a national champion. The Road to the Final Four […]
DePaul followed up their Final Four run of 1979 with a magnificent regular season in 1980 that earned them a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But it ended with a heartbreaking loss in the Round of 32. The 1981 DePaul basketball team was loaded and came out hungry for redemption. From late November to […]
In 1999, UConn and Duke staged a great national championship battle, that UConn won. In 2004, these two programs again spent the regular season on a collision course with each other and met in the Final Four. The Huskies again won and then secured a national title. Let’s look back on the road that UConn […]
By 1981, Notre Dame basketball was a signature national brand. Over the previous seven seasons, Digger Phelps had taken them to seven NCAA Tournaments, six Sweet 16s and the Final Four in 1978. They had a senior-laden squad in the fold and were primed for more. The Irish did indeed have another strong year in […]
Marquette basketball came into the 1981 season on a run of ten straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and in an era when March Madness was considerably more restrictive than it is today. But 1980 had shown some warning signs, as they slipped to the bubble and were blown out in the first round. In 1981, the […]
Marquette had been a national power going back to 1968. Under the leadership of the charismatic Al McGuire, the Warriors made the Final Four in 1974 and won a national title in 1977. When McGuire handed the reins to his top assistant, Hank Raymonds, Marquette continued to be a legitimate national contender in 1978 and […]
Notre Dame basketball was on a high coming into the 1979 season. They were coming off of five straight trips to the Sweet 16 and had gotten the major breakthrough with a Final Four run in 1978. With a lot of talent left on hand, it was a year of great expectation in South Bend. […]
Marquette basketball had grown accustomed to being a national contender by 1979. Over the last decade, the Warriors were consistently one of college basketball’s marquee teams. That included a Final Four season in 1974 and a national championship in 1977. And while 1978, the first year after the retirement of legendary head coach Al McGuire […]
Digger Phelps enjoyed a long and successful career as the Notre Dame basketball coach and today he’s a fixture on ESPN’s Gameday coverage with Rece Davis and Jay Bilas. Phelps was the architect behind several big wins, including ending UCLA’s 88-game winning streak in the John Wooden era. But only once did Phelps ever reach the Final Four, and that was 1978.
DePaul was coming off a disappointing season in 1977 where injuries prevented the Blue Demons from gaining any consistency. Ray Meyer’s program had been consistently running a step behind Notre Dame and Marquette, their rivals as independent Catholic basketball programs in the Midwest. In 1978, DePaul made a huge step forward, joining the Irish and […]