The Louisville-Kentucky matchup in the Final Four is so rare that the last time teams from the same state met was 50 years ago. On four occasions, there have been Final Four participants from the same state that did not meet. North Carolina and Duke (1991), North Carolina and UNC Charlotte (1977), Kentucky and Louisville (1975) and Cincinnati and Ohio State (1960) were on opposite sides of the bracket. In 1975, there was great anticipation in the Bluegrass State for a Louisville-Kentucky title game. The Wildcats held up their end with a 95-79 win over Syracuse. But UCLA eliminated Louisville in the semifinals in San Diego 75-74 as the Bruins rallied for a winning buzzer-beater from Richard Washington. Here are the three in-state matchups that have occurred in the Final Four: 1. La Salle 69, Penn State 54 (1954) » The teams met in the semifinals in Kansas City. Eventual national champion La Salle won behind tournament most outstanding player Tom Gola, who outplayed Penn State star Jesse Arnelle.
2. Cincinnati 70, Ohio State 65 (1961) » The teams met in the title game in Kansas City. Ohio State had the star power with Jerry Lucas and Larry Siegfried, but Cincinnati emerged with a balanced attack led by Bob Wiesenhahn (17 points).
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3. Cincinnati 71, Ohio State 59 (1962) » For the second straight year the teams met in the title game — with the same result. Paul Hogue (22 points, 19 rebounds), the tournament’s most outstanding player, outplayed All-Americans Lucas (11 points, 16 rebounds) and John Havlicek (11 points) in Louisville.
– Kevin Dunleavy
