What are the greatest NCAA title games? So many choices, so little space. To illustrate how many memorable games have been played, the list below does not mention the last unbeaten team, the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, or the four titles by Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp. It ignores brilliant individual performances by Danny Manning (Kansas), David Thompson (N.C. State), Isiah Thomas (Indiana), and Goose Givens (Kentucky), and big shots by Scotty Thurman (Arkansas) and Khalid El-Amin (UConn).
10. 1989 » Michigan def. Seton Hall, 80-79 (OT)
In Seattle, 66 percent free throw shooter Rumeal Robinson hit two clutch shots with 3 seconds left to deliver emergency coach Steve Fisher the title. Fisher was promoted by AD Bo Schembechler after Bill Frieder announced during the tournament that he was moving to Arizona State in the fall.
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9. 1957 » North Carolina def. Kansas, 54-53 (3OT)
In Kansas City, it was a virtual home game for the Jayhawks, but Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire surrounded 7-foot-2 Wilt Chamberlain with all five players, limiting him to 23 points and 14 rebounds. His 3-point play in the third OT wasn’t enough. Afterward Chamberlain said, “I felt like Custer.”
8. 2008 » Kansas def. Memphis, 75-68 (OT)
At the Alamodome, Mario Chalmers hit the tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, capping a rally from nine points down in the final 2:12. Memphis paved the way by missing 4 of 5 free throws in the final 72 seconds, then Derrick Rose & Co. couldn’t recover in overtime.
7. 1987 » Indiana def. Syracuse, 74-73
It was Bobby Knight’s dream team — five players who averaged double figures and shared the ball. With the Syracuse defense focused on Steve Alford, JUCO transfer Keith Smart rose, scoring 12 of the Hoosiers last 15 points, including the winning jumper from the baseline with 5 seconds left.
6. 1973 » UCLA def. Memphis State, 87-66
In St. Louis, in the most dominant performance in finals history, Bill Walton (44 points) was unstoppable at the rim, hitting 21 of 22 shots to lead John Wooden’s Bruins to their seventh straight title. Afterward, Walton announced he would skip the NBA draft and return for his senior year.
5. 1979 » Michigan State def. Indiana State, 75-64
They were so different — one a telegenic city kid, the other a camera-shy country boy — and so similar — both 6-9 with incomparable basketball instincts. When Magic Johnson (MSU) and Larry Bird (ISU) met in this anticipated title game in Salt Lake City, it drew a TV ratings record that still stands.
4. 1982 » North Carolina def. Georgetown, 63-62
In New Orleans, so many enduring images — Patrick Ewing swatting Carolina shots, Michael Jordan’s no-hesitation jumper, Fred Brown’s inexplicable pass to James Worthy that sealed the Hoyas’ fate, and, most poignantly, coach John Thompson’s embrace of the distraught Brown.
3. 1983 » North Carolina State def. Houston, 54-52
In Albuquerque, Dereck Whittenburg’s desperation heave from 35 feet was wide, but Lorenzo Charles caught the ball at the rim and gently laid it in at the buzzer, triggering coach Jim Valvano’s willy-nilly celebration, as State shocked Clyde Drexler and Phi Slamma Jamma.
2. 1985 » Villanova def. Georgetown, 66-64
In perhaps, the greatest upset in NCAA finals history, Rollie Massimino’s eighth-seeded Wildcats hit 22 of 28 shots (79 percent) at Rupp Arena, toppling their Big East rival and the defending NCAA champion behind Ed Pinckney, Dwyane McClain, and Harold Jensen.
1. 1966 » Texas Western def. Kentucky, 72-65
Not the greatest game, but certainly the most socially significant as Don Haskins used an all-black rotation to stun Adolph Rupp’s heavily-favored, all-white Wildcats. David Lattin’s thunderous dunk rocked Cole Field House early and Bobby Joe Hill’s back-to-back steals for breakaway layups sealed the deal late.
