Villanova 66, Georgetown 64
April 1, 1985
Lexington, KY
Dwayne McClain hit two free throws and Harold Pressley one of two to give Villanova a four-point advantage going into the final seconds. Georgetown's Michael Jackson completed the scoring with a field goal with four seconds remaining. McClain, hitting five of seven field goals, paced Villanova with 17 points and 6-foot-9 Ed Pinckney, who battled Patrick Ewing in the pivot all night, scored 16 and grabbed six boards. Ewing, the Hoyas' All-American center, was limited to five rebounds and one blocked shot, while scoring 14 points. A see-saw battle, Georgetown rallied from a 53-48 deficit to lead 54-53 with a little more than three minutes to go. That's when Villanova went on a decisive 8-2 run to lead 61-56 and upset the Hoyas. Villanova's super sub Harold Jensen hit all five of his shots from the field and scored 14 points.

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Louisville 72, Duke 69
March 31, 1986
Dallas, TX
Seventh-ranked Louisville, led by "Never Nervous" rookie Pervis Ellison, took its second NCAA basketball championship in six years with the three-point victory. Ellison scored 25 points and had 11 rebounds as the Cardinals ended Duke's 21-game winning streak. Seniors Milt Wagner and Billy Thompson hit important baskets down the stretch. Thompson put the Cardinals ahead for good, 66-65, with 2:49 to play with a tough jumper in the lane. Ellison, the game's MVP, hit two key free throws with 27 seconds left. All-America Johnny Dawkins had 24 points to lead the Blue Devils.

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Indiana 74, Syracuse 73
March 30, 1987
New Orleans, LA
Keith Smart took a pass from teammate Daryl Thomas and scored on a baseline jumper with five seconds left to lift Indiana past Syracuse for their third NCAA championship of the Bobby Knight era. Syracuse lost it in the final 2:03, perhaps, because it missed three crucial free throws. Freshman Derrick Coleman, who had 19 rebounds for Syracuse, had a chance to put the Orange three points ahead when he went to the foul line for a one-and-one with :28 to go. He missed the front end, giving the Hoosiers their chance to win the game. With many of the Orangemen keying on Indiana's Steve Alford, Smart scored six of Indiana's final seven baskets down the stretch. Rony Seikaly, the 6-foot-10-inch Syracuse center, had 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Orangemen went ahead 52-44 with 13 minutes to go, but a 10-0 run capped by Smart's driving layup put the Hoosiers back in the game.

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Kansas 83, Oklahoma 79
April 4, 1988
Kansas City, MO
Two-time All-American Danny Manning scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead Kansas, an eight-point underdog, to its victory over the Sooners, the nation's second-leading scoring team and the regular-season and tournament champions in the Big Eight. Milt Newton added 15 points for Kansas, while Kevin Pritchard had 13. Dave Sieger led Oklahoma with 22 points, including seven 3-pointers, while Stacey King had 17 and Harvey Grant and Mookie Blaylock 14 each. Kansas, which had come out with all guns blazing, appeared to be buckling at last as the Sooners ran off eight straight points to erase a 60-57 deficit. Then Chris Piper hit a 15-foot jumper to stem the flow and Manning tied the game with a three-point play. Later, with a 75-71 lead, the Jayhawks ran the shot clock down almost to zero before Piper fired in a baseline jumper with 3:03 left. That 77-71 lead was the biggest for either team all night.

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Michigan 80, Seton Hall 79 (OT)
April 3, 1989
Seattle, WA
Rumeal Robinson hit two free throws with three seconds to go in overtime, lifting Michigan to a one-point overtime victory against Seton Hall for the national championship. Seton Hall's John Morton led all scorers with 35 points, and Glen Rice of Michigan nearly matched him with 31. Robinson was a 43-minute man in this one and he put on some show. There were 21 points and 11 assists. There was a dazzling reverse slam dunk that most point guards just don't make. Then, the free throws. Down three points in overtime when Morton nailed one last long-range shot, Michigan played shutout defense for the final 2:41 of this game.

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Duke 72, Kansas 65
April 1, 1991
Indianapolis, IN
In their ninth trip to the Final Four, Duke finally won the national championship by beating Kasas 72-65. It won because point guard Bobby Hurley controlled his offense; because 6-foot-11 center Christian Laettner was enough of a force inside to hit 12 straight free throws among his 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds; and because a substitute off-guard, Billy McCaffrey, nailed six of eight shots off the bench. McCaffrey had 16 points, Hurley 12 and nine assists and Grant Hill 10 points for Duke. Mark Randall had 12 points for Kansas and Adonis Jordan 11. The Blue Devils capitalized on a five-minute scoreless stetch by Kansas in the second half to open a 14-point lead. Kansas cut the lead to five, 70-65, with 34.5 seconds remaining but could come no closer.

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North Carolina 77, Michigan 71
April 5, 1993
New Orleans, LA
When the time came to put the wraps on a national championship for the Fab Five, the Wolverines blinked, and North Carolina won the NCAA title with a 77-71 victory. A 9-0 Tar Heel spurt in the last four minutes and a costly, almost unbelievable, error by Michigan center Chris Webber wrested the game from the Wolverines and gave it to the Tar Heels. With 20 seconds left and Michigan down 73-71, Webber rebounded Pat Sullivan's free throw and dribbled downcourt, into a trap in forecourt, where he called timeout. The Wolverines had none left. With an automatic technical called, Tar Heel Donald Williams nailed a pair of free throws, and with the possession, two more. It was history. UNC's Williams finished with 25 points, matching his semifinal output from 3-point range with five in 11 attempts. Eric Montross added 16 points and George Lynch chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds. Webber led Michigan with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

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Arkansas 76, Duke 72
April 4, 1994
Charlotte, NC
Arkansas won its first national title with a 76-72 victory over Duke, taking the lead for good with less than a minute to play when Scotty Thurman hit a tough 3-pointer as the shot clock ran out. Grant Hill, Duke's All-American, had just tied the game at 70-all on a 3-pointer with 1:29 left, and Razorbacks coach Nolan Richardson called a timeout with 1:15 remaining. Arkansas looked for Corliss Williamson, but decided against it. They got the ball to the ponderous perimeter player, Dwight Stewart, but he fumbled it at the top of the circle. Finally, he dealt it to Thurman on the wing. The 35-second shot clock showed one second when Thurman cast it over Antonio Lang, two inches taller, and it went down. Corliss Williamson led Arkansas with 28 points, while Thurman finished with 15. Hill scored only 12 points, but had 14 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals fro Duke.

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Arizona 84, Kentucky 79 (OT)
March 31, 1997
Indianapolis, IN
Arizona needed an extra five minutes to win its first NCAA basketball title, an 84-79 victory that kept Kentucky from repeating as champion. One of the wildest final minutes of regulation in NCAA tournament history set up the overtime. Mike Bibby made two free throws with 1:01 left to give Arizona a 72-68 lead. Ron Mercer, Kentucky's hero in last season's championship game, then hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds left to bring Kentucky within one. Bibby stood out near halfcourt dribbling the ball as the shot clock wound down. He finally made a move with seven seconds left on it and found Bennett Davison for a layup that made it 74-71 with 18 seconds left. Anthony Epps wasted no time in tying it, hitting a 3 with 12 seconds to play. Arizona's final chance to win in regulation ended when Simon turned it over on a drive with two seconds left. The overtime was a free throw shooting contest for Arizona, which scored all 10 of its points from the foul line.

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Connecticut 77, Duke 74
March 29, 1999
St. Petersburg, FL
Connecticut beat top-ranked Duke, the team no one thought could be beaten, for their first national championship. Richard Hamilton led third-ranked Connecticut with 27 points, but it was some tremendous team defense and a big shot and free throws by Khalid El-Amin that won it all. The quick pace made for what seemed like constant lead changes, the last coming with 3:50 to play when Hamilton's free throws gave the Huskies a 70-68 lead. He hit a 3-pointer 21 seconds later for a five-point lead. William Avery's free throws with 54 seconds left got the Blue Devils within 75-74. El-Amin, whose driving basket had given Connecticut the 75-72 lead, missed on a drive with 24 seconds left and Duke had life. Trajan Langdon tried to get by Ricky Moore, one of the game's best defenders. Langdon took an extra step and was called for traveling with 5.4 seconds to go. El-Amin made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to get the lead back to 3, and Langdon's last chance at tying the game ended when he fell near the 3-point line and lost control of the ball.

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