|
ALSO SEE
Classic 64 - Sweet 16 results
Classic 64 - 2nd round results
|
|
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Classic 64
Remember the buzzer beating shots, stunning upsets, near misses and great players of NCAA tournaments past? Well, now you can relive the excitement. ESPN Classic will celebrate the NCAA basketball tournament each Friday in February by presenting three classic games from tournaments past. Only games since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 have been included. Each week Classic 64, sponsored by Subaru, will spotlight a different round. Classic 64 will begin by airing first round games on Friday, February 2.
ESPN Classic wants your help in selecting the games. Here is our list of ten memorable first round games. Vote for your favorite game. The three highest vote getters will be shown on Feb. 2. If you need a reminder about the games, check out the recaps listed below. Please check back on Monday, Jan. 29 to see who you have selected and to vote on the 2nd round games.
First round winners
Our users have selected three great upsets in the first round of our Classic 64. Valparaiso's stunning 1998 win over Mississippi garnered 26.2% of the over 36,000 votes. Weber State's upset of North Carolina in 1999 was second with 19%. With 15.7 % of the vote, Princeton's shocker over UCLA in 1996 was third. Here is our lineup:
Friday, Feb. 2
7:30 a.m. ET - Princeton 43, UCLA 41
1 p.m. ET - Weber St. 76, North Carolina 74
3:30 p.m. ET - Valparaiso 70, Mississippi 69
|  | | Gene Keady's Purdue teams have been to 16 NCAA tournaments in his 20 seasons.
|
#11 LSU 94 #6 Purdue 87 (2OT)
March 13, 1986
Baton Rouge, LA
In a two-overtime thriller, LSU's home-court advantage finally paid off. Anthony Wilson scores 11 of his 25 points in the second OT to lead the Tigers in to the second round. The lead changed hands nine times in regulation as the #11-seed Tigers stayed close to #6-seed Purdue.
Did You Know?
Gene Keady's Purdue teams have a 11-5 record in 1st round games.
Keady is a member of the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach.
LSU's 78 FG attempts in this game set a team NCAA game record that still stands.
Dale Brown led LSU to 10 consecutive NCAA appearances (1984-93).
#14 Austin Peay 68 #3 Illinois 67
March 12, 1987
Birmingham, AL
Tony Raye hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left to lift over whelming underdog Austin Peay to a 68-67 win over Illinois. Austin Peay coach Lake Kelly said their strategy was to "Sic 'em. If we had to play the Lakers and Celtics combined Saturday night, it wouldn't have made any difference." Darryl Bedford led Austin Peay with 24 points, 15 on 3-pointers. Norman paced the Illini with 17.
Did You Know?
Austin Peay has an all-time record of 2-5 in the tournament.
Austin Peay lost to Providence, 90-87, in overtime in the 2nd round. Providence advanced to the 1987 Final Four.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the Illini have a 7-5 first round record.
In the 1980's, Illinois was the only team in the nation to be a top four seed in the tournament in seven straight years.
#7 UTEP 98 #10 Arizona 91 (OT)
March 13, 1987
Tucson, AZ
Senior guard Hernell Jackson scored nine of his 23 point in overtime to lead the Miners to a 98-91 win in Tucson. UTEP overcame a five point deficit with 50 seconds left. A Jackson three-pointer with 26 seconds left followed by Chris Blocker's jumper at the buzzer sent the game into overtime.Sean Elliot paced the Wildcats with 26 points.
Did You Know?
UTEP, then known as Texas Western, won the 1966 national championship.
Don Haskins, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, led UTEP to 14 NCAA appearances and the 1966 national title.
Arizona has a 9-7 record in 1st round games under Lute Olson.
Olson is one of only 11 coaches who has taken two different teams to the Final Four.
|  | | Bob Knight coached Indiana to national titles in 1976, 1981 and 1987. |
#13 Richmond 72 #4 Indiana 69
March 18, 1988
Hartford, CT
Last year Keith Smart hit a jumper to give IU the national title. This year his jumper with 20 seconds left misses and with it goes the Hoosiers chance at a repeat. Rodney Rice's jumper with 53 seconds gave Richmond the lead and his rebound of Smart's miss led to a fastbreak bucket by Ken Atkinson to seal the 72-69 win. Rice tallied 21 points in the Spiders upset win Keith Smart led the Hoosiers with 23 points.
Did You Know?
This marked the first time since 1981 that the defending national champion had been eliminated in its first tournament game the following year.
IU's Dean Garrett tied the Hoosiers NCAA tournament game record with 14 blocks against the Spiders.
Richmond has been invited to six NCAA tournaments.
Richmond would beat Georgia Tech to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time.
#1 Oklahoma 72 #16 East Tennessee State 71
March 16, 1989
Nashville, TN
Mookie Blaylock's baseline drive with 1:21 left gave the Sooners a 72-71 win over the upset minded Buccaneers. Blaylock's shot gave OU only their second lead of the game. East Tennessee missed three shots in the final minute of play. Oklahoma twice trailed by 17 points in the first half. Stacey King paced Oklahoma with 28 points. Greg Dennis led the Buccaneers with 20.
Did You Know?
East Tennessee St. has a 2-6 record in NCAA tournament play.
OU has a 23-18 record in 18 NCAA trips.
Billy Tubbs coached the Sooners to nine NCAA trips in his 14 years at OU. (OU had 1 appearance in the 33 years prior to his arrival.)
Since 1985, East Tennesse is 1-3 in 1st round games.
|  | | Alonzo Mourning is second (to Patrick Ewing) on Georgetown's career blocks list with 493 . |
#1 Georgetown 50 #16 Princeton 49
March 17, 1989
Providence, RI
Pete Carril's Princeton Tigers almost claimed a monumental upset. Georgetown survived 50-49 when Alonzo Mourning blocked Kit Mueller's attempt at the Buzzer. Mourning carried the Hoyas with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks. Princeton used a stifling defense and its reknowned patient, ball-control offense to claim a 29-21 first half lead.
Did You Know?
John Thompson, son of 1989 Georgetown coach John Thompson and former Tigers player, was hired to coach Princeton in 2000.
In 21 NCAA appearances, Princeton has a 12-24 record.
Georgetown has a 5-6 all-time record against Princeton (1-1 since 1957-58).
The Hoyas had a 15-5 NCAA 1st round tournament record under coach John Thompson.
#15 Richmond 73 #2 Syracuse 69
March 14, 1991
College Park, MD
Richmond claimed its second stunning tournament upset in three years with a 73-69 win over Syracuse. The Spiders jumped to an early lead and never trailed in the contest. Curtis Blair led Syracuse with 18 points. Billy Owens, who scored 22 points, hit a bucket with 32 seconds left to pull the Orangemen to within one. Richmond hit three free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Did You Know?
Richmond was the first #15 seed to beat a #2 seed.
Richmond, in their first NCAA tournament appearance, beat Charles Barkley and the Auburn Tigers in the 1st round in 1984.
Syracuse appeared in 10 consecutive NCAA tournaments from 1983-1992.
In their 26 appearances, Syracuse has a 39-27 overall record and finished 2nd in 1987 and 1996.
|  | | Guard Sydney Johnson and coach Pete Carril of the Princeton Tigers celebrate Princeton's 43-41 upset of UCLA. |
#13 Princeton 43 #4 UCLA 41
March 14, 1996
Indianapolis, IN
After so many near misses, Princeton and Pete Carril finally got their upset win. The Tigers beat defending champion UCLA 43-41 with a classic Princeton play--a backdoor layup. Freshman Gabe Lewullis converted Steve Goodrich's pass to give the Tigers the lead. UCLA's Toby Bailey missed a shot at the buzzer. Princeton shut out UCLA over the final six minutes, erasing a seven-point deficit.
Did You Know?
Pete Carril retired after the 1996 tournament.
Before this game, Princeton had lost its last 4 tournament games by only 15 points.
UCLA ranks first with 11 national titles.
Since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, UCLA has a 9-4 1st round record.
#13 Valparaiso 70 #4 Mississippi 69
March 13, 1998
Oklahoma City, OK
The shot. Bryce Drew hit a leaning three-pointer at the buzzer to give Valpo a 70-69 win over Ole Miss. With 2.5 seconds remaining, Jaime Sykes threw a long pass from the baseline past midcourt to Bill Jenkins who executed a perfect touch pass to Drew, who knocked it in. Drew, who scored 22 points, was mobbed by his Crusader teammates.
Did You Know?
The final play in Valpo's win over Ole Miss was named "Pacer." Homer Drew, Bryce's dad and Valpo's coach, took the play from the NBA's Pacers.
Drew won an ESPY Award for "Play of the Year" from ESPN for his game-winning shot.
Ole Miss won its first NCAA tournament game in 1999, a 72-70 win over Villanova.
Ole Miss has an overall NCAA tournament record of 1-4.
|  | | Coach Ron Abegglen of the Weber State Wildcats gets mobbed after his team claims a 76-74 upset win over North Carolina. |
#14 Weber State 76 #3 North Carolina 74
March 11, 1999
Seattle, WA
Harold Arceneaux capped a spectacular 36-point performance with two free throws with 13 seconds left as Weber State stunned North Carolina 76-74. The Big Sky champion Wildcats outscored the Tar Heels 9-2 to start the second half and didn't trail again. Ademola Okulaja, who scored 17 points hit his fifth three-pointer with 31.6 seconds left to bring the Heels within two, 70-68.
Did You Know?
The Tar Heels had not lost an opening game since a 72-68 (2OT) loss to Texas A&M in 1980.
In Weber State's previous visit to the tournament in 1995, the Wildcats beat third-seeded Michigan State.
Weber State coach Ron Abegglen retired after the season.
North Carolina has made a record 26 consecutive tournament appearances from 1975-2000.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
