April 2 - The Greatest Semi-Finals Since 1979

The national semifinals are due to begin in a little more than six hours and, according to all the pundits, we are in for a couple of treats tonight. In fact, I have not seen many dispassionate observers, including myself, predict a blowout in either of tonight’s games. In fact, most suggest that we will be treated to two close games much like we were last year when UCONN prevailed over Duke and Georgia Tech edged by Oklahoma State. But before anyone gets too confident about tonight’s prospects, it should be noted that the semis do not have the best track record on hitting high expectations. In fact, more often than not, the national semis usually fail to live up to expectations.

I have been a rabid college basketball fan since 1980, take or give a year. And since that time, there have been 50 semifinals played. Of these 50 games, a fair number were blowouts and another big slug resulted in fairly comfortable wins for the victor. In fact, the semifinals remind me a bit of the Super Bowl from 1983 through 1997 – a lot of hype but mostly unfulfilled expectations. With that said, I began to ponder which games over the past 25 years were the most exciting and, more importantly, which were the most memorable. I was not just looking for the ten closest games (If I was, the 1984 snoozer between Houston and Virginia would have been included), but those games that left a lasting impression for one reason or another. This is what I came up.

10) 1987 Indiana over Vegas 97-93 – The game itself was not all that memorable since Indiana, behind a torrid Steve Alford, was always seemingly in command. But I decided to put this game on the list because it provided the sports world with one of the great quotes in college basketball history. After the game, Vegas guard Freddy Banks was asked about the loss and he said something to the effect of: “I don’t feel too bad; I was tremendous out there today.” Banks may have had 38 that day, but I will always remember him for what he did after the game instead of what he did during the game. Banks lost a lot more then a game that day.

9) 1984 Georgetown over Kentucky 53-40 – This was not a fun game to watch, but it did provide us with the greatest display of defense in Final Four history. Trailing 29-22 at half, Georgetown came out and suffocated Kentucky in the second half. Kentucky was only able to score 11 points in the second stanza and I believe they shot under 15 percent over the last 20 minutes. Kentucky, which had guys like Mel Turpin, Kenny Walker, Sam Bowie and Jim Master, simply couldn’t score and ended up making just 13 of 53 shots. Hey, .245 doesn't cut it in baseball let alone basketball. Sure, the Cats missed some open looks that day, but Georgetown’s pressure went a long ways toward producing that abdominal shooting display.

8) 1999 Duke over Michigan State 68-62 – This was a very interesting game that gets on the list even though it lacked any dramatic late-game heroics. It was a slugfest between a stacked team from Duke and physical squad from Michigan State that was just a year away from getting its own championship. Make no mistake about it – this was a flat out street fight at the Trop in Tampa. And even though Duke was able to get by, they clearly did not come out of this fight with their legs. Many, including myself, think Duke, led by Elton Brand, left something on the floor Saturday night and that was the main reason UCONN was able to win the crown two nights later.

7) 2004 Connecticut over Duke 79-78 – This game was very exciting and would probably deserve to rank a bit higher if it weren’t for the fact that it was so poorly played. Lest you forget, UCONN played without Emeka Okafor for a big chunk of the game due to some early foul trouble. With the shot-blocker out of there, Duke was able to forge a lead and UCONN looked like it was in trouble late. But Okafor finally got back in the game and was able to be the catalyst for the Huskies comeback. This game also featured a bed-shitting from Coach K and any game that includes such a rare occurrence deserves some mention.

6) 2001 Duke over Maryland 95-84 – The Terps actually led this game by 20 points late in the first half, but Duke was able to cut into that lead right before halftime and then complete the greatest comeback in semifinal history with a terrific performance in the second half. I was watching this game from Joe’s (Stone Crabs) in Miami and was so drunk I don’t remember too many specifics other than the fact that my boss won ten grand on the Devils, but was angry that he had not been able to bet more.

5) 1993 Michigan over Kentucky 81-78 – In this classic semi, Michigan couldn’t stop UK forward Jamal Mashburn, who sprang for 26, but Kentucky had no answer for Chris Webber who went for 27. Again, I was pretty lit up watching this game at Third Edition in Washington D.C. so some of the details are a bit foggy, but I do remember this being a very close and entertaining game throughout.

4) 1983 Houston over Louisville 94-81 – The final score would indicate this was a blowout and thus not deserving of mention, but I remember this as an absolute classic since it featured Phi Slamma Jamma at its best. In the second half of this game, Houston had about a dozen dunks as they came back from a slight halftime deficit against a very good and athletic squad from Louisville. The Cards had a ton of athletes including Rodney McCray and Milt Wagner, but they were simply no match for a cougar team that was clicking on all cylinders that day. I say day because back in 1983, they played the semis in the afternoon. How times have changed.

3) 1989 Michigan over Illinois 83-81 – This game, played up in Seattle, featured two stacked teams that had met twice in the regular season, with Illinois winning both games. This game had many twists and turns, as each team was able to put together a few little runs, but in each case, any separation was quickly forfeited. The game eventually came down to a final play where Sean Higgins picked up an errant shot and put it back in with hardly any time remaining. I will always remember this game for being very dramatic, but also because it featured so much talent. Just think of all the guys who played in that game: Glen Rice, Loy Vaught, Sean Higgins, Terry Mills, Rumeal Robinson, Kendell Gill, Nick Anderson, Steve Bardo, Marcus Liberty and Kenny Battle. That is some stable of talent.

2) 1998 Kentucky over Stanford 86-85 in overtime – This was the Jeff Shepherd game, where the Kentucky guard went crazy and made a bunch of threes to help lead a big Kentucky comeback. Stanford actually trailed this game by four late, but a Mark Madsen putback and Arthur Lee’s super-clutch three with 25 seconds left, tied it up and sent this game into overtime. In overtime, Shepherd, who finished with 27, made a driving layup and a three that put Kentucky up by 4 with about 90 seconds to go. Stanford closed the game to one, but UK hit their free throws down the stretch and ended up clawing their way to a scant one point win. This was simply a phenomenal game that had each team absorbing a number of tough body blows. Yet every time it looked as if one team were ready to pull ahead, the other team would respond with a three. You had to watch this one to appreciate its significance

1) 1991 Duke over Vegas 79-77 – This is a no brainer. Not only was it the greatest semi-final ever, but it was probably one of the ten greatest NCAA tournament games ever played. Lest you forget, Vegas came into this game undefeated and it was only 12 months earlier that they had embarrassed this same Duke team in the national finals. Well, things changed over that year and the Duke team of 1991 had Grant Hill and a more mature Bobby Hurley. This proved to be the difference, as Hill gave Duke some athleticism that it sorely needed and Hurley came up huge with the game in the balance. His three with about 90 seconds to go was the big play in the game. Vegas, which had lost point guard Greg Anthony to fouls with about four minutes remaining, had a shot to win it late, but Larry Johnson inexplicably passed up a three and Anderson Hunt was unable to connect on a prayer at the buzzer. Not only was this game tight throughout, but it was probably the greatest upset in semifinal history and that is why it sits atop my list.