IS GETTING ITS DRAFT BOARD READY
How about that Villanova-Pitt game on Saturday?
There hasn't been that much excitement on a Saturday night since the victory cigar Red Auerbach lit after a win over the Warriors turned out to be Satch Sanders' index finger.
The Wildcats' last-second win had to rank as one of the best NCAA games ever involving Big Five teams. That game excluded, here's my top 10 in that category:
1. Villanova 66, Georgetown 64, April 2, 1985, Lexington, Ky. - The Hoyas were defending national champs, and the Wildcats, a No. 8 seed, barely got into the expanded NCAA field. Even now, nearly a quarter century later, there's an otherworldly quality about their monumental title game upset. It was as if something or someone unseen was willing the Wildcats to the victory, guiding their jump shooters, aiding their rebounders, keeping Rollie Massimino's straining shirttail tucked in. Villanova shot 72 percent in the first half, 90 percent in the second, and held on.
2. St. Joseph's 49, DePaul, 48, March 14, 1981, Dayton - Ray Meyer's Blue Demons, with Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings, were the tournament's No. 1 seed. But Jimmy Lynam and his Philly-flavored team set the tempo in that pre-shot-clock era. Still, DePaul led by one point with 12 seconds remaining when the Demons' Skip Dillard, an 85 percent foul-shooter, missed the front end of a one-and-one. Bryan Warrick got the rebound, and, with time expiring, a layup from perhaps the unlikeliest Hawk of all, forward John Smith from Fourth and Shunk, gave the upset to St. Joseph's. Lynam, deliriously running the sideline a la Jim Valvano, hugged his teen daughter. Aguirre was so distraught, he walked out of the building and tossed his jersey into the parking lot. The Hawks then beat Boston College in the Mideast Regional semis before falling to Indiana in the regional final.
3. Kentucky 61, Temple 60, March 21, 1958, Louisville. Ky. - Three months earlier, Kentucky's Vern Hatton had hit a desperation 47-footer to stun the Owls in Lexington. Now, in their national semifinal rematch, Hatton did it again. His layup with 16 seconds remaining would be the margin. Temple led, 59-55, late. But the game was played before an NCAA record crowd of 18,586 in Louisville and, after the Owls went into a stall, Pickles Kennedy was called for a controversial charge. After Hatton's game-winner, a Kennedy turnover gave the ball back to Kentucky. Adolph Rupp's Wildcats beat Seattle, with Elgin Baylor, a night later for the national championship.
4. La Salle 76, Fordham 74, March 8, 1954, Buffalo - A La Salle team that would go to win the national championship almost didn't make it out of the first round. With seconds left in regulation, Fordham, which led by two, had three players on La Salle all-American Tom Gola, probably because he averaged 23 points and 21 rebounds that season. Gola still found Frank O'Malley under the basket, and O'Malley scored as time expired. The Explorers won in overtime and would beat North Carolina State, Navy, Penn State, and Bradley to capture their only NCAA title.
5. Oklahoma State 64, St. Joseph's 62, March 27, 2004, East Rutherford, N.J. - The Hawks, with perhaps the Big Five's best backcourt ever, Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, were the regional's top seed. They led by one when John Lucas Jr., the son of the former 76ers coach, hit a three-pointer with 6.7 seconds left. St. Joe's eschewed a timeout as Nelson raced downcourt. But his jumper at the buzzer bounded off the rim, and Phil Martelli's team was denied a Final Four trip.
6. Penn 72, North Carolina 71, March 11, 1979, Raleigh, N.C. - Carolina was the East's No. 1 seed and, as always seems to be the case in the postseason, was playing in its home state. The ninth-seeded Quakers, with Tony Price, Matt White and Booney Salters, took the lead midway through the second half, then withstood a furious Tar Heels push at game's end. A late free throw by Salters turned out to be the difference. In the other game of that doubleheader, No. 2 seed Duke was beaten by 10th seed St. John's. The day has forever been recalled as Black Sunday in North Carolina. Penn would win the regional, advance to the Final Four, and get stomped by Magic Johnson's Michigan State team.
7. Villanova 92, Western Kentucky, 89 (2 OT), April 1, 1971, Houston - Jack Kraft's Wildcats played the entire 50 minutes with just six players. Joe McDowell, who replaced fouled-out Hank Siemiontkowski, (31 points, 16 rebounds), was the only sub. He admitted later to current Wildcats coach Jay Wright that he was scared. "You were scared?" said Wright, who was a small boy at the time. "I was so upset when you went in that I ran to my room crying." Western, led by Jim McDaniels, could have won at the end of regulation, but Jerry Dunn missed a free throw. Western had 32 more shots and 11 more rebounds than Villanova and still lost.
8. Duke 76, St. Joseph's 74, March 11, 1966, Raleigh, N.C. - The Hawks, with Matt Guokas and Cliff Anderson, spent some time at No. 1 that season. Duke was led by Bob Verga, Jack Marin and Steve Vacendak. The day after this East Regional semifinal, The Inquirer noted that the game, played a few miles from Duke's campus, was marred by "several phantom fouls." Guokas and Anderson both sat out considerable stretches. The Hawks, with their 3-1-1 zone press, rallied late, but a jumper by Marin won it for Duke. The Blue Devils would beat Syracuse and reach the Final Four, in which Texas Western scored its historic victory.
9. Duke 58, St. Joseph's 56, March 11, 1960, Charlotte, N.C. - Eerily, home cooking had cost the Hawks in an earlier two-point East Regional semifinal loss in North Carolina. This one was played in Charlotte, and Duke led big throughout. But Jack Ramsay's zone press took its toll, and when Paul Westhead hit a basket with 20 seconds left, the Duke lead was down to two, 56-54. Duke missed a free throw and with six seconds left. St. Joe's missed a jumper. The ball bounced out of bounds but, for some reason, the officials never stopped the clock. The buzzer sounded as Ramsay was berating the officials.
10. Villanova, 76, Northeastern 72 (3 OT), March 14, 1982, Uniondale, N.Y. - A Villanova team dominated by freshmen who would win a national title three years later barely made it out of the second round. Northeastern, coached by Jim Calhoun, got no respect. The school's name was misspelled on its locker room door and the PA announcer introduced them as "Northwest." The Huskies trailed by eight late in regulation and by four near the end of the second overtime but fought back on each occasion. Northeastern had a chance to win after the first overtime, but Dave Leitao's jumper just missed. Afterward, Calhoun wondered about the officiating. Massimino's Wildcats had shot 25 free throws after halftime, Northeastern just three.
Contact staff writer Frank Fitzpatrick at 215-854-5068
or ffitzpatrick@phillynews.com.
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