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1939

The first ever NCAA Tournament gets underway. Eight teams participate, split into two regions. In the East region first round in Philadelphia, Ohio State defeats Wake Forest and Villanova defeats Brown. In the West region, Oklahoma defeats Utah State and eventual champion Oregon defeats Texas.

1959

Danny Ainge is born in Eugene, Oregon. At North Eugene High School, he became the first prep athlete ever to be named an All-American in basketball, baseball, and football.

1961

Sam Bowie is born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. His father played professional basketball for a barnstorming team called the Harlem Magicians.

The first arrests are made in a wide-ranging NCAA point shaving scandal, which would eventually lead to lifetime NBA bans for Connie Hawkins (who successfully sues the NBA in response), Doug Moe, and Roger Brown.

1962

UCLA defeats Oregon State 88-69 in the West Regional Final in Provo, Utah, clinching its first of an eventual 13 Final Four appearances under John Wooden. The Bruins subsequently lost in the National Semifinals to eventual champion Cincinnati.

1977

Idaho State shocks UCLA 76-75 in the NCAA Tournament West Regional Semifinals in Provo, Utah. Steve Hayes leads Idaho State with 27 points, while reigning consensus Player of the Year Marques Johnson finishes with 21 points and 13 rebounds in his final college game. The Bruins had entered the tournament ranked #2 in the country and this marked the first time in 13 tournament appearances that they failed to reach the Final Four.

1981

Kyle Korver is born in Lakewood, California. Both of his parents and all three of his brothers played college basketball.

1984

Calvin Murphy has his jersey #23 retired by the Rockets. He had retired one year prior as the franchise’s all-time leader in points and assists.

1989

#1 seed Georgetown narrowly avoids what would arguably be the biggest upset in college basketball history, holding off #16 seed Princeton 50-49 in an NCAA Tournament first round game.

1994

Terry Rozier is born in Youngstown, Ohio. He relocated to Shaker Heights as a child due to death threats against his family, stemming from his father’s involvement in drug running.

2000

An off-balance jumper from Mike Miller beats the buzzer and gives Florida a 69-68 overtime win over Butler in an NCAA Tournament first round game in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After staving off the first round upset, the #5 seed Gators went on to make a surprise run all the way to the National Final.

In Bobby Knight’s final game as head coach, Indiana is upset as a #6 seed by #11 seed Pepperdine 77-57 in an NCAA Tournament first round game in Buffalo. Knight would be controversially fired by the university in the subsequent offseason after 29 years and three national titles.

2003

Dyson Daniels is born in Bendigo, Australia. His father Ricky is an American who had played at NC State and at the time of Dyson’s birth was a star for the Bendigo Braves of the Australian National Basketball League.

2016

Bismack Biyombo sets the Raptors single game franchise record with 25 rebounds in a 101-94 victory over the Pacers.

2022

Saint Peter’s, a tiny, Jesuit school in New Jersey with a peacock mascot stuns #2 seed Kentucky 85-79 in overtime in an NCAA Tournament first round game in Indianapolis. The Peacocks become just the 10th #15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game and subsequently become the first to ever reach the Regional Finals (Elite Eight). Kentucky had come into the tournament with the second best odds to win the title.

2023

Fairleigh Dickinson becomes just the second #16 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game, upsetting #1 seed Purdue 63-58. As a 23.5 point underdog, the Knights also pulled off the biggest upset in tournament history based on point spread.

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