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1941

North Carolina makes its NCAA Tournament debut, losing 26-20 to Pittsburgh in the East Regional Semifinals in Madison, Wisconsin.

1949

The final BAA Draft takes place (ahead of the NBA merger) and for the first time, the territorial draft pick is used, in both cases on future Hall of Fame players. The St. Louis Bombers claim Ed Macauley (Saint Louis) and the Minneapolis Lakers claim Vern Mikkelsen (Hamline).

1953

Behind 50 points from Bob Cousy, an NBA playoff single game record that would stand for seven years, the Celtics win a playoff series for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Syracuse Nationals 111-105 to clinch their Eastern Conference Semifinals.

1954

Mike Dunleavy is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1968

Scott Williams is born in Hacienda Heights, California.

1970

Marquette defeats St. John’s 65-53 in the NIT Finals in New York. Marquette had been initially slotted in the NCAA Tournament but coach Al McGuire was unhappy with their bracket placement and turned down the invitation, opting to participate in the NIT instead. The NCAA in turn created a new regulation in which teams would be penalized going forward for declining an NCAA Tournament invite.

UCLA wins its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament title, defeating Jacksonville 80-69 in the National Final in College Park, Maryland. The Bruins dominated the field, winning all four of their tournament games by double digits. Sidney Wicks is named Most Outstanding Player. Jacksonville, led by star center Artis Gilmore, was making its NCAA Tournament debut.

1975

Vitaly Potapenko is born in Kiev, Ukraine.

1986

In an NCAA Tournament battle of Cinderella teams, David Robinson and #7 seed Navy defeat #14 seed Cleveland State in the Regional Semifinals.

1992

Chiney Ogwumike is born in Tomball, Texas.

With just 0.8 seconds remaining on the clock, Georgia Tech’s James Forrest catches an inbounds pass and hits a buzzer beating three pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a 79-78 victory over USC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

1997

Arizona pulls off a major NCAA Tournament upset in the Southeast Regional Semifinals in Birmingham, upending #1 seed Kansas 85-82. Mike Bibby is the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 21 points. Led by All-Americans Raef Lafrentz and Jacque Vaughn, and future Hall of Fame inductee Paul Pierce, the Jayhawks were the #1 overall seed in the tournament and go down as one of the all-time greatest teams to fall short of the Final Four.

1998

Miles Bridges is born in Flint, Michigan.

Defending champions and NCAA Tournament favorites Arizona are stunned in the Regional Final by Utah, in a 76-51 blowout.

2002

For the first time ever, two double-digit seeds reach the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament, as #10 seed Kent State upsets #3 seed Pittsburgh in the South Regional Semifinals and #12 seed Missouri upsets #8 seed UCLA in the West Regional Semifinals.

2004

A weekend of shocking NCAA Tournament second round upsets ends with #9 seed UAB stunning #1 seed Kentucky 76-75 in Columbus. One day prior, top seed Stanford had been defeated by #8 seed Alabama and #2 seed Gonzaga had been upended by #10 seed Nevada.

2010

A buzzer beating three-pointer from Korie Lucious gives Michigan State an 85-83 victory over Maryland in an NCAA Tournament second round game. The #5 seeded Spartans subsequently made it all the way to the Final Four.

2012

Bruce Bowen has his jersey #12 retired by the Spurs. The defensive specialist was a key component of three San Antonio title teams.

2014

Mercer gets its first NCAA Tournament win in program history and does so in style as a #14 seed, shocking #3 seed Duke 78-71 in a first round game.

2018

Dwight Howard sets the Hornets single game franchise record with 30 rebounds in a 111-105 victory over the Nets. Howard spent just one season in Charlotte, averaging a franchise record 12.5 rebounds per game, before joining the Wizards as a free agent. With 32 points in the game, Howard also became only the seventh NBA player to put up a 30-30 in a post-merger game, and the first player to do so since Kevin Love in 2010.

2021

With a shocking 81-78 upset of #7 seed Florida in a second round NCAA Tournament game in Indianapolis, Oral Roberts becomes just the second #15 seed in tournament history to reach the Sweet 16.

2023

Knicks legend and Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Willis Reed passes away at age 80.

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