---

1939

Oregon defeats Ohio State in the Final of the first ever NCAA Tournament in Evanston, Illinois. Ohio State’s Jimmy Hull is named Most Outstanding Player

1955

The Fort Wayne Pistons clinch the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history by eliminating the three-time defending NBA champion Minneapolis Lakers with a 105-96 victory in game four of the Western Conference Finals. It was the Lakers’ first season ever without George Mikan, who retired in 1954.

1961

With the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, the expansion Chicago Packers select Walt Bellamy from Indiana. Bellamy goes on to win Rookie of the Year and be named an All-Star in his first season.

1963

Ed Pinckney is born in The Bronx, New York.

1971

Bob Knight is hired as head coach at Indiana University, following Lou Watson resigning. Knight would hold the job for 29 years, leading the Hoosiers to three national titles.

In a surprisingly tight game played in front of a record breaking crowd at the Astrodome in Houston, UCLA defeats Villanova 68-62 in the NCAA Tournament National Final. Howard Porter leads Villanova with 25 points and is named Most Outstanding Player. Bruins All-Americans Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe struggle in the game, leaving Steve Patterson as the unlikely hero, leading the way with 29 points and eight rebounds.

1976

Danny Fortson is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1980

Jim Valvano is hired as the head coach of the N.C. State men’s team, replacing Norm Sloan. Valvano’s most memorable moment as coach comes in 1983, when he leads the Wolfpack to the only national championship in program history.

1983

The University of Georgia makes history as the first program to have both a men’s and women’s team reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four in the same season, when their men’s team upsets North Carolina 82-77 in the East Regional Final in Syracuse, New York. One day prior, the women’s team had defeated Tennessee in a Mideast Regional Final in South Bend, Indiana. The feat would not be repeated again until Duke in 1999.

1994

Magic Johnson replaces Randy Pfund as head coach of the Lakers. They finish the season 5-11 under Johnson and he’s subsequently replaced by Del Harris in the offseason.

2001

Jay Wright is named head coach of the Villanova men’s team, leaving his former job as coach at Hofstra.

2005

In one of the most eventful games in NCAA Tournament history, Michigan State defeats Kentucky 95-88 in double overtime in the Regional Final in Austin. The highlight of the game is a buzzer beating three-pointer from Kentucky’s Patrick Sparks at the end of regulation which forced the first overtime, after a lengthy official review deemed him behind the three-point line.

2011

VCU clinches its program’s first ever Final Four appearance by upsetting #1 seed Kansas 71-61 in the Southwest Regional Final in San Antonio. The #11 seeded Rams had previously pulled off upsets over Georgetown, Purdue, and Florida State.

2016

#10 seed Syracuse stuns top seed Virginia 68-62 in the Midwest Regional Final in Chicago, to make a surprise advancement to the Final Four. It’s the fifth Final Four appearance for the Orange under coach Jim Boeheim, none of which happened as a #1 seed.

2021

For just the second time in NCAA Tournament history, a #12 seed advances to the Elite Eight, as Oregon State defeats #8 seed Loyola-Chicago in the Regional Semifinals.

2023

#15 seed Saint Peter’s sees its NCAA Tournament Cinderella run come to an end with a Regional Final loss to North Carolina, who advances to the Final Four in its first year under head coach Hubert Davis.

---