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1939

Barnstorming legends the New York Rens defeat the Oshkosh All-Stars of the NBL in the finals of the inaugural World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago.

1940

Kevin Loughery is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1942

Jerry Sloan is born in McLeansboro, Illinois.

1944

Rick Barry is born in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Utah becomes one of the most unlikely champions in NCAA Tournament history by defeating Dartmouth 42-40 in overtime in the National Final. A Herb Wilkinson buzzer beater wins it for the Utes, who weren’t even supposed to be in the tournament field but received a last minute invite when Arkansas was forced to withdraw.

1948

Sam Lacey is born in Indianola, Mississippi.

1961

Byron Scott is born in Ogden, Utah.

1967

The U.S. National Basketball Committee declares that the dunk will be illegal going forward at the collegiate and high school levels, as a response to the dominance of UCLA’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The ban remained in effect until 1976.

1971

Wesley Person is born in Crenshaw, Alabama.

1972

Due to a Kentucky state law that all university employees must retire at age 70, Adolph Rupp is forced to step down as coach of Kentucky after 42 years and four national titles. He is soon after replaced by Joe B. Hall.

1977

Marquette defeats North Carolina 67-59 in the National Final of the NCAA Tournament in Atlanta. Butch Lee is named Most Outstanding Player. Marquette coach Al McGuire had announced his impending retirement during the season.

1980

Luke Walton is born in San Diego, California.

1982

Louisiana Tech defeats Cheyney in the National Final of the first ever NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. On the same day, the final edition of the AIAW National Basketball Tournament concludes with Rutgers defeating Texas in the championship game. The NCAA Tournament superseded the AIAW Tournament going forward.

1990

Michael Jordan scores a career high with 69 points (along with 18 rebounds) in a 117-113 Bulls overtime win over the Cavaliers.

1992

#8 seed Missouri State stuns #2 seed Mississippi in the NCAA women’s tournament Regional Final, completing a Cinderella run to the Final Four. The Bears had shocked #1 seed Iowa and #5 seed UCLA in prior tournament games. They became the lowest seeded team to ever reach a women’s Final Four until Arkansas made it in 1998 as a #9 seed.

1999

Purdue defeats Duke 62-45 in the NCAA women’s tournament National Final in San Jose. Ukari Figgs is named Most Outstanding Player.

2008

Stephen Curry’s 33 points leads #10 seed Davidson to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament upset, a 73-56 victory over #3 seed Wisconsin in the Regional Semifinals. Davidson had previously upended #2 seed Georgetown in the second round but had their Cinderella run end in the Regional Final, with a loss to top seed Kansas.

2009

Scottie Reynolds goes coast-to-coast for a buzzer beating floating jumper to give Villanova a 78-76 victory over Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament Regional Finals in Boston.

2015

With a 68-66 victory over Notre Dame in the Midwest Regional Final in Cleveland, Kentucky improves to a 41-0 record and becomes the first team to enter the NCAA Tournament Final Four undefeated since UNLV in 1991. Just like that UNLV team, the Wildcats subsequently lose their first game of the season in the National Semifinals.

2018

Kemba Walker becomes the all-time leading scorer in Charlotte Hornets franchise history, scoring his 9,840th point to surpass Dell Curry during a 118-105 loss to the Cavaliers. Walker eventually expanded the total to 12,009 points over eight seasons with the franchise.

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