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How many times has virginia won the ncaa basketball championship

Virginia Won the National Title When It Learned to Stop Fearing Death

Virginia beat Texas Tech in a very important basketball game on Monday night. In doing so, it all but ensured that its March 16, 2018, loss to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County will forever be remembered as the greatest upset in college basketball history.

After the final buzzer sounded in that game last year, the Cavaliers became the first no. 1 seed ever to lose to a no. 16 seed, snapping a streak of 135 consecutive 1-over-16 NCAA tournament victories. The Cavaliers’ coaches and players had to know that they would always be linked with that failure. But they also knew that failure didn’t have to be the whole story. What if the UMBC loss was Virginia’s last major letdown before the dawn of a dynasty, the fuel for a fire that burned brighter than any other in college basketball? What if that was the moment that freakishly bad things stopped happening to Virginia in March and freakishly good things started happening instead? What if the Book of Job ended with Job dunking while Satan wept during the “One Shining Moment” montage? (Job’s garbage friends, who argued that God would not punish an innocent man and therefore that Job must have sinned to deserve so much pain in life, wrote the original “Virginia’s system explains why they lost to UMBC” takes. )

If Virginia’s loss to UMBC would have been the last that we’d ever heard of the Cavaliers, the luster of the upset would eventually fade. Instead, Virginia guaranteed that we will never forget how historically strange that result was. UMBC wasn’t just a no. 16 seed that beat a no. 1 seed. It was a no. 16 seed that beat a group of coaches and players who one year and 23 days later would be crowned national champions.

In 2018, Virginia lost by 20 points as a massive favorite; in 2019, it pulled off miracle after miracle as the outside world waited for it to crumble. The Cavaliers proved that college basketball’s greatest fluke might be when the sport’s best team wins six consecutive single-elimination games to become national champions.

Virginia was the best team in college basketball this season. According to Ken Pomeroy’s ratings, the Cavaliers held that distinction for most of 2019, sitting atop KenPom from January 15 through February 9, and then again from February 23 until now. Virginia had only two regular-season losses, both against Duke, as the Blue Devils were really the only team that had any claim to the throne alongside the Cavaliers. But Duke looked deeply flawed in Zion Williamson’s absence and in its subsequent NCAA tournament run.

Of course, Virginia was also the best team in college basketball last season. It likewise had two regular-season losses, a 68-61 defeat at West Virginia, which went on to make the Sweet 16, and a 61-60 overtime loss against Virginia Tech, which went on to become a no. 8 seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament. The Hoos held KenPom’s top spot from February 7 through the end of their season—which, for some reason, was a 20-point loss to a UMBC team far worse than the dozens of the squads they effortlessly demolished all year.

I always believed that someday a no. 16 seed would upset a no. 1 seed, but I never thought it would happen the way it did. I thought it would be some improbable triumph clinched via controversy or buzzer-beater. But no—UMBC came out and straight-up trucked Virginia 74-54.

Virginia could have panicked. Some schools might have fired their head coach after such a gruesome, historic tournament failure. Players could have transferred out in shame, seeking to restart their basketball lives somewhere less cursed. Many fans and media members blamed the loss on the Hoos’ style of play, as Virginia coach Tony Bennett favors a slow, methodical approach that many felt gave an underdog a better chance of keeping pace. Remember, Bennett’s Cavaliers also suffered tournament disappointments in 2017 (losing by 26 points against fourth-seeded Florida), 2016 (falling in the Elite Eight to 10th-seeded Syracuse), 2015 (losing to lower-seeded Michigan State), and 2014 (also losing to lower-seeded Michigan State).

But Virginia didn’t panic. Of course Bennett wasn’t going anywhere—he’s the coach who built these Hoos into a perennial powerhouse, capturing at least a share of four ACC regular-season championships after the previous two Virginia coaches, Pete Gillen and Dave Leitao, combined to notch just two NCAA tournament bids. The only players who left were graduates. And Virginia didn’t just retain its style in 2018-19—it got slightly slower than it was the season before, preserving its status as the slowest team in college basketball while increasing its average offensive possession length from 20.9 seconds to 21.0.

Virginia also had ample opportunity to panic in each of its final three NCAA tournament games this year. It could’ve panicked in the Elite Eight against Purdue, when the Cavaliers trailed by two points with five seconds left in regulation and Ty Jerome missed a free throw. Yet instead, Virginia pulled off the play of the tournament, a frenzied, madcap scramble executed so calmly that you’d think the Hoos practiced it daily.

Every part of this play was perfect. Jerome’s miss, which popped up just the right amount in the air. Mamadi Diakite’s back-tap, which would have been a failure if it hadn’t cleared Purdue’s rebounders or if it had flown too far into the backcourt. Kihei Clark’s scramble to chase the ball down and then his gorgeous, stunning, 40-foot pass back to Diakite. And of course, Diakite’s buzzer-beating shot. It was pinpoint, unwavering precision. And it allowed Virginia to survive long enough to pull out an 80-75 win.

Virginia could have panicked against Auburn in the Final Four, when it blew a 10-point lead in the final five minutes, eventually falling behind by four with less than 10 seconds to go. But Kyle Guy drilled a 3-pointer from one corner and was fouled shooting a 3 from the other. He drilled all three free throws. He didn’t even hit rim.

And Virginia could have panicked against Texas Tech on Monday, once again blowing a 10-point second-half lead and trailing late. The Cavaliers almost threw their whole redemptive run away—literally!—when a botched attempt to call a timeout at the end of regulation allowed Texas Tech to get the ball back with a second to go in a tied ballgame.

But they didn’t panic. All five Virginia players on the court scored in overtime as the Hoos won 85-77. A year after making the bad kind of history, the Cavaliers brought home the program’s first national championship.

Virginia didn’t just win a national title—it did so by completing the most daring tightrope walk imaginable. This team learned it could survive any fall after last year. But could guys live with themselves if they changed the way they operated? They chose to keep on being Virginia. Cue the confetti.

Bad things happen to good people and, in some cases, good sports teams. And sometimes when your worst-case scenario comes to life, it brings not only shame and sadness but also a strangely massive sense of relief. You wake up the next morning to find that the sun hasn’t exploded.

Virginia had its worst-case scenario happen last year. It lost the biggest upset in college basketball—and maybe sports—history. So this year, when the trickster gods of March Madness kept opening up doors to death, the Hoos repeatedly scoffed at them. What fate could this tournament hand them that they hadn’t lived through already? What did they possibly have to fear? The Cavaliers’ road to a championship featured dozens of ludicrous hairpin turns, and yet the team never faltered. It just kept driving at the same speed it always does—and yes, that speed is incredibly slow.

The Cavaliers’ national championship will forever remain linked with their loss to UMBC. Those two moments explain each other, and magnify each other. The glory of Virginia’s championship is more meaningful now that it’s clear how easy it is for a great team to lose; the sheer randomness of Virginia’s loss is heightened now that it’s clear that the team was good enough to win the national title. Virginia’s 2018 catastrophe is no longer a mark of shame for the team’s players, coaches, and fans—just an unerasable part of a unique story. Nobody has ever been in the valley that Virginia fell into. The Cavaliers climbed out and smiled.

Virginia wins its first men's basketball national title

UVA's Kyle Guy: We did whatever it took to win

01:10 - Source: CNN

List of winners and finalists of the NASS Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NACC) Men's Division I Basketball Championship, or simply the NASS Tournament, is a knockout tournament where a participant is eliminated after one defeat. Division I is the top level tournament in NASS ^[1] and its winner is referred to in the media as the National College Basketball Champion ^[2] ^[3] . The championship takes place annually from 1939 years old At the beginning, 8 teams took part in it, and in 2011 - 68 ^[4] ^[5] . The semi-finals of the tournament are called the Final Four and take place in the same city, as well as the final game ^[6] . Indianapolis, the city where NASS is headquartered, hosts the Final Four on average every 5 years and is also a backup city in case the city hosting the Final Four is not able to host it ^[7] . Since 1952, the winning team has received a rectangular, gold-plated prize made of wood. Prior to this, the winner received a silver cup ^[8] .

The first NASS tournament was organized by the National Basketball Coaches Association ^[9] . The University of Oregon became the tournament's first winner, beating Ohio State University 46-33 in the final. After the second championship in 1940, the event came under the auspices of NASS ^[9]. In its early years, the tournament was less prestigious than the National Invitational Tournament (NPT), held in New York ^[10] ^[11] . Initially, teams could play in both tournaments at the same time and in season 19The 49/50 City College of New York team won both tournaments, becoming the only team in history to win both tournaments in the same year ^[12] . In the 1960s, the NASS tournament became more prestigious, and in 1971 the NASS banned universities from playing in other tournaments such as the NTP if they were invited to the NASS ^[13] championship.

UCLA has won the NASS Tournament more than any other university, 11 times. Ten of these championship titles have been won by the university since 1964 to 1975. UCLA also holds the record for the most consecutive titles won, with 7 in a row from 1967 to 1973. The University of Kentucky has won the championship 8 times, while Indiana University Bloomington and the University of North Carolina have won the championship 5 times each. The current champion is the University of Connecticut. More often than others, the team was led to the championship title by John Wooden, who won the tournament 10 times with UCLA. Duke University head coach Mike Krzyszewski and Adolph Rupp of the University of Kentucky each led their teams to success.

Howard Cann George Ireland John Wooden John Wooden John Wooden John Wooden John Wooden George King John Wooden John Wooden Florida State John Wooden John Wooden John Thompson John Thompson John Thompson Jim Bayheim Jim Bayheim Jim Calhoun Gary Williams Jim Bayheim Jim Calhoun Jim Calhoun

Year	Winning team	Coach of the winning team	Account	Losing team	Coach of the losing team	Venue	City	Approx.
1939	Oregon	Hobson, Howard Howard Hobson	046.3 !46–33	Ohio State	Olsen, HaroldHarold Olsen	Patten Gym	Evanston, IL	^[14]
1940	Indiana	McCracken, BranchBranch McCracken	060.2 !60–42	Kansas	Allen, FogFog Allen	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[15]
1941	Wisconsin	Foster, BadBad Foster	039 !39–34	Washington State	Friel, JackJack Friel	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[16]
1942	Stanford	Dean, Everett Everett Dean	053.2 !53–38	Dartmouth	Coales, OsborneOsborne Coales	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[17]
1943	Wyoming	Shelton, Everett Everett Shelton	046. 2 !46–34	Georgetown	Ripley, ElmerElmer Ripley	Madison Square Garden	New York, NY	^[18]
1944	Utah	Peterson, VadalVadal Peterson	042 !42–40*	Dartmouth	Brown, EarlEarl Brown	Madison Square Garden	New York, NY	^[19]
1945	Oklahoma A&M	Aiba, HenryHenry Aiba	049 !49–45	New York	Howard Cann	Madison Square Garden	New York, NY	^[20]
1946	Oklahoma A&M	Aiba, HenryHenry Aiba	043 !43–40	North Carolina	Carnevale, BenBen Carnevale	Madison Square Garden	New York, NY	^[21]
1947	Holly Cross	Julian, DoggyDoggie Julian	058. 1 !58–47	Oklahoma	Drake, BruceBruce Drake	Madison Square Garden	New York, NY	^[22]
1948	Kentucky	Rapp, AdolfAdolf Rapp	058.2 !58–42	Baylor	Henderson, BillBill Henderson	Madison Square Garden	New York, NY	^[23]
1949	Kentucky	Rapp, AdolfAdolf Rapp	046.1 !46–36	Oklahoma A&M	Aiba, HenryHenry Aiba	Heck Edmundson Pavilion	Seattle, Washington	^[24]
1950	SCNY	Holman, NatNat Holman	071.2 !71–68	Bradley	Anderson, ForddieForddie Anderson	Madison Square Garden	New York, NY	^[25]
1951	Kentucky	Rapp, AdolfAdolf Rapp	068. 2 !68–58	Kansas State	Gardner, JackJack Gardner	Williams Arena	Minneapolis, MN	^[26]
1952	Kansas	Allen, FogFog Allen	080.3 !80–63	St. John's	McGuire, FrankFrank McGuire	Heck Edmundson Pavilion	Seattle, Washington	^[27]
1953	Indiana	McCracken, BranchBranch McCracken	069 !69–68	Kansas	Allen, FogFog Allen	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[28]
1954	La Selle	Loeffler, KenKen Loeffler	092.2 !92–76	Bradley	Anderson, ForddieForddie Anderson	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[29]
1955	San Francisco	Woolpert, PhilPhil Woolpert	077. 3 !77–63	La Selle	Loeffler, KenKen Loeffler	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^{[30] 9}	Kansas	Harp, DickDick Harp	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[32]
1958	Kentucky	Rapp, AdolfAdolf Rapp	084.3 !84–72	Seattle	Castellani, JohnJohn Castellani	Freedom Hall	Louisville, KY	^[33]
1959	Berkeley	Newell, PitPit Newell	071.1 !71–70	West Virginia	Schaus, FredFred Schaus	Freedom Hall	Louisville, KY	^[34]
1960	Ohio State	Taylor, FredFred Taylor	075.4 !75–55	Berkeley	Newell, Pete Pete Newell	Cow Palace	Daly City, CA	^[35]
1961	Cincinnati	Jacker, EdEd Jacker	070 !70–65*	Ohio State	Taylor, FredFred Taylor	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[36]
1962	Cincinnati	Jacker, EdEd Jacker	071. 3 !71–59	Ohio State	Taylor, FredFred Taylor	Freedom Hall	Louisville, KY	^[37]
1963	Loyola (Chicago)	George Ireland	060.1 !60–58*	Cincinnati	Jacker, EdEd Jacker	Freedom Hall	Louisville, KY	^[38]
1964	UKLA	John Wooden	098 !98–83	Duke	Babes, VikVik Babes	City Hall	Kansas City, Missouri	^[39]
1965	UKLA	John Wooden	091 !91–80	Michigan	Strack, DaveDave Streck	Memorial Coliseum	Portland, OR	^[40]
1966	UTEP	Haskins, DonDon Haskins	072. 2 !72–65	Kentucky	Rapp, AdolfAdolf Rapp	Cole Field House	College Park, MD	^[41]
1967	UKLA	John Wooden	079 !79–64	Dayton	Donoher, DonDon Donoher	Freedom Hall	Louisville, KY	^[42]
1968	UKLA	John Wooden	078.2 !78–55	North Carolina	Smith, DinDin Smith	Sports Arena	Los Angeles, CA	^[43]
1969	UKLA	John Wooden	092.3 !92–72	Purdue	George King	Freedom Hall	Louisville, KY	^[44]
1970	UKLA	John Wooden	080. 2 !80–69	Jacksonville	Williams, JoJo Williams	Cole Field House	College Park, MD	^[45]
1971	UKLA	John Wooden	068.1 !68–62	Vilanova ^[a]	Kraft, JackJack Craft	Astrodome	Houston, TX	^[46]
1972	UKLA	Wooden, JohnJohn Wooden	081.2 !81–76		Duram, Hugh Hugh Duram	Memorial Sports Arena	Los Angeles, CA	^[47]
1973	UKLA	John Wooden	087 !87–66	Memphis State	Bartow, JeanJean Bartow	St. Louis Arena	St. Louis, MO	^[48]
1974	NC State	Sloan, NormNorm Sloan	076. 3 !76–64	Market	McGuire, LL McGuire	Greensboro Coliseum	Greensboro, NC	^[49]
1975	UKLA	John Wooden	092.1 !92–85	Kentucky	Hall, Joe B. Joe B. Hall	San Diego Sports Arena	San Diego, CA	^[50]
1976	Indiana	Knight, BobBob Knight	086 !86–68	Michigan	Orr, Johnny Johnny Orr	Spectrum	Philadelphia, PA	^[51]
1977	Market	McGuire, LL McGuire	067 !67–59	North Carolina	Smith, DinDin Smith	Omni Coliseum	Atlanta, Georgia	^[52]
1978	Kentucky	Hall, Joe B. Joe B. Hall	094 !94–88	Duke	Foster, BillBill Foster	Checkurdome	St. Louis, MO	^[53]
1979	Michigan State	Heathcote, JudJud Heathcote	075.3 !75–64	Indiana State	Hodges, BillBill Hodges	Speshil Events Center	Salt Lake City, UT	^[54]
1980	Louisville	Krum, DennyDenny Krum	059 !59–54	UKLA ^[a]	Brown, Larry Larry Brown	Market Square Arena	Indianapolis, IN	^[55]
1981	Indiana	Knight, BobBob Knight	063.2 !63–50	North Carolina	Smith, DinDin Smith	Spectrum	Philadelphia, PA	^[56]
1982	North Carolina	Smith, DinDin Smith	063. 1 !63–62	Georgetown	John Thompson	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, Louisiana	^[57]
1983	NC State	Valvano, JimJim Valvano	054.2 !54–52	Houston	Lewis, GuyGuy Lewis	University Arena	Albuquerque, New Mexico	^[58]
1984	Georgetown	John Thompson	084.2 !84–75	Houston	Lewis, GuyGuy Lewis	Kingdom	Seattle, Washington	^[59]
1985	Vilanova	Massimino, RollyRolly Massimino	066 !66–64	Georgetown	John Thompson	Rapp Arena	Kentucky, KY	^[60]
1986	Louisville	Krum, DennyDenny Krum	072. 1 !72–69	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	Reunion Arena	Dallas, TX	^[61]
1987	Indiana	Knight, BobBob Knight	074 !74–73	Syracuse	Jim Bayheim	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, Louisiana	^[62]
1988	Kansas	Brown, Larry Larry Brown	083.1 !83–79	Oklahoma	Tubbs, Billy Billy Tubbs	Camper Arena	Kansas City, Missouri	^[63]
1989	Michigan	Fisher, SteveSteve Fisher	080.1 !80–79*	Seton Hall	Carlisimo, PJPJ Carlisimo	Kingdom	Seattle, Washington	^[64]
1990	UNLV	Tarkanian, JerryJerry Tarkanian	103 !103–73	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	McNichols Sports Arena	Denver, CO	^[65]
1991	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	072. 2 !72–65	Kansas	Williams, RoyRoy Williams	Hoosier Dome	Indianapolis, IN	^[66]
1992	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	071.4 !71–51	Michigan ^[a]	Fisher, SteveSteve Fisher	Metrodome	Minneapolis, MN	^[67]
1993	North Carolina	Smith, DinDin Smith	077.2 !77–71	Michigan ^[a]	Fisher, SteveSteve Fisher	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, Louisiana	^[68]
1994	Arkansas	Richardson, Nolan Nolan Richardson	076.1 !76–72	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	Charlotte Coliseum	North Carolina, NC	^[69]
1995	UKLA	Harrick, JimJim Harrick	089. 1 !89–78	Arkansas	Richardson, Nolan Nolan Richardson	Kingdom	Seattle, Washington	^[70]
1996	Kentucky	Pitino, RickRick Pitino	076.2 !76–67	Syracuse	Jim Bayheim	Continental Airlines Arena	East Rutherford, NJ	^[71]
1997	Arizona	Olson, LatLat Olson	084.1 !84–79*	Kentucky	Pitino, RickRick Pitino	RCA Dome	Indianapolis, IN	^[72]
1998	Kentucky	Smith, TubbyTubby Smith	078.1 !78–69	Utah	Majerus, RickRick Majerus	Alamodome	San Antonio, TX	^[73]
1999	Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	077. 1 !77–74	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	Tropicana Field	St. Petersburg, FL	^[74]
2000	Michigan State	Aizzo, TomTom Aizzo	089.2 !89–76	Florida	Donovan, BillyBilly Donovan	RCA Dome	Indianapolis, IN	^[75]
2001	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	082.2 !82–72	Arizona	Olson, LatLat Olson	Metrodome	Minneapolis, MN	^[76]
2002	Maryland	Gary Williams	064 !64–52	Indiana	Davis, MikeMike Davis	Georgia Dome	Atlanta, Georgia	^[77]
2003	Syracuse	Jim Bayheim	081. 1 !81–78	Kansas	Williams, RoyRoy Williams	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, Louisiana	^[78]
2004	Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	082.1 !82–73	Georgia Tech	Hewitt, PaulPaul Hewitt	Alamodome	San Antonio, TX	^[79]
2005	North Carolina	Williams, RoyRoy Williams	075.1 !75–70	Illinois	Weber, BruceBruce Weber	Edward Jones Dome	St. Louis, MO	^[80]
2006	Florida	Donovan, BillyBilly Donovan	073 !73–57	UKLA	Howland, BenBen Howland	RCA Dome	Indianapolis, IN	^[81]
2007	Florida	Donovan, BillyBilly Donovan	084. 2 !84–75	Ohio State	Matt, FedFed Matt	Georgia Dome	Atlanta, Georgia	^[82]
2008	Kansas	Self, BillBill Self	075.2 !75–68*	Memphis ^[a]	Calipari, JohnJohn Calipari	Alamodome	San Antonio, TX	^[83]
2009	North Carolina	Williams, RoyRoy Williams	089.3 !89–72	Michigan State	Aizzo, TomTom Aizzo	Ford Field	Detroit, Michigan	^[84]
2010	Duke	Krzyszewski, MikeMike Krzyszewski	061 !61–59	Butler	Stevens, BradBrad Stevens	Lucas Oil Stadium	Indianapolis, IN	^[85]
2011	Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	053. 1 !53–41	Butler	Stevens, BradBrad Stevens	Reliant Stadium	Houston, TX	^[86]
2012	Kentucky	Calipari, JohnJohn Calipari	067.1 !67-59	Kansas	Self, BillBill Self	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	New Orleans, Louisiana	^[87]
Team	Victory	Year of victory
UKLA	11	1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995
Kentucky	8	1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012
Indiana	5	1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987
North Carolina	5	1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009
Duke	4	1991, 1992, 2001, 2010
Connecticut	3	1999, 2004, 2011
Kansas	3	1952, 1988, 2008
Cincinnati	2	1961, 1962
Florida	2	2006, 2007
Louisville	2	1980, 1986
Michigan State	2	1979, 2000
NC State	2	1974, 1983
Oklahoma A&M	2	1945, 1946
San Francisco	2	1955, 1956
Conference	Victory	Championship year	Approx.
Pacific 12	15	1939, 1942, 1959, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995, 1997	^[14] ^[34] ^[90] ^[91]
Atlantic Coast	12	1957, 1974, 1982, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010	^[92] ^[93] ^[94] ^[95]
Southeastern Conference	11	1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2012	^[96] ^[97] ^[98] ^[99] ^[100] ^[101] ^[102] ^[103] ^[104] ^[105]
Big Ten	10	1940, 1941, 1953, 1960, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1989, 2000	^[106]
Big East	6	1984, 1985, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2011	^[107] ^[108]
Independents	6	1944, 1947, 1954, 1963, 1966, 1977	^[41] ^[109] ^[110] ^[111] ^[112] ^[113]
Missouri Valley	4	1945, 1946, 1961, 1962	^[114] ^[115] ^[116] ^[117]
Big 8	2	1952, 1988	^[27] ^[63]
Metro	2	1980, 1986	^[118]
West Coast	2	1955, 1956	^[119]
Big 12	1	2008	^[120]
Big West	1	1990	^[121]
Metropolitan New York	1	1950	^[122]
Mountain States	1	1943	^[123]

Want to be a little crazy? - MK in the New World

04/09/2014 at 07:05 Fresh MK 1510

It feels like even the Lord God puts aside all his affairs for a while, because nobody talks about anything but basketball at this time. ..

Photo: Sergey Ivanov

It is rather difficult for people living outside the USA to understand this phenomenon, but the fact remains that the NCAA basketball championship in America is generally more popular than the National Basketball Association championship. This is indeed the pure truth, no matter how incredible it may seem. Playing not for millions of contracts, but for the right to study for free at universities and colleges, students with their game attract more public attention than world-famous professionals. On the days when the playoff matches of the student championship begin, all other sporting events go not even into the background, but into the background.

They stood in a row - there were eight of them...

The first draw of the student championship took place back in 1939 - only eight teams participated in the tournament at that time. And until the end of the 70s, college basketball was more of a cult object than a truly notable sporting event. It was of interest primarily to students of colleges and universities scattered across the United States, sports fans in those cities where there were no professional basketball teams, but there were student ones, and, of course, scouts and coaches of NBA clubs and other leagues on a smaller scale.

In sports weeklies, the main faces of the then college basketball - Pete Maravich, Lew Elsindor, Bill Walton, David Thompson, the patriarch of all coaches John Wooden, Larry Bird, Irving Johnson - even occasionally appeared on the covers of color magazines, but generally about student basketball then wrote and spoke little. As, however, about the older brother - the NBA.

The situation did not change until one of the managers of the newly formed ESPN TV channel came up with a truly brilliant idea - why not show college championship matches on the channel. Moreover, last year's final was watched by almost 24 million people. The public reaction was even better than you could imagine. Soon, the battles of young talents competing for an idea attracted an ever-increasing audience.

No sooner said than done, and the popularity of college basketball on a national scale began to grow by leaps and bounds. The number of teams that began to participate in the championship grew exponentially. Finally, it came to the point that the month of March “was completely devoted to student basketball, which in these 30 days simply “removed” all its competitors. For example, for more than a decade, on the day of the student league finals, NBA teams do not play, but get a day off.

March Madness

Since 1982, the student championship playoffs have been called "spring fever". However, due to the numerous lawsuits between student and school associations for the right to own this phrase, now the battles of students are called brighter: March Madness (“March madness”). The basketball form of the tournament itself has changed many times and is still very bizarre and confusing.

The last time the rules were changed three years ago - now 68 teams participate in the "madness", 32 of which are winners of their conferences. But the choice of the remaining 36 teams every year is accompanied by all sorts of conversations, negotiations, accusations, rumors and gossip.

The fact is that these 36 lucky winners are not determined by the sporting principle - who won the most victories - but they are chosen by a special commission, which, based on a combination of factors (popularity, achievements, the presence of stars, the quality of the game, the number of fans, and so on) and gets the lucky ones, and at the same time assigns a seed number to each team. The better the university and its team are from the point of view of the commission, the higher this number is, respectively. And so, for example, last year's champion, the University of Louisville, which many in the student league consider simply "upstarts", received only the fourth number in its conference, and Kentucky (champion 2012) - even the eighth number.

And here are the famous and legendary universities - Duke and Michigan, which, although they played worse in the regular season, but thanks to their popularity and millions of fans, they received second and third places when seeding. Although Duke last won the championship in 2010, and Michigan did in 2000.

After a short qualification with the participation of outsiders, 64 teams out of 68 remain in the playoffs. And from that moment on, the same “March madness” begins, into which almost the entire country falls. 64 teams are divided into four conferences of 16 teams each, where they fight among themselves according to the knockout cup principle. In this case, the first seed plays with the 16th, the second - with the 15th and so on. The winners of the conferences in early April come to one city, where the most interesting event takes place - the Final Four. Only three meetings are played here - two semi-finals and the final itself, the game for third place is not held.

Collegiate basketball is quite different from the NBA in terms of its playing principles. No, the size of the court, the ball, the height of the ring and net, the number of players on the court - everything is like in the NBA. But if the pro match consists of four halves-periods of 12 minutes, then the students' game is divided into two halves of 20 minutes.

In the NBA, teams are given 24 seconds to attack (some of this is a lot - Phoenix Suns players of the Steve Nash era spent 7 - 9 seconds attacking), students are given the right to hold the ball for more than half a minute. In this regard, unlike the NBA, all types of zone defense are allowed in the student championship, and the three-point line is always located at the six-meter mark (in the NBA, this distance is often changed).

But the main difference is, of course, basketball itself: reckless and fast, unpredictable, unlike anything else, where the fate of almost every game is decided in the last seconds, where the clear favorites have to play with the basketball “Cinderellas” who came to the match, as a decisive ball-fight in their lives, and besides, it turned out that the fans of student basketball, firstly, fill the halls to capacity, and secondly, they behave much more actively and noisily than professional basketball fans - and thereby pretty much add color game.

Win or go home

And, finally, perhaps the most important thing that attracts fans is that, unlike the NBA, where teams play in a series of up to four wins, all matches for students consist of one duel. You must win here and now - WIN OR GO HOME! This poster hangs in all cities where knockout championship matches are played.

There's another side to the "Madness" that League officials don't like to talk about - money. All student basketball is built on a system of grants - everything is paid for by an educational institution - a college or university, players do not receive any salary, do not have the right to sign any contracts, and so on. And for violation of the rules - a lightning-fast and merciless disqualification, not only of the player, but also of the educational institution.

And only once a year, in March, do people talk about money quite officially. Millions of Americans begin to play college basketball sweepstakes - the number of these every year exceeds all reasonable limits. This year, more than 8 million people have registered with official bookmakers alone, betting almost $2.5 billion on their favorite teams.

Moreover, there are not so many chances for players to earn money due to intuition or foresight and their knowledge - knockout matches are too unpredictable. However, there is one tradition that has never been violated throughout the history of Madness: the team seeded under the 16th number has never yet won in the first round against the favorite! The group of students from Murray State came closest to the sensation, which at 19In 1990, he lost to the favorite “Michigan” only in an additional five-minute period - none of the obvious outsiders even lived close to overtime.

Clearly, the most dramatic moments in NCAA history, of course, take place in the finals. Well, for example, the final of 1982. It was then that North Carolina coach Dan Smith won the tournament for the first time after 21 (!) years of unsuccessful attempts! In that tense meeting, 17 seconds before the siren, Carolina student Michael Jordan led his team ahead - 63:62. And the coaching staff of their rivals, Georgetown University, suddenly forgot that they had another time out, and deprived the team of the chance to succeed.

However, this error is no match for Chris Webber's trick. 21 years ago, the Michigan team, which has already become legendary, met in the final with North Carolina - and, perhaps, would have won if Webber had not suddenly asked for a timeout 11 seconds before the end of the match at the moment when these same timeouts the team no longer has. Until now, fans and fans of basketball are arguing about the reasons that moved the future NBA star to commit this stupid act.

Crazy this year

This draw, as in all previous ones, was not without sensations: note favorites - Duke and Kansas, Michigan and Syracuse, as well as seeded under the first numbers as winners of their conferences - Arizona , "Virginia" and "Wichita State" - flew out already on the distant approaches to the "Final Four". Only the Aligators from Florida confirmed the title of the best team in their conference. The Floridians, by the way, are experienced final fighters - they have played in the Final Four five times, three of them in the final. And they won twice. And the most experienced of the four was the team of the University of Kentucky - 16 hits in the Final Four, 12 finals and 8 wins.

And the last one was won two years ago. Another finalist is the University of Connecticut. The women's team of this university is very well known in the world of basketball, and in the last decade, representatives of the stronger sex have also caught up with the girls, hitting the Final Four four times and winning three victories there. And, finally, the obligatory “Cinderella” in such cases is the “University of Wisconsin”, a team that only three times got into the coveted four and won the title back in 1941.

The current Final Four took place in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys football team. And both semi-finals: “Kentucky” – “Wisconsin”, “Connecticut” – “Florida” attended, according to official figures, 79,444 spectators each, which is a new record for student basketball. "Wild Cats" from Kentucky with great difficulty put the squeeze on less experienced colleagues from "Wisconsin" in the end - 74:73, but the "Husky" from Connecticut outplayed the Florida "Alligators", who were the clear favorites of the tournament, quite unexpectedly, - 63:53 .

The final match started a bit unexpectedly - "Husky" started tearing "Kotov" just to pieces - 17:8 and 30:15. Coaching staff, “Kentucky” had to take time out after time out to bring the nerves of their charges back to normal. And at the end of the first half they succeeded: the teams went on a break with a slight advantage, “Connecticut” – 35:31.

In the second half, the Cats seized the initiative due to excellent defensive play and got close to the opponents at a minimum distance - 47:48, and it seemed that they would be able to repeat their success of 2012. However, the Connecticut also had players on the team who had already tasted the charm of victory (the Huskies won the title in 2011), and the team leader, Shabazz Napier, a native of Puerto Rico, who has long been licked by the scouts of many NBA clubs, looking at as befits a leader, he took over the game at the right time and put a couple of accurate three-pointers into the basket of his opponents.

These exact "threes" seem to have really pissed off the "Wild Cats", and the team just had a mediocre end of the meeting, still managing to miss a bunch of free throws. As a result, the Huskies won - 60:54, the team's coach Kevin Olii received a cut net from the ring of rivals, Napier - the title of the best player in the final four, and 79,238 people who came to the stadium, and according to preliminary data, about 100 million people, watching this madness on TV is a real pleasure.

Now fans of collegiate battles, and especially Connecticut fans, will be looking forward to the finals of the women's collegiate championship. After all, students from Connecticut also play there. And in the entire long history of the NCAA, only once - in 2004 - did a team from the same university win a tournament for both men's and women's teams. Guess who they were?

The authors:

Vladimir Gurvich

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