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Scare tactics
National champs have fair share of close calls
Posted: Tuesday March 13, 2001 2:39 AM
Updated: Tuesday March 13, 2001 2:39 AM
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Jim Valvano's 1983 national champion Wolfpack won four tournament games by a combined six points. Allsport |
By Jacob Luft, CNNSI.com
No matter how dominant a team is during the regular season, its chances of avoiding close games on the way to a national title are slim.
Since 1979, only five of the 22 national champions won all of their games by more than five points: Michigan State (2000, '79), Kentucky ('96), North Carolina ('93) and Indiana ('81). Three of those teams -- Michigan State (2000, '79) and Indiana ('81) -- won all of their games by double-digit margins (See chart, below, for the NCAA champions with the highest average margins of victory).
Indeed, close games are the norm in the NCAA tournament, even for the eventual winner.
Since 1979, eight champions eked out one-point victories during their tournament runs: North Carolina ('82), N.C. State ('83), Georgetown ('84), Indiana ('87), Michigan ('89), Duke ('92), UCLA ('95) and Kentucky ('98). Three others had two-point victories -- '91 Duke, '90 UNLV and '85 Villanova -- meaning at least 11 of the 22 winners had to survive down-to-the-buzzer finishes.
Perhaps the best example of Team Cardiac was the 1983 Wolfpack, who won four of their six games by two points or less.
For the 1982 Tar Heels, the first game was one of the toughest -- a 52-50 victory against No. 9 seed James Madison. Here are some other memorable early-round scares for eventual NCAA champs:
(1) UCLA 75, (8) Missouri 74 -- Second round, 1995: Tyus Edney went coast-to-coast in 4.8 seconds to hit the winning jumper over two Missouri defenders at the buzzer. The Bruins won three of their next four games by double digits to claim national title No. 11.
(6) Kansas 61, (14) Missouri 58 -- Second round, 1988: Danny Manning hit a jump hook with 38 seconds left, giving the Jayhawks a 59-58 lead and sending Kansas into the regional semifinals. Manning finished with 25 points, 16 in the second half.
(1) Georgetown 37, (9) Southern Methodist 36 -- Second round, 1984: The Hoyas trailed 24-16 at halftime but held the Mustangs to two points in the first 13:48 of the second half. Patrick Ewing tipped in a missed free throw with 51 seconds left and Michael Jackson added a foul shot with eight seconds to go for the victory. Georgetown won its remaining four games by 14, 12, 13 and nine points.
| Coasting to the Title |
|---|
| National champions with the largest average margins of victory (since 1979):
|
| Year |
Champ |
Games |
Margin |
Closest Game |
| 1979 |
Mich. St. |
5 |
22.8 |
11: 75-64, Indiana St., Final |
| 1996 |
Kentucky |
6 |
21.5 |
7: 81-74, UMass, Final Four |
| 1990 |
UNLV |
6 |
18.7 |
2: 69-67, Ball State, 3rd round |
| 1981 |
Indiana |
5 |
17.2 |
13: 63-50, North Carolina, Final |
| 1993 |
N. Carolina |
6 |
15.7 |
6: 77-71, Michigan, Final
80-74, Arkansas, 3rd round |
| |
| Squeaking By |
|---|
| National champions with the lowest average margins of victory (since 1979):
|
| Year |
Champ |
Games |
Margin |
Closest Game |
| 1982 |
N. Carolina |
5 |
4.6 |
1: 63-62, Georgetown, Final |
| 1983 |
N.C. State |
6 |
5.2 |
1: 71-70, UNLV, 2nd round
63-62, Virginia, 4th round |
| 1997 |
Arizona |
6 |
5.3 |
3: 85-82, Kansas, 3rd round |
| 1985 |
Villanova |
6 |
6.7 |
2: 66-64, Georgetown, Final |
| 1988 |
Kansas |
6 |
8.8 |
3: 61-58, Murray St., 2nd round |
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