Best college basketball games of all time? | Page 2 | Syracusefan.com

Best college basketball games of all time?

I think the Duke Kentucky game is the best one ever

Virginia Purdue from last year as well. Carsen Edwards was about as hot as you could possibly be.
 
Duke-Kentucky '92 is phenomenal. Back and forth until the buzzer.

A couple of more recent games come to mind:
Virginia-Auburn in last year's semifinals.
The first ACC SU-Duke game which may have been the best pure basketball ever played in the Dome.

Personal favorites are every game the Orange beat G-town at the wire including:
the '06 BE tourney
G-Mac's last second 3 in '04
CJ Fair slamming in Otto Porter's face in OT in '13
The game winning shots by Tyus Battle and Kris Joseph
And - maybe best of all - 1990 senior day when Billy Owens tied the game with two foul shots at the end of regulation and then the Orange waved a collective finger at Motumbo and prevailed in OT.
 
A totally judgmental question, but my answer (based on the sheer drama of watching the games while they were actually being played) would be:

2009 six-overtime game between Syracuse and UConn
1992 NCAA regional final between Duke and Kentucky
1985 National Championshihp game, Villanova versus Georgetown.
Before my time but I would think that the game where ND ended UCLA's winning streak would have to be somewhere on this list.

I would also think the Texas Western game vs Kentucky should be on this list.
 
St. Joe's - OK State also had great Elite Eight game back in 2004. SJ had Jameer Nelson, Delonte West etc. Went i think 32-1 or something before the dance.
 
For me, the 1987 and 2003 national championship games.

in hindsight the 03 game jsut wasnt that great. the ending was uglyyyy!! missed shots, poor rebounding to's!!! (combined 35 yikes), gmac avoiding ball contact the last 5 min, free throws!! we scored 28 points in the 2nd half while they were actively fouling us. we scored like 3 points in the last 6 minutes.

although i found this article which was interesting

Kansas went 12-30 from the line, and missed the front end of 2 one-and-ones. Effectively, that is 12-32. However, Kansas also scored 6 points via offensive rebounds on their missed free throws.* So, effectively, Kansas produced 18 points from 32 free throw attempts.

Syracuse went 10-17 from the line. They also missed the front end of 1 one-and-one, and scored zero points from offensive rebounds on missed free throws. So, effectively, Syracuse produced 10 points from 18 free throw attempts.

Kansas: 18-32 for an efficiency rate of 0.5625 per free throw Syracuse: 10-18 for an efficiency rate of 0.5556 per free throw

Thus, Kansas was actually slightly more efficient in terms of effective points per free throw attempt than Syracuse.

The 2003 national title game was actually won and lost at the three-point line, not the free throw line. Syracuse shot 11-18 beyond the arc, while Kansas went only 4-20. Whether or not you consider that to be luck might be another matter. However, as a Syracuse fan and a number cruncher, I feel a lot more comfortable discussing Syracuse’s timely three-point shooting than the illusion of Kansas choking from the line.
 
For me, it's 6 OT
1. I was there
2. UCONN lost
3. MSG - if you weren't there, it's impossible to convey just how electric the building was. It was magic. I've been in the Dome for big games, and the SU UNC Regional in 1987, the regionals in 2003 in Albany, but the Garden is special.
 
St. Joe's - OK State also had great Elite Eight game back in 2004. SJ had Jameer Nelson, Delonte West etc. Went i think 32-1 or something before the dance.

arizona/gonzaga, kansas and northern iowa and farmunuko?, ucla/gonzaga, uva last year in like 3 games - there are a lot of good games out there.
 
in hindsight the 03 game jsut wasnt that great. the ending was uglyyyy!! missed shots, poor rebounding to's!!! (combined 35 yikes), gmac avoiding ball contact the last 5 min, free throws!! we scored 28 points in the 2nd half while they were actively fouling us. we scored like 3 points in the last 6 minutes.

although i found this article which was interesting

Kansas went 12-30 from the line, and missed the front end of 2 one-and-ones. Effectively, that is 12-32. However, Kansas also scored 6 points via offensive rebounds on their missed free throws.* So, effectively, Kansas produced 18 points from 32 free throw attempts.

Syracuse went 10-17 from the line. They also missed the front end of 1 one-and-one, and scored zero points from offensive rebounds on missed free throws. So, effectively, Syracuse produced 10 points from 18 free throw attempts.

Kansas: 18-32 for an efficiency rate of 0.5625 per free throw Syracuse: 10-18 for an efficiency rate of 0.5556 per free throw

Thus, Kansas was actually slightly more efficient in terms of effective points per free throw attempt than Syracuse.

The 2003 national title game was actually won and lost at the three-point line, not the free throw line. Syracuse shot 11-18 beyond the arc, while Kansas went only 4-20. Whether or not you consider that to be luck might be another matter. However, as a Syracuse fan and a number cruncher, I feel a lot more comfortable discussing Syracuse’s timely three-point shooting than the illusion of Kansas choking from the line.


I watched the end of the 03 game a while ago, you are so so right.

We were limping to the finish there. Big time
 
I watched the end of the 03 game a while ago, you are so so right.

We were limping to the finish there. Big time

Yep. Kind of crazy it was the bench role players of Pace and Edelin that drug the team over the finish line (and Warrick’s block sealed the deal).

It isn’t talked about much since Cuse ended up holding on but I think Anthony’s back was really hurting in the 2nd half. He just looked like a different player.
 
Yep. Kind of crazy it was the bench role players of Pace and Edelin that drug the team over the finish line (and Warrick’s block sealed the deal).

It isn’t talked about much since Cuse ended up holding on but I think Anthony’s back was really hurting in the 2nd half. He just looked like a different player.

Yeah that absolutely was an issue. maybe midway through the second half it cropped up.
 
Yep. Kind of crazy it was the bench role players of Pace and Edelin that drug the team over the finish line (and Warrick’s block sealed the deal).

It isn’t talked about much since Cuse ended up holding on but I think Anthony’s back was really hurting in the 2nd half. He just looked like a different player.

gmac had a hand issue too
 
Yep. Kind of crazy it was the bench role players of Pace and Edelin that drug the team over the finish line (and Warrick’s block sealed the deal).

It isn’t talked about much since Cuse ended up holding on but I think Anthony’s back was really hurting in the 2nd half. He just looked like a different player.
And Gerry's wrist, from running into the scorer's table.
 
I'd have to say Duke-Kentucky, even the millionth replay is compelling.

The best Cuse game maybe would've been the Texas game in the Final Four. We were swinging all the way and the Longhorns hung around til getting KO-ed in the 15th.

That Texas/Cuse game was great. If Texas had made more of a run and it had finished a one possession game I think it would go down as a Final Four classic. The first 38 minutes were so fun to watch.
 
1. UVA-Purdue last year is going to be an all-timer. Carsten Edwards is one of the better scorers I’ve seen in college and he went absolutely nuts. Plus the play to send it to OT

2. Ali Farokhmanesh with the ballsiest shot in tourney history to beat Kansas in 2010 made 12 year old me fall in love with March Madness

3. Almost solely because of Gus Johnson. “Crawford’s gotta hurrrryyy”
 
NC State beating Houston was amazing.
6 OT
92
 
My favorite game of all time was the Bill Walton UCLA 1974 Final Four semifinal where they lost in double overtime, I think it was, to David Thompson and NC State. What a game!


Just watched it on YouTube last night. Walton was amazing. So consistent. UCLA led by 11 with 10 minutes to go in regulation - and they even led by 7 with 3 minutes left in the 2nd overtime - and still lost!

David Thompson was such a unique player. And Mo Rivers was their point guard. But Thompson, oh my gosh, who is a comparable player? He was 6-4 but rebounded like a 6-8 forward. He had deep range on his jumper in an era before the 3 point shot. He could handle the ball, but was not really a "downhill" guy who attacked the rim. He really made sure to play within the team concept.

I really have a hard time thinking of a guy who played like him, except maybe somebody like Dave Bing, for those old enough to remember. Another comparable I thought of as I was re-watching the 92 Duke-Kentucky game is Grant Hill. David Thompson has Hill's leaping / dunking / finish the oop on the break kind of thing that Grant Hill (or Stevie Thompson) had. Grant Hill also played within the team concept, was an excellent passer (as was David Thompson) and eventually became a very solid outside shooter, which is why he had such a long NBA career. But David Thompson was 4 inches shorter than Grant Hill; otherwise, much the same player.

Tom Burleson was a heck of an offensive center, too, not just a 7-3 stiff who filled the lane on defense.
 
Last edited:
I'd have to say Duke-Kentucky, even the millionth replay is compelling.

The best Cuse game maybe would've been the Texas game in the Final Four. We were swinging all the way and the Longhorns hung around til getting KO-ed in the 15th.


I agree that we played really really well against Texas. But the way we demolished Oklahoma with the zone was something I've never seen. They were completely baffled. It was amazing to watch.
 
I have seen such a small fraction of all the college basketball games that have been played in history. I do not feel qualified to comment.
 
A totally judgmental question, but my answer (based on the sheer drama of watching the games while they were actually being played) would be:

2009 six-overtime game between Syracuse and UConn
1992 NCAA regional final between Duke and Kentucky
1985 National Championshihp game, Villanova versus Georgetown.

The UCLA Houston Game was considered the game of the century. It has to have a place on the list. The January 20, 1968 game was the first-ever nationally televised college basketball game. The teams were ranked #1 and #2 and featured Elvin Hayes vs. Lew Alcindor.
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
167,127
Messages
4,681,574
Members
5,900
Latest member
DizzyNY

Online statistics

Members online
75
Guests online
1,814
Total visitors
1,889


Top Bottom