Atlanta had never played host to an NCAA tournament before March 26, 1977. It has since been the site of 82 games, which matches Indianapolis for the fifth-most of any burg. We’ve had eight subregionals and eight regionals, and we’re about to stage our fourth Final Four.
Between the old Omni and the Georgia Dome, some of the more memorable moments in NCAA history have transpired in our fair city. Here are the 10 best, beginning with the final three seconds of the first tournament game played in Fulton County.
Marquette vs. North Carolina Charlotte, 1977 Final Four: Tied at 49, Marquette was inbounding from the far baseline. Al McGuire, who had announced his intent to retire at age 48, walked to center court during the timeout to check the height of the scoreboard and told Butch Lee, who would deliver the inbounds pass, to throw long.
Lee threw too long, overshooting Bo Ellis. The ball glanced off the hands of Charlotte’s Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell and fell to Jerome Whitehead, Marquette’s center. Whitehead appeared to touch his own layup while it was on the rim, which would have constituted offensive goaltending. The Omni timekeeper ruled, correctly, that Whitehead’s shot had beaten the buzzer. The issue of goaltending wasn’t raised.
Marquette vs. North Carolina, 1977 NCAA final: Trailing by 12 points at the half, Carolina surged into a two-point lead and, as was Dean Smith's wont, went into its numbing Four Corners. With the scored tied, the Tar Heels held the ball for three minutes before missing, and Marquette, having steadied itself, won going away.
Inside the final 10 seconds, McGuire broke into tears. Rather than celebrate on the court with his team, he headed to the locker room to compose himself. He returned for the trophy presentation and then, figuratively speaking, rode off into the sunset.
BYU vs. Notre Dame, 1981 East semifinal: With 10 seconds remaining, Kelly Tripucka hit a tough corner jumper to put the Fighting Irish ahead. BYU called timeout with eight seconds left. The inbounds play wasn't really a play. Danny Ainge simply took a pass and drove past all five of Digger Phelps' defenders.
Taking the ball 85 feet from the goal, Ainge sped up the right sideline. He lost John Paxson at midcourt with a behind-the-back dribble, a maneuver that enabled him to cut between Tripucka and Tom Sluby. Ducking into the lane, Ainge flashed past center Tim Andree and flipped a layup over the famous leaper Orlando Woolridge.
Indiana vs. North Carolina, 1984 East semifinal: Even after a loss to Duke in the ACC semifinals, the Tar Heels were held in such high regard that they entered the NCAA tournament ranked No. 1. Against Indiana, Michael Jordan was called for two early fouls and sat out the rest of the first half.
Frustrated by the plodding Dan Dakich, the greatest player ever would foul out of his final college game with 13 points on 14 shots. In 1997 as a Chicago Bull, Jordan would be a winner in Game 4 of an NBA playoff series against the Hawks — the final event held in the old Omni.
LSU vs. Kentucky, 1986 Southeast final: The 11th-seeded Tigers had lost three times to Kentucky, but had just toppled Georgia Tech, which was playing in its hometown, on the outrageous shooting of Don Redden and Derrick Taylor. ("They careered it on us," a crestfallen Mark Price said.)
Employing Dale Brown’s “Freak” defense, the Tigers managed finally to slow All-American Kenny Walker. The clinching layup came when LSU spread the court and found Ricky Blanton, a guard pressed into service as a 6-foot-7 center. Afterward Brown climbed a ladder and, rather than snip the net with scissors, bit into the blessed nylon.
Michigan vs. Xavier, 1989 Southeast first round: The strangest beginning to a national championship run ever. Bill Frieder had accepted the job at Arizona State, but planned to guide the Wolverines in the tournament. Athletic director Bo Schembechler fired him — "I want a Michigan man coaching Michigan," Schembechler said — and promoted assistant Steve Fisher.
Frieder bought a ticket to the Xavier game and watched from the stands. The Wolverines trailed at the half, but forged ahead in the final minutes to make Fisher 1-0 as a head coach.
South Alabama vs. Alabama, 1989 Southeast first round: Finally given a chance at the big school from Tuscaloosa, the small-timer from the Sun Belt trailed by 16 points at the half. "We are going to win this game!" Jaguars coach Ronnie Arrow thundered, and for emphasis he punched a hole in the locker-room blackboard.
South Alabama won on a play that Arrow couldn’t have diagrammed on an intact chalkboard. With the Jaguars trailing by a point, guard Junie “Peanut Butter” Lewis couldn’t control the inbounds pass, but he ran down the loose ball and fed backcourt mate Jeff “Jelly” Hodge, whose 3-pointer with three seconds left beat Bama. Moaned Wimp Sanderson: “My gut’s eating me up right now.”
LSU vs. Duke and Texas vs. West Virginia, 2006 South semifinals: The greatest NCAA session ever held in Atlanta began with an upset of the nation's No. 1 team. The Blue Devils of J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams managed one basket over the final 9:38 as LSU, led by Glen "Big Baby" Davis and freshman Tyrus Thomas, blocked shots and whomped down dunks with disdain.
In the nightcap, West Virginia center Kevin Pittsnogle made a tying 3-pointer with five seconds remaining, whereupon Texas coach Rick Barnes chose not to call timeout. A.J. Abrams pushed the ball upcourt and found Kenton Paulino on the left wing. Paulino’s hurtling 3-pointer won it at the buzzer.
Florida vs. Ohio State, 2007 NCAA final: The first title tilt played in the Georgia Dome — Maryland's 64-52 dismissal of Indiana — was routine, and this wasn't the most dramatic game ever played, either. The 84-75 victory was, however, the culmination of Florida's march to consecutive titles, something only Duke had managed since the fall of the UCLA dynasty.
Ohio State actually played well — the Buckeyes made 46.9 percent of their shots and had only seven turnovers — but stood no chance. The four Gator juniors — Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Taurean Green and Final Four MVP Corey Brewer — teamed with senior shooter Lee Humphrey to form a team in the fullest sense of the word.
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