This month — March 21 and 23 — Fiserv Discussion board will host NCAA Match video games in males’s basketball, the second time the venue has performed host to the showcase because it opened in 2018. It is the tenth time general that Milwaukee has hosted the event.
Wisconsin Badgers followers absolutely recall the 2014 conflict with Oregon on the Bradley Middle, that includes a livid second-half rally and a delirious partisan crowd lifting UW over a serious hurdle en path to the Ultimate 4.
That sport represents one of many greatest moments within the Bradley Middle’s historical past. Much less remembered are different thrillers on Milwaukee soil, provided that the groups competing weren’t often of curiosity to the native fan base. However there have been some good ones.
These have been the video games that produced the best thrills.
Wisconsin Badger coach Bo Ryan and gamers can solely watch the ultimate seconds tick away as they have been eradicated by Pittsburgh, 59-55, on Sunday, March 21, 2004.
10. The Wisconsin prelude (Pittsburgh 59, Wisconsin 55, 2004)
In fact, 2014 wasn’t the primary time the Badgers performed in Milwaukee. However the hostile crowd wasn’t sufficient in opposition to Pittsburgh within the second spherical of the 2004 event, with the Badgers the underdog because the sixth seed in opposition to the third-seeded Panthers.
Carl Krauser’s powerful shot with 2 minutes remaining broke a 52-all tie, and Jaron Brown made two clutch free throws after an offensive rebound with 42.8 seconds to go to present Pitt a 56-52 lead. Boo Wade’s triple made it a one-point sport briefly, however Krauser answered with two extra free throws. Zach Morley’s shot try — a two-pointer regardless of the three-point deficit — with 8 seconds left was no good.
Pittsburgh misplaced to Oklahoma State within the Candy 16.
9. The Blue Raiders strike once more (Center Tennessee 81, Minnesota 72, 2017)
One yr after it upset Michigan State within the first spherical, Twelfth-seeded Center Tennessee once more wreaked havoc on the Huge Ten with one of many larger shockers Milwaukee has seen within the NCAA Match. The Blue Raiders have been up by as many as 17 factors regardless of a loud contingent of Gophers supporters within the seats. Reggie Upshaw scored 19 factors and Giddy Potts had 15 for the Convention USA champion.
Center Tennessee misplaced to Butler two days later, 74-65.
8. Technically talking (Mississippi 72, Villanova 70, 1999)
One yr after it was victimized within the first spherical by probably the most well-known pictures in NCAA historical past — a buzzer-beater by Valparaiso’s Bryce Drew — Ole Miss gained its first NCAA Match sport ever within the 8 vs. 9 sport.
Villanova’s Malik Allen was referred to as for a technical foul when he shoved Mississippi’s Marcus Hicks to the bottom earlier than an inbound move with 4.7 seconds left. Jason Harrison missed each free throws, however on the following Ole Miss inbound, Michael White took a move and ran across the ground till time ran out.
Milt Wagner is widely known after his big shot to elevate Louisville over Tulsa within the 1984 NCAA Match on the Area in Milwaukee.
7. Milt Wagner on the MECCA (Louisville 69, Tulsa 67, 1984)
Milt Wagner hit a 12-footer from the suitable baseline with 5 seconds left to elevate his fifth-seeded Cardinals within the last NCAA Match sport on the MECCA, although fourth-seeded Tulsa was taking part in from behind all sport lengthy.
The Golden Hurricane, led by coach Nolan Richardson and his frenetic fashion that helped the squad common 91.6 factors per sport, did not go quietly, rallying after the Cardinals took an 11-point lead with 3:45 to go. Tulsa scored eight straight factors within the last 2:20 to tie the sport with 34 seconds left.
Louisville superior to the third spherical however misplaced to top-seeded Kentucky.
6. Vaughn’s put-back in site visitors (Memphis State 82, Arkansas 80, 1992)
David Vaughn scored off his personal miss with 7.5 seconds left to elevate sixth-seeded Memphis State to a win over No. 3 seed Arkansas within the second spherical of the 1992 event. Vaughn missed his 15-footer with 11 seconds left however grabbed the rebound in site visitors and laid it in to finish a comeback and upset.
Memphis State, a workforce that included freshman Anfernee Hardaway (immediately the top coach at Memphis), would go on to beat Georgia Tech (which additionally gained in a thriller in Milwaukee) within the Candy 16 earlier than falling to No. 4 seed Cincinnati within the Elite Eight.
The loss ended the school careers of future Milwaukee Bucks Lee Mayberry and Todd Day, in addition to Oliver Miller. Arkansas gained the NCAA Match two years later.
Georgia Tech’s Jarett Jack celebrates a slam dunk after stealing the ball within the closing seconds to seal the win in opposition to Boston Faculty Sunday, March 21, 2004.
5. Jarrett Jack’s (virtually) game-sealing dunk (Georgia Tech 57, Boston Faculty 54, 2004)
Jermaine Watson’s free throw gave Boston Faculty its solely lead at 54-53 with one minute to go in a second-round battle, however Jarrett Jack made two free throws to present the Yellow Jackets a lead, then stole a move and raced forward for an uncontested dunk with 5 seconds to go.
It was an exhilarating second — although coach Paul Hewitt was making an attempt to inform Jack to dribble out the clock, however he could not hear over the group noise. That allowed Watson to try a possible game-tying shot, however his three-pointer skidded across the rim and out. Eagles main scorer Craig Smith (19.3) scored simply two factors and took 4 pictures.
Georgia Tech superior to the championship sport that season, first by beating fourth-seeded Kansas in extra time of an Elite Eight battle, 79-71, after which upsetting Oklahoma State in a nationwide semifinal, 67-65. The Yellow Jackets misplaced to Connecticut for the title.
4. Wheat and the whistle in a Milwaukee rematch (Louisville 82, Tulsa 80, 1996)
Twelve years after the groups performed a memorable sport on the MECCA, the identical squads have been again at it within the Bradley Middle for a first-round tilt — the one Milwaukee-hosted event sport that is gone to extra time.
DeJuan Wheat scored 33 factors, together with an enormous three-pointer in extra time, and the sixth-seeded Cardinals rallied from a 12-point deficit with 3:41 to go and prevailed over Eleventh-seeded Tulsa.
Tulsa’s Cordell Love made a three-pointer with 1:07 left to present the Hurricane the lead, however Wheat answered with 47 seconds to go.
Wheat stepped out of bounds on Louisville’s last possession however wasn’t whistled for it, then hit 1 of two free throws to place his workforce up two factors. The miss on the second try went out of bounds off Tulsa, permitting Louisville to get another level when Tick Rogers break up free throws. Tulsa then threw the ball out of bounds making an attempt to arrange a game-winner.
Tulsa’s Steve Robinson additionally appeared to hit a shot that gave Tulsa a lead with 18 seconds left in regulation, however he was whistled for touring, one thing TV replays appeared to dispute.
Wheat hit one other late three-pointer to beat Villanova within the second spherical. The Cardinals ultimately misplaced a controversial 60-59 resolution in opposition to Wake Forest within the Candy 16 when Tim Duncan received the good thing about a continuation name within the last seconds.
Oklahoma’s Ryan Humphrey (24) suggestions within the game-winning shot within the last seconds of play to beat Arizona 61-60 in a first-round NCAA Midwest Regional sport Friday, March 12, 1999, on the Bradley Middle in Milwaukee. Watching are Oklahoma’s Eduardo Najera, backside, and Arizona’s Jason Terry (31), Ruben Douglas (5) and A.J. Bramlett (42).
3. Sooner the higher (Oklahoma 61, Arizona 60, 1999)
On paper, it is the most important upset in a Milwaukee event sport. Ryan Humphrey’s tip-in with 21 seconds to play gave the Thirteenth-seeded Sooners a surprising win beneath future Bucks assistant coach Kelvin Sampson.
Arizona freshman Michael Wright stepped over the tip line on an inbound move after Oklahoma had pulled inside some extent. Eric Martin drew nothing however air on a three-pointer and Eduardo Najera missed the follow-up, however Humphrey was there for the tip-in.
Future Bucks participant Richard Jefferson missed the fadeaway shot on the buzzer. One yr later, Arizona would fall in one other upset by the hands of Wisconsin within the second spherical of the event.
Oklahoma was the lowest-seeded at-large workforce within the event, however the Sooners stored proper on rolling, toppling Charlotte within the second spherical, 85-72, earlier than falling to top-seeded Michigan State within the Candy 16.
Arizona State Solar Devils heart Jordan Bachynski (13) is dejected whereas Texas Longhorns heart Cameron Ridley is mobbed by teammates after his final second tip-in gave Texas a 87-85 win over Arizona State within the second spherical of the NCAA Match on the BMO Harris Bradley Middle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
2. Ridley’s consider it or not (Texas 87, Arizona State 85, 2014)
The Wisconsin-Oregon sport received the majority of the eye that yr, however this first-round sport two days earlier got here all the way down to an precise buzzer-beater.
After Jonathan Holmes missed badly on a three-point try with lower than 3 seconds left, large man Cameron Ridley dug out the rebound and laid it in because the buzzer sounded for a victory.
Holmes’ three-point play with 32 seconds left noticed Texas a two-point lead, however Jonathan Gilling made two free throws on the opposite finish to knot the rating and arrange the ultimate possession. The sport was performed at an up-tempo tempo, the highest-scoring sport in Milwaukee’s event file.
Texas misplaced to Michigan within the second spherical.
Georgia Tech’s bench erupts after James Forrest’s three-pointer on the buzzer caps what coach Bobby Cremins referred to as “the miracle in Milwaukee.”
1. The Miracle in Milwaukee (Georgia Tech 79, USC 78, 1992)
James Forrest took an inbound move from Georgia Tech teammate Matt Geiger with eight-tenths of a second left and hit a game-winning turnaround triple from 25 toes that gave the Yellow Jackets a surprising win over second-seeded USC within the second spherical.
Former Marquette College coach Al McGuire was on the decision for CBS and briefly relived MU’s wild buzzer-beating win within the 1977 nationwide semifinal over Charlotte when Jerome Whitehead tipped it in. Mere moments later, Geiger’s one-handed bounce move from the baseline to midcourt with 1.1 seconds left was knocked out of bounds, leaving Tech with 0.8 on the clock and one other inbound at midcourt.
Geiger discovered Forrest on the close to wing, and Forrest unleashed the shot simply earlier than the buzzer. McGuire went loopy, with three howls of “holy mackerel.”
Georgia Tech misplaced within the Candy 16 to Memphis State.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – MARCH 18: Tyrese Hunter #11 of the Iowa State Cyclones shoots in opposition to the LSU Tigers within the second half in the course of the first spherical of the 2022 NCAA Males’s Basketball Match at Fiserv Discussion board on March 18, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photograph by Stacy Revere/Getty Pictures)
Bonus: Hometown child makes good, although it causes an issue for Wisconsin (Iowa State 59, LSU 54, 2022)
The final time the NCAA Match got here to Milwaukee, Racine St. Catherine’s alumnus Tyrese Hunter delivered a masterful displaying in entrance of hometown followers, scoring 23 factors on 8 of 13 capturing because the Cyclones upset LSU. Hunter, who informed reporters earlier than the sport that Wisconsin had by no means even provided him out of highschool, hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left that gave his workforce a five-point edge. Wisconsin might have wound up regretting it; although Hunter wasn’t practically as proficient the following sport within the second spherical, Iowa State upset the house state Badgers, 54-49, and eradicated No. 3-seed UW.
The total record of NCAA Match video games in Milwaukee
1984 (at MECCA)
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No. 7 Villanova 84, No. 10 Marshall 72
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No. 5 Louisville 72, No. 12 Morehead State 59
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No. 2 Illinois 64, No. 7 Villanova 56
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No. 5 Louisville 69, No. 4 Tulsa 67
1992 (at Bradley Middle)
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No. 6 Memphis State 80, No. 11 Pepperdine 70
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No. 3 Arkansas 80, No. 14 Murray State 69
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No. 7 Georgia Tech 65, No. 10 Houston 60
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No. 2 USC 84, No. 15 Northeast Louisiana 54
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No. 6 Memphis State 82, No. 3 Arkansas 80
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No. 7 Georgia Tech 79, No. 2 USC 78
1996
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No. 6 Louisville 82, No. 11 Tulsa 80 (OT)
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No. 3 Villanova 92, No. 14 Portland 58
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No. 10 Texas 80, No. 7 Michigan 76
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No. 2 Wake Forest 62, No. 15 Northeast Louisiana 50
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No. 6 Louisville 68, No. 3 Villanova 64
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No. 2 Wake Forest 65, No. 10 Texas 62
1999
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No. 1 Michigan State 76, No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 53
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No. 9 Mississippi 72, No. 8 Villanova 70
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No. 5 Charlotte 81, No. 12 Rhode Island 70
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No. 13 Oklahoma 61, No. 4 Arizona 60
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No. 1 Michigan State 74, No. 9 Ole Miss 66
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No. 13 Oklahoma 85, No. 5 Charlotte 72
2004
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No. 6 Wisconsin 76, No. 11 Richmond 64
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No. 3 Pittsburgh 53, No. 14 Central Florida 44
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No. 6 Boston Faculty 58, No. 11 Utah 51
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No. 3 Georgia Tech 65, No. 14 Northern Iowa 60
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No. 3 Pittsburgh 59, No. 6 Wisconsin 55
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No. 3 Georgia Tech 57, No. 6 Boston Faculty 54
2010
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No. 10 Georgia Tech 64, No. 7 Oklahoma State 59
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No. 2 Ohio State 68, No. 15 UC Santa Barbara 51
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No. 6 Xavier 65, No. 11 Minnesota 54
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No. 3 Pittsburgh 89, No. 14 Oakland 66
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No. 2 Ohio State 75, No. 10 Georgia Tech 66
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No. 6 Xavier 71, No. 3 Pittsburgh 68
2014
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No. 7 Oregon 87, No. 10 BYU, 68
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No. 2 Wisconsin 75, No. 15 American 35
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No. 7 Texas 87, No. 10 Arizona State 85
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No. 2 Michigan 57, No. 15 Wofford 40
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No. 2 Wisconsin 85, No. 7 Oregon 77
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No. 2 Michigan 79, No. 7 Texas 65
2017
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No. 5 Iowa State 84, No. 12 Nevada 73
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No. 4 Purdue 80, No. 13 Vermont 70
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No. 12 Center Tennessee 81, No. 5 Minnesota 72
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No. 4 Butler 76, No. 13 Winthrop 64
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No. 4 Purdue 80, No. 5 Iowa State 76
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No. 4 Butler 74, No. 12 Center Tennessee 65
2022
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No. 6 Texas 81, No. 11 Virginia Tech 73
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No. 3 Purdue 78, No. 14 Yale 56
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No. 11 Iowa State 59, No. 6 LSU 54
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No. 3 Wisconsin 67, No. 14 Colgate 60
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No. 3 Purdue 81, No. 6 Texas 71
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No. 11 Iowa State 54, No. 3 Wisconsin 49
This text initially appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The perfect video games performed in Milwaukee in the course of the NCAA males’s event
