March 24, 1974: North Carolina State wins the NCAA Tournament, edging Marquette 76-74 at Greensboro, NC, in the first title game since 1966 that didn’t include UCLA. The Wolfpack was led by the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, David Thompson, who scored 21 points.
March 23, 2019: Despite an absurdly low No. 13 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament that forced it to play on Oregon State’s home floor, Boise State almost pulls off the shocker before falling 80-75 in overtime.
March 20, 2020: After an incomparable 20-season run with the New England Patriots that included six Super Bowl championships and nine Super Bowl appearances, quarterback Tom Brady signs as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
March 19, 1995: The most memorable of all moments in the Boise’s NCAA Tournament history (until Hampton’s upset of Iowa State in 2001) occurs in the second round game between UCLA and Missouri.
There is a precedent for Boise State skipping postseason opportunities in men’s basketball. It was 10 years ago, when the Broncos could have gone to a secondary tournament after finishing the season—coincidentally—20-12.
March 17, 1916: The “father of Bronco football” is born. Lyle Smith, who built Boise Junior College into a powerhouse in the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, is considered the man who inspired the Boise State program to grow into what it is today.
March 16, 2018: Everybody said it had to happen someday—a No. 16 seed beating a No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament. But not like this.
March 13, 1976, 50 years ago today: In its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, Boise State runs into the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV in the first round of the West Regional in Eugene.
Broadcasting great Red Barber once said never to predict sports. Who could have predicted that?
Does Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News know something we don’t? Wilner has been publishing power rankings for the new Pac-12 men’s basketball lineup all season, and his final ones Tuesday kind of stopped me in my tracks.