Some of the greatest coaches (Adolph Rupp, Bobby Knight, Roy Williams, etc.) and players (Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas and David Robinson, etc.) have experienced NCAA tournament games at UD Arena over the years. Even the hometown team, the Dayton Flyers, have twice played NCAA games at the arena.
Here’s a look back at all 137 games:
1. March 7, 1970 (Mideast Region, first round): Notre Dame 112, Ohio 82
Notre Dame’s Austin Carr set a NCAA tournament record by scoring 61 points. He made 25 of 44 field goals and 11 of 14 free throws. He scored 52 points against Texas Christian in the first round a year later. He owns the two highest-scoring games in tournament history. Notre Dame also still holds the UD Arena record for most points scored in a NCAA tournament game.
Larry Hunter, who would coach Wittenberg to a Division III national championship six years later and then coach his alma mater from 1989-2001, scored two points for the Bobcats.
2. March 7, 1970 (Mideast Region, first round): Jacksonville 109, Western Kentucky 96
Artis Gilmore had 30 points and 19 rebounds for Jacksonville. In their first NCAA tournament appearance, the Dolphins beat Iowa, Kentucky and St. Bonaventure before losing to UCLA in the national championship game. Gilmore played 18 seasons in the NBA and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
3. March 16, 1972 (Mideast Region semifinal): Kentucky 85, Marquette 69:
Five players scored in double figures for Kentucky with Ronnie Lyons (19 points) leading the way. This was legendary coach Adolph Rupp’s final victory in 41 seasons. He now ranks sixth in NCAA history in winning percentage (876-190, .822).
4. March 16, 1972 (Mideast Region semifinal): Florida State 70, Minnesota 56
Future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield, who played two seasons of basketball for the Golden Gophers, scored eight points for the Golden Gophers. Rowland Garrett led Florida State to the victory with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Semifinals beat Eastern Kentucky 83-81 five days earlier in the first round at the Stokely Center in Tulsa, Ok., to reach this game.
5. March 18, 1972 (Mideast Region consolation): Minnesota 77, Marquette 72
The NCAA tournament had third-place games in each Region in its early years, and Minnesota won this game thanks to 25 points by Clyde Turner and 22 rebounds by Jim Brewer, who played for Team USA in the Summer Olympics later that year.
6. March 18, 1972 (Mideast Region final): Florida State 73, Kentucky 54
This was Rupp’s final game — he had reached the University of Kentucky’s mandatory retirement age of 70 — but he wouldn’t confirm that after the game.
“When an announcement is made about my future, it will be made in Lexington,” Rupp said.
Rupp’s retirement became official nine days later. As for Florida State, it followed the two victories in Dayton with a victory against North Carolina in the Final Four and then a loss to UCLA in the national championship game. It has never returned to the Final Four.
7. March 10, 1973 (First round, Mideast Region): Marquette 77, Miami University 62
Four-time NBA All-Star Maurice Lucas led Marquette with 24 points. This was the first of four NCAA tournament appearances Miami would make at UD Arena. Rich Hampton led Miami with 21 points. Dave Elmer had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
8. March 10, 1973 (Mideast Region, first round): Austin Peay 77, Jacksonville 75
James “Fly” Williams, who inspired the “Fly’s Open, Let’s Go Peay” chant, scored 26 points on 12-of-26 shooting for the Governors in their first NCAA tournament game. Austin Peay blew a 15-point lead as Jacksonville tied the game with 27 seconds to play. Then Williams hit the game-winning shot with three seconds remaining.
9. March 20, 1975 (Mideast Region semifinal): Kentucky 90, Central Michigan 73
Hamilton’s Kevin Grevey, brother of future Flyer Norm Grevey, scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the first half. This was the first NCAA tournament game for Central Michigan.
10. March 20, 1975 (Mideast Region semifinal): Indiana 81, Oregon State 71
Steve Green scored 34 points on 14-of-19 shooting for the Hoosiers, who improved to 31-0 in coach Bob Knight’s third season. Jim Crews, who would later coach at UD Arena many times while at Evansville and Saint Louis, saw one minute of action for Indiana and scored two points.
11. March 22, 1975 (Mideast Region consolation): Central Michigan 88, Oregon State 87
The Mid-American Conference Player of the year, Dan Roundfield, scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
12. March 22, 1975 (Mideast Region final): Kentucky 92, Indiana 90
Despite 33 points and 23 rebounds by Kent Benson, top-ranked Indiana lost to a team it beat 98-74 in December. Mike Flynn scored 22 points for No. 5 Kentucky, which advanced to the Final Four, where it beat Syracuse, and then lost to UCLA in the national championship game. Indiana wouldn’t lose again until the second game of the 1976-77 season. It finished 32-0 in the 1975-76 season and remains the last undefeated NCAA champion.
13. March 13, 1976 (Mideast Region, first round): Alabama 79, North Carolina 64
Leon Douglass had 35 points and 17 rebounds for Alabama, which made its NCAA tournament debut the previous season and beat the Tar Heels for its first tournament victory. Mitch Kupchak, current general manager of the Charlotte Hornets, scored eight points for North Carolina.
14. March 13, 1976 (Mideast Region, first round): Marquette 79, Western Kentucky 60
Butch Lee scored 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting for Marquette, which was in year six of a 10-year run of NCAA tournament appearances. In the final year of coach Al McGuire’s tenure, it won the national championship a season later, and Lee was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
15. March 16, 1978 (Mideast Region semifinal): Kentucky 91, Miami University 69
Springfield native Randy Ayers played close to home, scoring 18 points for Miami, but Kentucky shot 62.1% from the field to improve to 4-1 in NCAA tournament games at UD Arena. Mike Phillips scored 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting for Kentucky. Future NBA head coach Dwane Casey played one minute in the game for Kentucky.
16. March 16, 1978 (Mideast Region semifinal): Michigan State 90, Western Kentucky 69
One of basketball’s all-time greats, Magic Johnson, had a rough shooting performance (3 of 17 for 13 points), but Michigan State won big behind 23 points each from Bob Chapman and Greg Kesler.
17. March 18, 1978 (Mideast Region final): Kentucky 52, Michigan State 49
Johnson again struggled, scoring six points on 2-of-10 shooting. Kyle Macy, a 90% shooter at the foul line, made six straight free throws in the final 2:43 to secure the victory for Kentucky. He scored 18 points.
“We kept fouling the player,” Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote said. “It was like a guy walking out of an alley brawl with Leon Spinks with both eyes puffed shut and his nose pushed over on his cheek saying he picked the wrong man.”
Kentucky beat Arkansas and Duke the following week in St. Louis to win its fifth national championship and first in 20 years.
18. March 12, 1981 (Mideast Region, first round): Saint Joseph’s 59, Creighton 57
Saint Joseph’s earned its first postseason victory in 15 years on two free throws by Tony Costner with three seconds to play. He scored 18 points. John Smith led the Hawks with 20.
19. March 12, 1981 (Mideast Region, first round): Maryland 81, Tennessee-Chattanooga 69
Albert King, younger brother of NBA great Bernard King, scored 25 points for Maryland, and future NBA All-Star Buck Williams had 13 points and 16 rebounds. It was the first NCAA tournament game for Chattanooga.
20. March 14, 1981 (Mideast Region, second round): Saint Joseph’s 49, DePaul 48
A layup by John Smith gave Saint Joseph’s, the ninth seed in the 12-team region, an upset of No. 1 DePaul. The game is mostly remembered for the stories written about Mark Aguirre, the DePaul star. He left the court with the ball in his hands, ran up the ramp to the locker rooms and threw the ball into the parking lot. After coming back into the arena and changing clothes, he walked two miles back to the team’s hotel downtown.
21. March 14, 1981 (Mideast Region, second round): Indiana 99, Maryland 64
Indiana’s run to the second of three national championships during the Bob Knight era began with this victory. Future Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas scored 19 points and had 14 assists. Ray Tolbert led the Hoosiers with 26 points.
“We got our fannies beat,” Maryland coach Lefty Driesell said. “It didn’t matter who they were playing. IF they were playing the 76ers today, they would have beaten the 76ers.”
22. March 15, 1983 (Mideast Region play-in game): Robert Morris 64, Georgia Southern 54
Led by Forest Grant’s 17 points, Robert Morris won a NCAA tournament game for the first time in its history. Georgia Southern lost in its first of three tournament appearances.
23. March 15, 1983 (Midwest Region play-in game): Alcorn State 81, Xavier 75
Playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1961, Xavier would start a run that has seen it become a regular tournament participant for 40 years.
“Very definitely, the program is turned around,” coach Bob Staack said before the game.
However, Alcorn State won this game by forcing 30 turnovers, overcoming 20 of its own turnovers.
24. March 13, 1984 (Mideast Region play-in game): Morehead State 70, North Carolina A&T 69
Guy Minnifield hit the game-winning shot with four seconds to play, lifting Morehead State to its first NCAA tournament victory since 1961. It was his only basket of the game.
25. March 13, 1984 (Midwest Region play-in game): Alcorn State 79, Houston Baptist 60
Alcorn State won a NCAA tournament game at UD Arena for the second straight year. Michael Phelps led the way with 21 points.
26. March 15, 1985 (Southeast Region, first round): Navy 78, Louisiana State 55
Future NBA great David Robinson had 18 rebounds and 18 points for Navy in its first NCAA tournament game since 1960.
27. March 15, 1985 (Southeast Region, first round): No. 5 Maryland 69, No 12 Miami University 68 (OT)
The Dayton Daily News headline read, “This loss will haunt the Redskins.” First-year coach Jerry Pierson’s team, nicknamed “Jerry’s Kids” because it had no seniors, rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half and had a three-point lead with 24 seconds left in overtime. Jeff Adkins hit the go-ahead shot for Maryland with 14 seconds left.
Ron Harper, Miami’s all-time leading scorer (2,377 points), led the team with 26 points. Len Bias, the second overall pick in the 1986 draft who would die of a drug overdose before his pro career began, scored 25 for Maryland.
28. March 15, 1985 (Southeast Region, first round): Michigan 59, Fairleigh Dickinson 55
No. 2 Michigan overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half, taking control with a 25-6 run, to avoid an upset against a program making its first NCAA tournament appearance. Roy Tarpley scored 15 points for the Wolverines and sealed the victory by making two free throws with two seconds remaining.
29. March 15, 1985 (Southeast Region, first round): No. 9 Villanova 51, No. 8 Dayton 49
Playing a NCAA tournament game at UD Arena for the first time, the Flyers lost when Sedric Toney’s 16-foot shot at the buzzer rolled off the rim. After a turnover by Dayton’s Anthony Grant, the future UD head coach, with 2:33 to play, Harold Jensen scored on a layup with 1:11 to play to give Villanova a 51-49 lead.
Dayton shot 37% from the field but made 17 of 17 free throws. Damon Goodwin scored 16 points to lead the Flyers. Ed Pinkney had 20 for Villanova.
With the victory, Villanova began a six-game run that culminated in a victory against Georgetown in the national championship. It remains the lowest-seeded team to win the title.
30. March 17, 1985 (Southeast Region, second round): Villanova 59, Michigan 55
Dwayne McClain led Villanova with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The Wildcats survived a nearly eight-minute scoring stretch at the start of the second half and won the game by scoring their last 13 points at the free-throw line.
31. March 17, 1985 (Southeast Region, second round): Maryland 64, Navy 59
Robinson led all scorers with 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Bias had 20 points and eight rebounds for Maryland, which overcame an 11-point deficit in the final 16 minutes in part because Bias started guarding Robinson, holding him to one basket in that stretch.
“I just got tired,” Robinson said. “It happened at the end of the first half, and at the end of the game, I just couldn’t move.”
Maryland advanced to the Region semifinal, where it lost 46-43 to Villanova in Birmingham, Ala.
32. March 13, 1986 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 9 Temple 61, No. 8 Jacksonville 50 (OT)
Both teams shot 37% from the field. Temple won by making five more free throws, forcing five more turnovers and grabbing nine more rebounds. Ed Coe led Temple with 16 points. This was Temple’s third NCAA tournament appearance in an 18-year stretch under John Chaney that would see it make the tournament 17 times.
33. March 13, 1986 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 1 Kansas 71, No 16 North Carolina A&T 46
Danny Manning, who would be the consensus national player of the year two years later, scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting as Kansas began a march to its first Final Four appearance since 1974.
“This is the best we’ve played in a long time,” Kansas coach Larry Brown said.
34. March 13, 1986 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 4 Georgetown 70, No. 13 Texas Tech 64
Two years removed from its first and only national championship and one season after losing to Villanova in the national championship game, Georgetown overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 12 minutes and pulled away in the last two minutes. Reggie Williams led the Hoyas with 22 points.
35. March 13, 1986 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 5 Michigan State 72, No. 12 Washington 70
Scott Skiles, who scored 31 points, made two free throws with two seconds remaining to lift Michigan State.
“I want to take the shot,” Skiles said. “When you score as many points as I do, you want to take the shot.”
A senior guard who would have a long career in the NBA as a player and head coach, Skiles was leading the nation in scoring (27.7 points per game) entering the game.
36. March 15, 1986 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 5 Michigan State 80, No. 4 Georgetown 68
Skiles scored 16 of his 24 points in the first half as the Spartans advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1979 when they won the national championship. Georgetown, which reached the Final Four in three of the previous four seasons, lost in the second round for the first time in three years.
37. March 15, 1986 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 1 Kansas 65, No. 9 Temple 43
Manning, Calvin Thompson and Ron Kellogg all scored 14 points for Kansas, which took control with a 25-2 run in the second half. Kansas beat Michigan State 96-86 in the next round in Kansas City, Mo.
38. March 15, 1991 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 4 St. John’s 75, No. 13 Northern Illinois 68
Jason Buchanan led St. John’s with 20 points. St. John’s built a 25-point lead in the second half and then held on to beat NIU, which made the second of three NCAA appearances and first since 1982.
“We would have loved to have knocked them out,” Saint John’s coach Lou Carnesecca said, “but a decision counts just as much.”
39. March 15, 1991 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 5 Texas 73, No. 12 Saint Peter’s 65
Dexter Cambridge scored 18 points off the bench for Texas, which was making its third straight NCAA tournament appearance under Tommy Penders after a 10-year drought. Saint Peter’s made the first of three tournament appearances.
40. March 15, 1991 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 1 Ohio State 97, No. 16 Towson State 86
Ohio State has been a No. 1 seed four times in its history. This was the first time. Towson trimmed an 18-point lead to five points before the Buckeyes pulled away. Jim Jackson had 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Ohio State’s Randy Ayers achieved the rare feat of coaching a NCAA tournament game at UD Arena 13 years after playing in the NCAA tournament at UD Arena with Miami.
41. March 15, 1991 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 8 Georgia Tech 87, No. 9 DePaul 70
Kenny Anderson, who would be the second overall pick in the NBA Draft three months later, scored 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting. This was the seventh of nine straight NCAA tournament appearances under Bobby Cremins for Georgia Tech, which reached the Final Four one season earlier.
42. March 17, 1991 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 1 Ohio State 65, No. 8 Georgia Tech 61
Both teams made 24 of 65 field goals. Ohio State (27-3), which tied a school record for victories in a season, won the game by making four more free throws. Perry Carter led Ohio State with 19 points and 18 rebounds.
Anderson scored 25 points but on 8-of-28 shooting in his final college game. He scored 1,469 points in two seasons.
43. March 17, 1991 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 4 St. John’s 84, No. 5 Texas 76
Billy Singleton led St. John’s, which shot 60.8% from the field, with 21 points. St. John’s advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984 when they played in the Final Four. Joey Wright scored 32 points for Texas.
44. March 20, 1992 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 4 Cincinnati 85, No. 13 Delaware 47
In the first of 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances in coach Bob Huggins tenure, Cincinnati began a run to the Final Four with a dominant performance, which made the first of five tournament appearances in school history. The Bearcats shot 40.9% from 3-point range. Nick Van Exel made 4 of 8 and led all scorers with 18 points. Delaware committed 33 turnovers.
45. March 20, 1992 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 5 Michigan State 61, No. 12 Southwest Missouri State 54
Michigan State broke a 50-50 tie and took control with a 7-0 run in the final minutes. The Spartans missed all seven of their 3-point attempts. Dwayne Stephens led the team with 17 points. Missouri State lost in the first round for the fourth straight time in its five tournament appearance in six years.
46. March 20, 1992 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 1 Kansas 100, No. 16 Howard 67
Kansas shot 60.9% from the field despite missing all six of its 3-point attempts. Adonis Jordan led the Jayhawks with 15 points. This was Howard’s second and last tournament appearance.
47. March 20, 1992 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 9 Texas-El Paso 55, No. 8 Evansville 50
Marlon Maxey scored 23 points for UTEP, which was making its eight NCAA appearance nine seasons under Don Haskins.
48. March 22, 1992 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 4 Cincinnati 77, No. 5 Michigan State 65
Led by Anthony Buford’s 21 points, Cincinnati avenged a 90-89 loss at Michigan State in December.
“When we played Michigan State in December, we went in thinking we could win and came out of there knowing we have won,” said Buford, one of seven junior college transfers on the Cincinnati team. “But today, we made sure that we didn’t mess up. I think they probably expected us to, but we didn’t.”
49. March 22, 1992 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 9 Texas-El Paso 66, No. 1 Kansas 60
Johnny Melvin scored 18 points to lead the Miners to the upset. The victory came 26 years after Haskins coached UTEP, then called Texas Western, to the national championship. He coached the program from 1961-99 and ranks 37th in NCAA history with 719 victories.
“This is one of our best wins,” Haskins said. “We haven’t been past the first two games in a long, long time. That, in itself, makes this a big win.”
50. March 16, 1995 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 12 Miami University 71, No. 5 Arizona 62
Devin Davis scored 24 points to lead Miami to its first NCAA tournament victory since 1978. Lute Olson coached Arizona to the national championship two years later with Miles Simon, who started this game, scoring 30 points in the championship game. Olson ranks 14th in NCAA history with 781 victories.
51. March 16, 1995 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 4 Virginia 96, No. 13 Nicholls State 72
Harold Deane scored 22 points to lead Virginia. This was the first of two NCAA tournament appearances for Southland Champion Nicholls State, which returned to the big dance in 1998.
52. March 16, 1995 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 1 Kansas 82, No. 16 Colgate 68
Three years after being upset by UTEP at UD Arena, Kansas returned to Dayton and avoided an even bigger upset. Colgate cut an 18-point deficit to four before Kansas pulled away. Billy Thomas came off the bench to score 19 points for the Jayhawks.
53. March 16, 1995 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 8 Western Kentucky 82, No. 9 Michigan 76 (OT)
Two members of the famed Fab Five, the freshman class that led Michigan to national championship game appearances (and loss) in 1992 and 1993, saw their careers end in this game. Jimmy King and Ray Jackson started for four seasons after three other members of the class — Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose — departed for the NBA.
King and Jackson combined for 51 points in this game, but Western Kentucky overcame a 14-point deficit to win. Western Kentucky’s Michael Fraliex made a game-tying 3-pointer with nine seconds left in the second half to send the game to overtime.
“I was just thinking about losing the game,” Jackson said. “It really hasn’t hit me yet that we’re through playing at Michigan.”
54. March 18, 1995 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 4 Virginia 60, No. 13 Miami University 54
Junior Burrough scored 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting to lead Virginia, which overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half.
“I’d just like to say that I’m extremely proud of the effort our basketball team has given all season long,” Miami coach Herb Sendek said, “and certainly tonight typified how special this week was.”
Virginia beat No. 1 seed Kansas in the next round before losing to No. 2 seed Arkansas in the Elite Eight.
55. March 18, 1995 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 1 Kansas 75, No. 8 Western Kentucky 70
Kansas made 18 of 20 free throws in the final 4½ minutes to secure the victory. Sean Person led the Jayhawks with 17 points.
“There’s no amount of money you can pay me to get rid of the feeling I have now,’’ Williams said “We did a dance in the locker room.”
Credit: Lisa Powell
Credit: Lisa Powell
56. March 13, 2001 (Midwest Region, opening round): No. 16 Northwestern State 71, No. 16 Winthrop 67
In 2001, the NCAA expanded the field from 64 to 65 teams and started the tournament in Dayton with what was then called the play-in game and later became known as the Opening Round. The tournament has started in Dayton every year since — except for 2021 when the entire event was played in Indiana because of the pandemic — and has begun with four games (the First Four) at UD Arena since 2011.
In the first play-in game, the star was Northwestern State’s 6-foot-11 freshman center D’or Fischer, who had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and nine blocks.
57. March 16, 2001 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 1 Illinois 96, Northwestern State 54
Southland champion Northwestern, making the first of three NCAA appearances, gave up a 10-0 run in the first 98 seconds to the Big Ten champion Illini, which had six players in double figures.
“It’s hard to stop a train, especially a big train, when it gets going,” NSU guard Michael Byars-Dawson said.
58. March 16, 2001 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 9 Charlotte 70, No. 8 Tennessee 63
Making the eighth of 10 NCAA appearances in an 18-year stretch, Charlotte clinched the victory with two free throws by Jobey Thomas in the final minute. Tennessee lost in part because it made only 7 of 18 free throws.
“That’s not good enough to get it done,” Tennessee coach Jerry Green said. “In the second half, we just couldn’t make a basket. Then we went to the free-throw line and we couldn’t make a free throw.”
59. March 16, 2001 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 4 Kansas 99, No. 13 Cal State Northridge 75
Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kenny Gregory combined to score 61 points and make 27 of 37 shots as Kansas advanced.
60. March 16, 2001 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 5 Syracuse 79, No. 12 Hawaii 69
Damone Brown scored 20 for Syracuse, and future Dayton and Syracuse assistant coach Allen Griffin had 15 points. Hawaii made the first of five NCAA appearances.
61. March 18, 2001 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 4 Kansas 87, No. 5 Syracuse 58
Kansas, led by Drew Gooden’s 17 points, shot 55.8% from the field to rout Syracuse. Kansas had a 56-23 rebounding advantage.
“We knew we were going to be outrebounded,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said, “but we were hoping to keep it close. We could live with getting outrebounded by 15 of 20, but not by 30.”
62. March 18, 2001 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 1 Illinois 79, No. 9 Charlotte 61
Brian Cook scored 16 points for Illinois, which continued a march to the Elite Eight. Charlotte made 6 of 30 3-pointers.
“I thought we played great defense throughout the entire game,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Our bench and depth may have worn them down.”
Credit: Ron Alvey
Credit: Ron Alvey
63. March 12, 2002 (East Region, opening round): No. 16 Siena 81, No. 16 Alcorn State 77
Prosper Karangwa scored 31 points for Siena, which made its third NCAA tournament appearance.
“First thing I’d like to say is, this wasn’t no damn play-in game,” Siena coach Rob Lanier said. “This was an NCAA Tournament game right there.”
64. March 18, 2003 (South Region, opening round): No. 16 UNC Asheville 92, No. 16 Texas Southern 84 (OT)
Despite 28 points and 14 rebounds by Allan Lovett, Texas Southern lost to Lovett’s former team, Asheville. Texas Southern sent the game to overtime on a putback by Lionel Willis with 3.4 seconds left. Big South champion Asheville picked up a NCAA tournament victory in the first of four appearances.
65. March 16, 2004 (Saint Louis Region, opening round): No. 16 Florida A&M 72, No. 16 Lehigh 57
Florida A&M won a NCAA tournament game for the first time in its third appearance, earning a date with No. 1 seed Kentucky in Columbus. Terrence Woods scored 21 points for FAMU.
”This is an honor to be here,” FAMU coach Mike Gillespie said. “I’m not going to apologize. For those people that questioned this game, I’m proud of us. We earned our way (Tuesday).”
66. March. 15, 2005 (Syracuse Region, opening round): No. 16 Oakland 79, No. 16 Alabama A&M 69
Oakland’s Rawle Marshall scored 29 points in the program’s first NCAA tournament game. Oakland lost their first seven games but won the Mid-Continent Conference tournament to earn a NCAA bid. It improved to 13-18 by beating Alabama A&M, which made its first and, so far, only tournament appearance.
67. March 14, 2006 (Minneapolis Region, opening round): No. 16 Monmouth 71, No. 16 Hampton 49
Chris Kenny scored 20 points to lead Monmouth to its first NCAA tournament victory. Kenny made five 3-pointers in the first half and grabbed a fan’s drink after crashing into the scorer’s table.
“I was a little aggressive,” Kenny said. “My New Jersey rudeness came out a little. I just had the worst cottonmouth. The first thing I saw was that guy’s Coke, so I went for it. Whatever he had, I was going to drink it, even if it was Jack Daniel’s.”
68. March 17, 2006 (Minneapolis Region, first round): No. 2 Ohio State 70, No. 15 Davidson 62
Current Davidson coach Matt McKillop scored five points in the loss for the Wildcats. Terrance Dial led the Buckeyes with 19 points. Ohio State overcame 5-of-22 3-point shooting. This was second-year coach Thad Matta’s first NCAA tournament game at Ohio State.
69. March 17, 2006 (Minneapolis Region, first round): No. 7 Georgetown 54, No. 10 Northern Iowa 49
Georgetown’s 7-2 center Roy Hibbert scored 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Credit: Chris Stewart
Credit: Chris Stewart
70. March 17, 2006 (Washington Region, first round): No. 11 George Mason 75, No. 6 Michigan State 65
George Mason’s Final Four run began with this upset. Folarin Campbell made 8 of 8 shots to lead the Patriots with 21 points.
71. March 17, 2006 (Washington Region, first round): No. 4 North Carolina 69, No. 13 Murray State 65
Tyler Hansbrough scored 24 points for North Carolina, then in its third season under Roy Williams.
72. March 19, 2006 (Washington Region, second round): No. 11 George Mason 65, No. 3 North Carolina 60
George Mason’s run to the Final Four continued with an upset of the Tar Heels. Lamar Butler scored 18 points for the Patriots, who then beat Wichita State and Connecticut before losing to eventual national champion Florida.
73, March 19, 2006 (Minneapolis Region, first round): No. 7 Georgetown 70, No. 2 Ohio State 52
Hibbert had 20 points and 14 rebounds. The Hoyas advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time under John Thompson III. Ohio State avenged this loss a year later in the Final Four, beating Georgetown 67-60.
74. March 13, 2007 (West Region, opening round): No. 16 Niagara 77, No. 16 Florida A&M 69
Niagara, led by Clif Brown’s 32 points, won a NCAA tournament game for the first time since 1970.
75. March 18, 2008 (East Region, opening round): No. 16 Mount Saint Mary’s 69, No. 16 Coppin State 60
Mount St. Mary’s overcame an early nine-point deficit to earn its first NCAA tournament victory and beat the first team to make the NCAA tournament with 20 losses.
76. March 17, 2009 (Midwest Region, opening round): No. 16 Morehead State 58, No. 16 Alabama State 43
In its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1984, Morehead State rolled to a victory in front of a crowd of 11,346, the largest to see an opening-round game since 2002 (8,681).
77. March 20, 2009 (East Region, first round): No. Oklahoma State 77, No. 9 Tennessee 75
Byron Eaton converted a 3-point play with seconds left to give Oklahoma State a victory in coach Travis Ford’s first season.
78. March 20, 2009 (East Region, first round): No. 1 Pittsburgh 72, No. 16 East Tennessee State 62
ETSU flirted with becoming the first No. 16 seed to win a NCAA tournament game. Pitt put the game away with a 10-2 run in the final 2:44.
79. March 20, 2009 (Midwest Region, first round): No. 1 Louisville 74, No. 16 Morehead State 54
Seven different players made 3-pointers for Louisville in a first-round rout.
80. March 20, 2009 (Midwest Region, first round): Siena 74, Ohio State 72 (2 OT)
Ronald Moore made a 3-pointer with a 3.9 seconds left in the second overtime to beat the Buckeyes.
81. March 22, 2009 (East Region, second round) Pittsburgh 84, Oklahoma State 76
Sam Young scored 32 points for Pittsburgh, which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in eight years.
82. March 22, 2009 (Midwest Region, second round): No. 1 Louisville 79, No. 9 Siena 72
After upsetting Ohio State in the first round, Siena led Louisville by four with 7:49 to play. The Cardinals survived thanks 24 points by Terrance Williams.
83. March 16, 2010 (South Region, opening round): No. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 61, No. 16 Winthrop 44
Pine Bluff won in its first (and so far) only NCAA tournament appearance. It lost 73-44 to eventual national champion Duke in the next round.
84. March 15, 2011 (First Four, Southeast Region): UNC Asheville 81, Arkansas Little Rock 77 (OT)
Asheville’s Matt Dickey made a 3-pointer with 10.5 seconds left in regulation to send the first First Four game to overtime, and Asheville won a NCAA tournament game for the first time in its second appeareance.
85. March 15, 2011 (First Four, East Region): No. 12 Clemson 70, No. 12 UAB 52
After three straight first-round losses under former Dayton coach Oliver Purnell, Clemson won a NCAA tournament game in former Wright State coach Brad Brownell’s first season.
86. March 16, 2011 (First Four, East Region): No. 16 UT-San Antonio 70, No. 16 Alabama State 61
Melvin Johnson scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half to lead UTSA to its first NCAA tournament victory in its fourth appearance.
87. March 16, 2011 (First Four, Southwest Region): No. 12 VCU 59, No. 12 Southern California 46
VCU made 9 of 24 3-pointers and pulled away in the second half and started its Final Four run with this victory.
88. March 13, 2012 (First Four, South Region): No. 16 Western Kentucky 59, No. 16 Mississippi Valley State 58
President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron watches this game from the stands. Western Kentucky rallied from a 16-point deficit in the final five minutes with a 22-3 run.
89. March 13, 2012 (First Four, West Region): No. 14 BYU 78, No. 14 Iona 72
BYU pulled off what was then the greatest comeback in NCAA tournament history, rallying from a 25-point deficit.
90. March 14, 2012 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 16 Vermont 71, No. 16 Lamar 59
Vermont won a NCAA tournament game for the first time in coach John Becker’s first season.
91. March 14, 2012 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 12 South Florida 65, No. 12 California 54
South Florida rode a 36-13 halftime lead to its first NCAA tournament victory in its third appearance.
92. March 19, 2013 (First Four): North Carolina A&T 73, Liberty 72
Liberty guard John Caleb Sanders missed a layup at the buzzer that would have won the game. N.C. A&T won a NCAA tournament game after nine first or opening-round losses from 1982-1995.
93. March 19, 2013 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 11 Saint Mary’s 67, No. 11 Middle Tennessee State 54
Saint Mary’s one its third NCAA tournament game in four years thanks in part to 22 points from future Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova.
94. March 20, 2013 (First Four, East Region): No. 16 James Madison 68, No. 16 Long Island Brooklyn 55
Charles Cooke, who would play for two NCAA tournament teams at Dayton in 2016 and 2017, scored 15 points for James Madison, which won a NCAA tournament game for the first time since 1983.
95. March 20, 2013 (First Four, West Region): No. 13 La Salle 80, No. 13 Boise State 71
Tyrone Garland and Ramon Galloway combined for 43 points to lead La Salle to a victory in its first NCAA appearance since 1992.
96. March 22, 2013 (First round, East Region): No 9 Temple 76, No. 8 N.C. State 72
Khalif Wyatt made 6 of 6 free throws in the final 32 seconds as Temple held off a comeback by N.C. State, which cut an 18-point deficit to three in the second half.
97. March 22, 2013 (First round, East Region): No. 1 Indiana 83, No. 16 James Madison 62
The Hoosiers opened the game with a 9-0 run and cruised to a victory behind 16 points from freshman guard Yogi Ferrell.
98. March 22, 2013 (First round, West Region): No. 2 Ohio State 95, No. 15 Iona 70
Deshaun Thomas and Sam Thompson combined for 44 points for the Buckeyes.
99. March 22, 2013 (First round, West Region): No. 10 Iowa State 76, No. 7 Notre Dame 58
Iowa State made 9 of 21 3-pointers in a dominant victory against the Irish, who lost their first tournament game for the third time in four years.
100. March 24, 2013 (Second round, West Region): No. 2 Ohio State 78, No. 10 Iowa State 75
Aaron Craft made a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds on the clock to advance the Buckeyes to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season.
101. March 24, 2013 (Second round, East Region): No 1 Indiana 58, No. 9 Temple 52
Indiana closed the game with a 10-0 run and clinched the victory on a 3-pointer by Victor Oladipo with 10 seconds left, earning its second straight Sweet 16 berth.
102. March 18, 2014 (First Four, South Region): Albany 71, Mount St. Mary’s 64
Albany blew a 21-2 lead but rallied to win a NCAA game for the first time in its fifth appearance.
103. March 18, 2014 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 12 N.C. State 74, No. 12 Xavier 59
Xavier lost for the fifth time in its last six trips to UD Arena. T.J. Warren scored 25 points for N.C. State.
104. March 19, 2014 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 16 Cal Poly 81, No. 16 Texas Southern 69
Aaric Murray made 14 of 23 shots and scored 38 points to lead Cal Poly to a tournament victory in its first appearance. It became the first team to advance in the tournament with a losing record since Bradley in 1955.
105. March 19, 2014 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 11 Tennessee 78, No. 11 Iowa 65 (OT)
Tennessee outscored Iowa 14-1 in overtime. Jordan McRae, of the Volunteers, led four starters in double figures with 20 points.
106. March 17, 2015 (First Four, West Region): No. 16 Hampton 74, No. 16 Manhattan 64
Hampton played without its leading scorer and lost another key player late in the game but earned its first NCAA tournament victory since 2001.
107. March 17, 2015 (First Four, West Region): No. 11 Ole Miss 94, No. 11 BYU 90
Stefan Moody scored 26 points as Mississippi rallied from 17-point halftime deficit.
108. March 18, 2015 (First Four, South Region): No 16, Robert Morris 81, No. 16 North Florida 77
Robert Morris rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to spoil North Florida’s NCAA tournament debut. Lucky Jones scored 12 of his 21 points in the final 10 minutes for Robert Morris.
109. March 18, 2015 (First Four, East Region): No. 11 Dayton 56, No. 11 Boise State 55
Jordan Sibert hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. That shot capped a 10-2 run by Dayton in the last 3 minutes, 30 seconds of the game.
110. March 15, 2016 (First Four, East Region): No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast 96, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 65
FGCU opened the game with a 23-6 run and led 40-19 at halftime in its first NCAA appearance since a Sweet 16 run in 2013.
111. March 15, 2016 (First Four, South Region): No. 11 Wichita State 70, No. 11 Vanderbilt 50
Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker each scored 14 to lead Wichita State. The game was tied at 30-30 at halftime. Wichita outscored Vanderbilt 40-20 in the second half.
112. March 16, 2016 (First Four, West Region): No. 16 Holy Cross 59, No. 16 Southern 55
Robert Champion scored 19 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining to lead Holy Cross to its first NCAA victory 1953.
113. March 16, 2016 (First Four, East Region): No. 11 Michigan 67, No. 11 Tulsa 62
Zak Irvin made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining to lift Michigan.
114. March 14, 2017 (First Four, East Region): No. 16 Mount Saint Mary’s 67, No. 16 New Orleans 66
Junior Robinson, a 5-5 guard, scored 23 points and made a go-ahead jump shot with 1:27 to play as Mount Saint Mary’s won its second NCAA tournament game at UD Arena and first since 2008.
115. March 14, 2017 (First Four, South Region): No. 11 Kansas State 95, No. 11 Wake Forest 88
Scoring 19 of his 22 points in the second half Kamau Stokes guided Kansas State to its first NCAA victory in five years.
116. March 15, 2017 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 16 UC Davis 67, No. 16 N.C. Central 63
Behind a double-double by Chima Moneke (18 points and 12 rebounds), UC Davis won a NCAA game for the first time in its first appearance.
117. March 15, 2017 (First Four, East Region): No. 11 USC 75, No. 11 Providence 71
One year after Providence beat USC in the first round, the Trojans got their revenge, rallying from a 17-point deficit in the second half thanks in part to 24 points by Bennie Boatright.
118. March 13, 2018 (First Four, East Region): No. 16 Radford 71, No. 16 Long Island Brooklyn 61
Carlik Jones, of Cincinnati, led Radford with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Radford picked up its first NCAA victory in its third appearance.
119. March 13, 2018 (First Four, East Region): No. 11 St. Bonaventure 65, No. 11 UCLA 58
Playing on a familiar Atlantic 10 Conference court, St. Bonaventure earned its first NCAA tournament victory since 1970. Courtney Stockard scored 26 points.
120. March 14, 2018 (First Four, West Region): No. 16 Texas Southern 64, No. 16 North Carolina Central 46
Texas Southern (16-19) became the first team with a losing record to win a NCAA game thanks in part to 25 points from Demontrae Jefferson.
121. March 14, 2018 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 11 Syracuse 60, No. 11 Arizona State 56
Syracuse, the last at-large team picked for the 68-team field, began a Sweet 16 run by overcoming a seven-point deficit in the final seven minutes to win this game. Freshman Oshae Brissett led the Orange with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
122. March 19, 2019 (First Four, West Region): No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 82, No. 16 Prairie View A&M 76
Prairie View won a NCAA game in its first appearance with Darnell Edge making 7 of 9 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 33 points.
123. March 19, 2019 (First Four, East Region): No. 11 Belmont 81, No. 11 Temple 70
Belmont earned its first NCAA victory in its eight appearance. Kevin McClain scored 29 points for the Bruins. This was the final game at Temple for coach Fran Dunphy after 13 seasons.
124. March 20, 2019 (First Four, East Region): No. 16 North Dakota State 80, No. 16 North Carolina Central 74
Two straight baskets by Tyson Ward, who scored 23 points, in the last 66 seconds propelled North Dakota State to its second NCAA victory in five years.
125. March 20, 2019 (First Four, West Region): No. 11 Arizona St. 74, No. 11 St. John’s 65
In its second straight First Four appearance, Arizona State won a NCAA game for the first time in 10 years. It was the first NCAA tournament victory for coach Bobby Hurley, a two-time national champion as a player at Duke.
126. March 15, 2022 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 16 Texas Southern 76, No. 16 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 67
Bryson Etienne scored 21 points to lead Texas Southern to its third NCAA win in five seasons.
127. March 15, 2022 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 12 Indiana 66, No. 12 Wyoming 58
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 29 points to lead Indiana to its first NCAA victory since 2016.
128. March 16, 2022 (First Four, South Region): No. 16 Wright State 93, No. 16 Bryant 82
Playing close to home, Wright State won a NCAA game for the first time in its fourth appearance thanks in part to 37 points from Tanner Holden.
129. March 16, 2022 (First Four, West Region): No. 11 Rutgers 87, No. 11 Notre Dame 89 (OT)
Rutgers’ Ron Harper Jr. tied the game on a 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining. Then Notre Dame’s Paul Atkinson rebounded a missed shot and scored the game-winning layup with 1.4 seconds to play in overtime.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
130. March 14, 2023 (First Four, South Region): No. 16 No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75, No. 16 Southeast Missouri State 71
One year after losing in the First Four and 16 years after losing to Wisconsin in its first NCAA tournament appearance, Corpus Christi advanced for the first time by making 27 of 35 free throws while SEMO made 9 of 20.
131. March 14, 2023 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 11 Pittsburgh 60, No. 11 Mississippi State 59
Pittsburgh won its first NCAA tournament game since 2014. Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds to play.
132. March 15, 2023 (First Four, East Region): No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 84, No. 16 Texas Southern 61
In its fourth NCAA appearance at UD Arena, Fairleigh Dickinson won big thanks to 40.7% shooting (11 of 27) from 3-point range. Ansley Almonor made 5 of 8 3s and scored 23 points.
133. March 15, 2023 (First Four, West Region): No. 11 Arizona State 98, No. 11 Nevada 73
Arizona State made its third First Four appearance in the last five tournaments and improved to 2-1 in those games. With 20 points, DJ Horne led five players in double figures.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
134. March 19, 2024 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 10 Colorado State 67, Virginia 42
Joel Scott led Colorado State with 23 points. Virginia made 5 of 29 shots (17%) in the first half and didn’t score in the last 9 minutes, 20 seconds of the half.
135. March 19, 2024 (First Four, West Region: No. 16 Wagner 71, No. 16 Howard 68
In its first NCAA tournament appearance in 21 years, Wagner won its first NCAA tournament game. It blew most of a 13-point lead in the final four minutes and hung on to win when Howard missed three 3-pointers in the final seconds.
136. March 20, 2024 (First Four, South Region): No. 10 Colorado 60, No. 10 Boise State 53
Tristan da Silva led Colorado with 20 points. The Buffaloes rallied from a 49-45 deficit in the final minutes with an 11-0 run. Boise State fell to 0-3 in the First Four.
137. March 20, 2024 (First Four, Midwest Region): No. 16 Grambling 88, No. 16 Montana State 81, OT
Grambling won a NCAA tournament game in its first appearance. Montana State fell to 0-6 in the NCAA tournament.
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