25th Anniversary of the Shot

Brian piqued my interest by asking what would be the second best college basketball game I ever saw after Duke-Kentucky which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary.

From a personal satisfaction standpoint, Marquette's trouncing of Kentucky in the regional final would probably rate second. The previous three games could certainly round out the top 5. All 3 were too close for comfort but wildly satisfying at the end.

Marquette's wins over Murray State in 2012 and Butler in 2013 would also rate highly from a personal standpoint. So many games have been lost to the fog of time and in many instances, intoxocation. I know Gonzaga-Arizona is 2003 was wild and Xavier-Ohio State in 2007 was as well but I was pretty lit up for both.

Regular season games have hardly stuck with me. The Jason Williams one man show versus Maryland, Novak smoking UConn, various Cincinnati losses sort of stick.

Though we'll see a lot of the Showalter-Chiozza highlights, with Florida not winning Sunday, the drama is diminished since Florida didn't make the Final 4. Luke Maye's shot on the other hand after Malik Monk's three, that story will have more legs years from now unless your a Gator or Badger.

At the end of the day, no game had better play, more story behind it, more drama and a better ending than Duke-UK. No game is probably seared into my memory more than that one. It was truly the perfect game for March.