When we were in that Final Four with Indiana, Michigan, and UCLA, what would you have said if I told you that one day, all four of these teams would be together in the Big Ten?
Question for those who followed the team in 1976
- Thread starter knight82
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"I want some of what you're smoking."
Same here
Leagues did not stretch out that far nationally
Would really been something if RU got to play Indiana
Two undefeated teams in the final would have been an epic stage
could have stopped me at "would Rutgers be in the Big 10"
In 84-year history of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, only 20 teams have entered the tournament undefeated.
1975-1976 is the only time two undefeated teams were in the Final Four. Rutgers was 31-0 entering the Final Four, and Indiana was 30-0. Indiana became undefeated champions at 32-0, beating UCLA then Michigan in the final.
Rutgers lost to Michigan and then UCLA in the consolation game to finish 31-2.
Like you said, wish we could have played Indiana in the Final.
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Some people have said over the years that that Indiana team was the best ever.
The Michigan game and the UCLA game were both bad for RU.
Friggin Rickey Green.
Friggen Rickey Green... IF dunking were allowed and there was a 3 point line ????? who knows. but but but..
Indiana had a great team that year, but came very close to not being undefeated
They played Michigan twice during the regular season, winning both, but the second game was a real tussle
If memory serves, Indiana never lead in the game at home, and needed a last second basket to send it into overtime
They then won the game comfortably in the overtime
We got off to a poor start, missed a few easy ones, I think
Such a shame, just about my biggest disappointments in sports
Mine too...at the time. There's been quite a few others over the years that are right up there though.
BTW, the '76 team played such an enjoyable style.
I was early accepted in Oct that year and arrived '77 but certainly followed my new school to be.. losing the UM was tough but then UCLA next was a sting.
NOTHING compares to what I felt after the mid-80's when young left and Littlepaige came in. We were CLEARLY the beast of the East with rival St Johns, Cuse, Uconn. Nova at par at best.
These kids have no idea. They just don't.
The next thing you'll tell me is that Bill Cosby is going to prison.
Here is the article from ncaa.com that I found on the undefeated men's basketball teams and how they did the tournament.
www.ncaa.com
How every undefeated college basketball team has performed in the NCAA tournament
In the 82-year history of the NCAA tournament, only 20 teams have ever entered the tournament with a perfect record.
www.ncaa.com
I attended 13 games that season. Our team averaged like 93 or 94 points per game. We played possibly our worst game against Michigan as we fell behind early missing many layups and close shots. We had never experienced even practicing at the Spectrum with so many people in attendance. I think we were overwhelmed. If people would check the games that season we defeated Purdue by 8 points at MSG. Indiana played Purdue twice and I seem to remember that IU won both games by 4 points and 3 points. I thought we could have played with them but I think we were too nervous when the game started. It was such a shame.
He was lightning quick. We had Fast Eddie Jordan and that was a huge advantage until we played Michigan
I was shocked at how quick Michigan was in the semi-final. I always thought RU had the quickest team in the country.
We played in a doubleheader at MSG that year. IU played in the first game and RU in the second. There was talk of trying to switch the opponents since IU and RU were both undefeated at the time. Unfortunately it never happened. I believe they played Marquette and we played Ohio St. I could be wrong about the opponents.
I think you're confusing when we played Ohio State in the 78-79 season. We won the Holiday Festival at MSG beating St. Johns and then a triple OT game against OSU. Not sure about the Indiana angle, but we never played OSU in the 76 season.
Even worse , I've always felt, was that Eddie Jordan had to read about how great Ricky was for nearly a week. I think Eddie forced some things in that RU-UM game. The team had already drifted too far away from being a Sellers-centric team at crunch time for my liking IMHO (however, I was a HUGE Phil fan). While others felt Phil had hit a tailspin at the end of that season, I tend to remember Phil taking over the ECAC title game vs. SJU at the Garden that got us to the NCAA... just TWO OR THREE weeks earlier. I know Phil missed badly on a couple of shots early in the Michigan game. But, I still always felt Tom Young should have called a timeout when it became obvious the wheels were coming off and told the team we're giving the ball to Phil...just to see what happened. Waymon Britt could/did shut down Phil??!! Blasphemy! Britt couldn't carry Phil's jock the previous three years and 364 days! Oh, well...that's how I remember it. LOL...i guess you can tell that the loss still bothers me. Go RU! RIP Phil!
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I was at that final four. RU started off slowly vs Michigan & never got on track. Only Hollis had a decent game..UCLA we got off to a fast start, & actually led on a Jordan fast breakaway layup with around 7 min to go. We lost by double digits only because we kept fouling at the end..
Jordan was better than Ricky Green. Certainly had the better pro career..
Jordan was better than Ricky Green. Certainly had the better pro career..
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