The Final Four is now between the Florida Gators, Ohio State Buckeyes, UCLA Bruins and Georgetown Hoyas. The defending champion Florida Gators get a chance to be the first repeat champion since the Chief Blue Devils in 1991 and 1992. Since we could have a repeat champion on our hands I thought it was only fitting that we look back at all. of the champions to repeat in the history of the games Equestrian Games.
It wasn’t long after the inaugural games that the first WINNER GAME was found. In the seventh year the NCAA tournament has existed, Oklahoma A&M; The Aggies would win their first back-to-back championship. The Aggies were led by coach Henry Iba. I went to coach the team, which had an excellent ball and made many weaving patterns. The Aggies also had a great defense called the “slanting gate.” The best player on the Aggies was Bob Kurland. Kurland was the first seven-footer to ever play college basketball. The Aggies would defeat NYU to win the 1945 National Championship and the North Sponsorship. Oklahoma A&M; The Aggies are now the Cowboys of Oklahoma State.
It didn’t take long for another champion to rise up. In 1948 the Kentucky Wildcats would win their first National Championship. It will not be the last as they won next year. In 1948 and 1949 the Kentucky Wildcats were led by Adolph Rupp, one of the most legendary coaches in the history of college basketball. Rupp was called the “Baron of Bluegrass.” Rupp was known for rebuilding a lot of the talent in the state of Kentucky and his teams were looking for a close man to defend, that would cause turnovers and break quickly to the other side. Adolphus Rupp would later win two national championships and 27 SEC Championships before retiring. Kentucky would go on to win three more National Championships after Adolph Rupp.
In 1955 and 1956 the University of San Francisco was the third college basketball team to win a championship. University San Francisco is coached by Phil Woolpert. In 1955 San Francisco LaSalle won 77 – 63 and in 1956 San Francisco defeated Iowa 83 – 71. University of San Francisco Led by Bill Russell. Russell won Most Outstanding Player in the 1955 tournament and made the All-Tournament team in 1956.
It was just five years before another champion came back to return. In 1961 the Cincinnati Bearcats would capture the National Championship after defeating Ohio State 70 – 65. Carl Bouldin and BobWiesenhahn led Cincinnati to the win with 34 points and 10 rebounds each in the last two games. The following year, Cincinnati would win again despite losing both Bouldin and Wisenhahn. Cincinnati again faced Ohio State in the finals again but this time beat them 71 – 59 after 22 points from Paul Hogue and another 21 from Tom Thacker.
In 1964 John Wooden would take the legendary UCLA Bruins on a ride like no other basketball program had ever experienced. John Wooden won his first National NCAA Championship in 1964, after the Bruins defeated the Blue Devils 98 – 83. The victory was led by Gail Goodrich who scored 20 points and Kenny Washington who scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds. In 1967 the Bruins won the National Championship again, this time with the Michigan Wolverines winning 91 – 80. Gail Goodrich was again UCLA’s leading scorer as she scored 42 points in the championship game.
After Texas West won the National Championship in 1966, UCLA also became the next team to win the championship. This time the Bruins didn’t score two goals in a row though. Instead, John Wooden and his UCLA Bruins won seven consecutive National Championships from 1967 to 1973. The first three championships were largely due to Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.) The 1970 championship team was well-rounded like Curtis Rowe; Steve Patterson, Sidney Wicks, and John Vallely all scored 15 points or more in a National Championship game. In 1972 another great man, Bill Walton would become a big reason for UCLA’s success. When all was said and done, the UCLA Bruins won nine National Championships in ten seasons.
In 1991 Mike Krzyzewski, or “Coach K”, was about to win his first three National Championships. In the 1991 NCAA Tournament the Blue Devils upset UNLV in the Semi Finals then defeated Kansas in the Finals 72 – 65. The Blue Devils were led by Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill. The following season was the time when Laettner’s famous game-winning play against Kentucky took place. Kentucky got past Kentucky in overtime in the Regional Finals then knocked off Indiana in the Semifinals and later defeated Chris Webber and the Fab Five in the Finals .
Over the years, the Knight’s Game has become much more difficult to win. Back with Oklahoma A&M; Back to back championships, the first NCAA Tournament was made up of only 8 teams. As the number of teams has increased, it is much more difficult to survive the entire tournament. Since the UCLA team has made an incredible run, the tournament has had up to 24 deliveries. It wasn’t until 1975 that the NCAA Tournament was expanded to 32 teams and not to 64 teams in 1984. The growth in teams may be the reason why there is a major drought in back to back championships between UCLA in the 70’s and Duke. in the year of the Lord 90 The only Duke team to win a championship in 64 NCAA tournament games.
Now with an overall supply of better talent and better results in the middle of the major teams, it is harder and harder to repeat as the winners of the NCAA Tournament. The current drought is the second longest, just a few years behind the intervening one between UCLA and Duke. The Florida Gators are the best shot are the repeat for champion. Not only did they win the sponsorship last year, but they also won convincingly and brought their entire team back. If the Florida Gators do not repeat, the drought between returning champions could go 20 years, 30 years or even longer.
