Derek Schultz: Indy’s Madness moments

The NCAA Tournament has returned to Indianapolis, as Gainbridge Fieldhouse hosts teams like Purdue, Marquette, Florida and TCU in the opening two rounds this weekend.

Indy’s frequent placement as a host location, including being in both the men’s and women’s Final Four rotation, has given the city the opportunity to witness historic feats and incredible moments. Here are some of the most memorable games to take place in Indianapolis since the tournament’s last major expansion nearly 40 years ago:

1991: Duke, 79; UNLV, 77 (Hoosier Dome)

It’s crazy to think about now, but there was a time when Duke (yes, Duke!) was actually a plucky underdog. The Blue Devils entered the ’91 field as an eight-time Final Four participant but had zero national championships to show for it. They were expected to extend that streak to nine when colliding with heavily favored and undefeated UNLV in the national semifinal. The defending champion Runnin’ Rebels, led by future NBA first-rounders Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, had bludgeoned the Blue Devils in the previous year’s title game, setting an NCAA Championship record with a historic 103-73 beatdown.

The 1991 contest followed a completely different script, as Duke kept things tight throughout, withstanding Augmon’s game-high 29 points and using a final scoring spurt to secure a two-point win in one of the NCAA Tournament’s greatest upsets. Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils finally broke through with their first title two days later and have been annoying most of America ever since.

1996: Princeton, 43; UCLA, 41 (RCA Dome)

Modern basketball fans might scoff at the final tally, but this low-scoring affair between two polar opposites of the sport will forever live in March Madness infamy.

Defending champion UCLA no longer had Wooden Award winner and NBA Lottery pick Ed O’Bannon, but the team still rode some of the talented leftovers of its 1995 title squad to another Pac-10 championship and top-15 national ranking. The Bruins drew Princeton, led by longtime head coach Pete Carrill, in the opening round. The future Hall of Famer was used to the big stage, having lived through Princeton’s upset of Oklahoma State in 1983 and scaring the bejesus out of No. 1 Georgetown as a No. 16 seed in 1989, years before UMBC and Farleigh Dickinson became household names.

With the game tied at 41 in the final seconds, Carrill’s Tigers produced one of March’s most memorable moments, executing a flawless back-door play, with Steve Goodrich’s perfect bounce pass leading to Gabe Lewullis’ easy game-winner.

One of the best parts about the game is a very young Gus Johnson going ballistic on the call while a stunned, disheveled and euphoric Carrill celebrated the final victory of his storied career in a packed RCA Dome.

2010: Duke, 61; Butler, 59 (Lucas Oil Stadium)

It’s probably not hyperbole to say that Gordon Hayward’s missed half-court heave at the buzzer is the greatest “what if?” in NCAA Tournament history, but many other elements of this epic title game were overembellished.

The “Hoosiers” aspect of the matchup was especially overdone, and, frankly, disrespectful to Butler. The Dawgs were a 33-win team with two future NBA players (Hayward and Shelvin Mack) on their roster and spent the entire season ranked, entering the tournament on a 20-game win streak and top 10 in the national polls. Yet, it was impossible not to be swept up in the national narratives, as over-the-top as they were, of what the game represented for the sport.

I’m not going to rehash the game here, as it is undoubtedly etched in many of your memories, but I will say Hayward’s baseline fadeaway that rimmed out in the penultimate Butler possession, which no one seems to talk about, was the true missed opportunity. It would’ve given the Dawgs the lead—perhaps the championship!—and I will go to my grave still having no idea how that shot didn’t fall through the net.

2015: Wisconsin, 71; Kentucky, 64 (Lucas Oil Stadium)

With one of the most loaded rosters in the modern college basketball era, highlighted by eight future NBA players, including All-Stars Karl Anthony-Towns and Devin Booker, Kentucky cruised into the 2015 Final Four at 38-0. However, even with that embarrassment of riches, the Cats couldn’t overcome fellow NBAers Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker for Wisconsin, as the Badgers ended UK’s quest to complete a perfect season, with a 71-64 victory.

It was one of the best live-game atmospheres I have ever been in, with the split of UW red and UK blue at Lucas Oil Stadium conjuring up memories of the heyday of the Kentucky-Indiana rivalry at the Dome and Freedom Hall. Interestingly enough, the three teams in the post-tournament expansion that have come the closest to dethroning 1976 Indiana as men’s basketball’s last undefeated squad (1991 UNLV, 2015 Kentucky, 2021 Gonzaga) have all met their ultimate demise in Indianapolis.

2016: Connecticut, 82; Syracuse, 51 (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)

Nothing about the game itself was memorable—in fact, it was over before it even tipped off—as Connecticut capped a 38-0 season and pulverization of the 2016 NCAA Tournament field with an 82-51 beatdown of the Orange.

Instead, what made the game significant was the history accomplished in the Circle City, as Connecticut became the first-ever four-peat champion in major women’s college basketball, Geno Auriemma passed John Wooden for the most championships won by a head coach (11), and Breanna Stewart added an unprecedented fourth NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player trophy to her collegiate award haul. The Huskies’ 31-point win in Indy lowered their average margin of victory in the tournament to an astonishing 38 points per contest, a mark that led some folks to question if the Huskies had actually broken the sport.

Eight years later, with TV ratings and NIL revenue soaring, women’s basketball is healthier and more popular than it has ever been—and, perhaps not coincidentally, the once-invincible UConn hasn’t won a national championship since.

2021: Gonzaga, 93; UCLA, 90 (Lucas Oil Stadium)

During the 2020-2021 college basketball season, right in the heart of the pandemic, hardly anything was “normal” about the world, much less college basketball. Gonzaga weathered frequent cancellations and roster availability problems (a common challenge for most teams that year) to somehow enter the Final Four two wins away from an undefeated season.

The all-Indiana NCAA Tournament in 2021 concluded at Lucas Oil Stadium, where Gonzaga met surprising No. 11 seed UCLA in the semifinals. Despite their blueblood pedigree, the Bruins barely snuck into the dance and had to survive an overtime game against Michigan State in the First Four to even join the field of 64.

In a back-and-forth affair, with dozens of lead changes and where the largest lead was just seven points, the Zags and Bruins needed an extra frame to decide a winner. After Johnny Juzang’s layup with three seconds left seemed to force a second overtime, Jalen Suggs hit perhaps the most spectacular game-winner in Final Four history, pulling up a few steps past half court to bank-in the winner in a 93-90 victory.

Afterward, Suggs leapt onto the scorer’s table, as a sparse and socially distanced crowd cheered in-between cardboard cutouts in the stands. It made for the perfect surreal moment to highlight a surreal tournament in a surreal time.•

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From Peyton Manning’s peak with the Colts to the Pacers’ most recent roster makeover, Schultz has talked about it all as a sports personality in Indianapolis for more than 15 years. Besides his written work with IBJ, he’s active in podcasting and show hosting. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Schultz975.