Saturday won’t be San Antonio’s first NCAA Tournament

Friday, April 4, 2008

San Antonio is considered a basketball town because of the San Antonio Spurs’ NBA dynasty, but the south Texas city is not necessarily a college-hoops hotbed. San Antonio hosted the Final Four only twice before April: in 1998 and 2004.

1998 — Kansas fans shouldn’t be blamed for not remembering the 1998 Final Four. After the No. 1 seed Jayhawks suffered a second-round upset loss to No. 8 seed Rhode Island, a bit of time away from watching basketball might have been a good idea. If Kansas fans turned off their televisions, they missed some exciting hoops at the Alamodome. In the national semifinals, Utah sneaked past heavy favorite North Carolina under the leadership of coach Rick Majerus. On the other side of the bracket, Kentucky defeated Stanford in overtime to earn a berth in the title game. The championship game was also a thriller, as Kentucky raced back from a 10-point halftime deficit to win, 78-69. Forward Scott Padgett led the Wildcats with 17 points and current Philadelphia 76ers guard Andre Miller paced the Utes with 16.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: KENTUCKY

2004 — Kansas almost made it to San Antonio in coach Bill Self’s first season, but Georgia Tech stopped the Jayhawks’ run in the Elite Eight. No. 3 seed Georgia Tech carried the momentum from its victory against Kansas into the Final Four and defeated Oklahoma State on a last-second layup by guard Will Bynum. The other national semifinal was a clash of powerhouse programs, as Connecticut barely made it past Duke, 79-78. The championship game was a blowout, with Connecticut leading by as many as 25 points before winning, 82-73. Five of the 2004 Huskies are current contributors in the NBA, including NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Emeka Okafor and guard Ben Gordon.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: CONNECTICUT

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