1. March 31, 1997: Arizona 84, Kentucky 79, overtime, 1997 national championship game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. It was Arizona’s third win over a No. 1 seed in 11 days, still the only time a team has defeated three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
2. March 21, 1997: Arizona 85, Kansas 82, Sweet 16, 1997, in Birmingham, Alabama. The 34-1 Jayhawks had been ranked No. 1 since Dec. 3. Some suggest the ‘97 Jayhawks were the best team Arizona has ever beaten.
3. Dec. 12, 1987: Arizona 66, Iowa 59 in Iowa City. Lute Olson’s return to “The House that Lute Built” was epic. Hawkeyes ranked No. 3, Arizona No. 4. It was the launching point for Arizona’s rise to No. 1 two weeks later and national prominence.
4. March 27, 1988: Arizona 70, North Carolina 52, 1988 Elite 8 in Seattle. Getting to its first Final Four required Arizona to beat iconic Tar Heels coach Dean Smith.
5. March 29, 1997: Arizona 66, North Carolina 58, national semifinal in Indianapolis. Lute Olson’s ticket to a national title game corresponded with Dean Smith’s final game as UNC’s coach.
6. Jan. 20, 1984: Arizona 71, ASU 49 at McKale Center. Four days after Steve Kerr’s father, Malcolm, was assassinated in Beirut, Lebanon, Kerr came off the bench to trigger a program-changing victory over the Sun Devils. Arizona was 2-11 entering the game, on a woeful 15-41 streak against the Sun Devils. It started Olson’s 43-5 domination of ASU.
7. March 3, 1986: Arizona 88, UCLA 76 at Pauley Pavilion. The victory clinched the first of Olson’s 11 Pac-10 championships and ended the Bruins’ lopsided (23-3) run over the Wildcats.
8. Dec. 30, 1987: Arizona 91, Duke 85 at McKale Center. Unbeaten Duke lost to unbeaten No. 1 Arizona in the finals of the Fiesta Bowl Classic. Tucson felt like the capital of the basketball world.
9. March 25, 2001: Arizona 87, Illinois 81 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Olson reached his fifth Final Four via a tense victory over No. 1-seeded Illinois.
10. March 31, 2001: Arizona 81, Michigan State 61 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. In the Final Four opener, Gilbert Arenas took the Spartans apart.
11. March 8, 2001: Arizona 76, Stanford 75 at Maples Pavilion. Michael Wright’s turn-around jumper at the buzzer gave the Wildcats a victory over No. 1 Stanford, which was 27-1 entering the game. It was the second straight year the Wildcats beat a No. 1 Stanford team at Maples.
12. Feb. 24, 1991: Arizona 103, Duke 96, two overtimes, at McKale Center. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski rebounded from the loss in Tucson by winning the NCAA championship six weeks later. — Greg Hansen
Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4362 or ghansen@tucson.com. On Twitter: @ghansen711
Greg Hansen
Columnist
