Pat Forde, now of SI.com, recently revealed his 12 best Final Four semifinal games and 12 best championship games, and the Pack had one make the cut for each:
SEMIFINAL
North Carolina State 80, UCLA 77 (2OT), 1974
The game that decided the ’74 national championship, and ended the Bruins’ seven-year title run. In a clash of two of the greatest talents in college basketball history, the Wolfpack’s David Thompson was the winner and Bill Walton wound up on the losing side for one of the very few times. The skywalking Thompson stood 6-foot-4, but actually blocked a pair of shots by the 6' 11" Walton. NC State won an anticlimactic championship game over Marquette two days later.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
North Carolina State 54, Houston 52, 1983
Give this one the slight edge over Villanova-North Carolina for two reasons: the upset was enormous, foreseen by very few; and the stunning nature of the winning basket. College basketball history is rife with big jump shots for the win, but Lorenzo Charles dunking an airball at the buzzer remains unique. The number of narrow escapes the Wolfpack made—starting in the ACC tournament—only adds to the storyline. All that said, this was not exalted basketball. Guy Lewis won a lot of games, but letting Clyde Drexler get four fouls in the first half is one of the worst in-game blunders ever.
LINK: https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/04/best-final-four-games-march-madness-history
SEMIFINAL
North Carolina State 80, UCLA 77 (2OT), 1974
The game that decided the ’74 national championship, and ended the Bruins’ seven-year title run. In a clash of two of the greatest talents in college basketball history, the Wolfpack’s David Thompson was the winner and Bill Walton wound up on the losing side for one of the very few times. The skywalking Thompson stood 6-foot-4, but actually blocked a pair of shots by the 6' 11" Walton. NC State won an anticlimactic championship game over Marquette two days later.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
North Carolina State 54, Houston 52, 1983
Give this one the slight edge over Villanova-North Carolina for two reasons: the upset was enormous, foreseen by very few; and the stunning nature of the winning basket. College basketball history is rife with big jump shots for the win, but Lorenzo Charles dunking an airball at the buzzer remains unique. The number of narrow escapes the Wolfpack made—starting in the ACC tournament—only adds to the storyline. All that said, this was not exalted basketball. Guy Lewis won a lot of games, but letting Clyde Drexler get four fouls in the first half is one of the worst in-game blunders ever.
LINK: https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/04/best-final-four-games-march-madness-history
