by Sweetbob

Created on: March 15, 2007   Last Updated: May 13, 2007

The biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history happened in 1983. The North Carolina State Wolfpack, coached by a young Jim Valvano, completed the upset in the finals of the tourney. NC State lost ten games in the 1982-83 season and had to win the ACC conference tournament to earn a bid. The Wolfpack didn't have a star on the team. They played as a team in the truest sense of the word.

If there ever was a dominant team in college basketball, it had to be Houston. "Phi Slamma Jamma" gang had Akeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Michael Young. The Houston Cougars were ranked #1 for most of the 82-83 season. They played a style of basketball that was playground-influenced brand of basketball. Many of the basketball purists like John Wooden disliked the flamboyant style of Houston. Coach Guy Lewis loved the style and encouraged his players to dunk the basketball. Lewis was influenced by the ABA and players like Julius Erving. Athleticism was their advantage and lead to a lot of fast breaks, but sometimes trumped fundamental skills preached by some coaches. Jim Valvano was a coached that preached fundamentals, but he liked his kids to have fun playing the game as well.

When the 1983 NCAA tournament began, NC State was a #6 seed and the powerful Houston was a #1 seed. NC State knocked off Pepperdine, Virginia, and Georgia in close games. Houston had a pretty easy time with their bracket, winning mostly by double-digits.

When it was time for NC State and Houston to meet in the tournament championship game, the Cougars were cocky. Olajuwon predicted that the team with the most dunks will win the game.

NC State led by a small margin at halftime of the championship game. After halftime, Houston played well in the second half with a 17-2 run, but NC State tied the game with two minutes left. Dereck Whittenburg had been hot in the second half. He had to sink two straight to tie the game. NC State held the ball for the last shot, but the play didn't go as planned and Whittenburg had to shoot a 30-foot jump shot. Lorenzo Charles, seeing that the shot was going to be short, jumped up, grabbed it, and slammed it as time expired. This shot led to the famous shot of Coach Valvano running around on the court looking for someone to hug.

Olajuwon learned a lesson that night. He who dunks last, laughs best.

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