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NCAA Basketball: 68 defining moments of the 2019-20 season

By Lukas Harkins

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 07: Rodney Chatman #0, Obi Toppin #1 and Jalen Crutcher #10 of the Dayton Flyers celebrate during a game against the George Washington Colonials at UD Arena on March 7, 2020 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 07: Rodney Chatman #0, Obi Toppin #1 and Jalen Crutcher #10 of the Dayton Flyers celebrate during a game against the George Washington Colonials at UD Arena on March 7, 2020 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 14: Mannion/Nnaji of the Wildcats in action. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 14: Mannion/Nnaji of the Wildcats in action. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

3. Utah obliterates Mississippi Valley State. (Nov. 8th)

Utah played its home opener of this season against Mississippi Valley State. Considering the Utes were favored by nearly 30 points heading into the contest, nobody would have expected the game to make a list such as this one. But when one team beats the other by…*checks notes*….94 points (!!!), that is worth inclusion as one of the top moments of the year. Utah terrorized Mississippi Valley State from the opening tip en route to a 143-49 victory.

Timmy Allen led the way with 26 points but he was just one of nine different Utes to score in double-figures. This went on to not only be Utah’s highest-scoring game but also their second-lowest number of points allowed for the campaign. The team ended up finishing 16-15 after an opening-round loss to Oregon State at the Pac-12 Tournament. Regardless, this early-season moment will go in the history books.

4. Freshmen announce themselves in Tucson. (Nov. 10th)

Arizona missed the 2019 NCAA Tournament in a headline-filled season. Hope abounded over the offseason for the Wildcats, though, as head coach Sean Miller snagged an elite recruiting class to lead the way. After easily handling Northern Arizona in their season-opener, Arizona’s freshmen-laden roster was forced to defend its home court against a rising Illinois team with high hopes. This was expected to be a very close game, and it was…for about 20 minutes.

The Wildcats led the Illini by just one point at halftime but then outscored their opposition by 20 over the second stanza. Most notably, this game proved to the emergence of all three freshmen stars in Tucson. Josh Green, Nico Mannion, and Zeke Nnaji combined to post 62 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists on 20-for-30 shooting from the field. These three continued to lead the way throughout the year as Arizona finished 21-11 and No. 19 in KenPom.

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