NCAA Basketball: 10 great tournament games we missed out on in history

Michigan vs Kansas (1992)

Going into the 1991-92 season there was little knowledge that this incarnation of the Michigan Wolverines was going to transcend college basketball. Unlike the Runnin’ Rebels who were vilified by the media while being adored by fans, the “Fab 5” as they were to be dubbed, benefitted from the love of both media and fans.

The momentum and support for Michigan were not automatic. In the preseason poll, they were ranked No.20 and the last poll of the season they were sitting at No.15  Steve Fisher was not starting all five freshmen until a couple of weeks into the season. National attention was brought unto Michigan after a three-point overtime loss to Duke on December 14th.

After that game, it was not about the 78 points they averaged or even the 65% from the free-throw line, they were doing something that had never been done before, start five Freshman.

Kansas also played and actually won December 14th, albeit with a lot less attention. The Jayhawks defeated DePaul 105-74, which was their fifth win in a row on their way to winning nine to start the season. Coach Roy Williams would lead the Jayhawks to a  27-5, 11-3 in Big 8 and a conference title while resting on a No.2 rank in the final AP Poll.

The Jayhawks boasted four future NBA selections, just one less than Michigan, but everybody wanted to watch Michigan. When the brackets came out, who Michigan would face on the way to the Final Four was on everybody’s mind. Michigan would end up matching up against all the best.

Playing out of the Southwest bracket Michigan would beat No.2 seed Oklahoma State, then No.1 seed Ohio State and would face-off against another No.1 seed in Duke. Unfortunately, Kansas lost in the second round of the Midwest, ending any chance of a Final Four match-up. Despite the early loss by Kansas taking off some of the shine of that dream game, those that were waiting for it, know.