Big Ten Network has announced that the third season of ‘The Big Ten’s Greatest Games’ which begins on Monday, Nov. 30 at 8 PM ET will include Legendary NCAA championship title victories, shocking upsets and buzzer-beating shots.
The broadcast schedule of new episodes will be on Mondays throughout the 2009 regular season featuring eight NCAA Tournament games, including Ohio State’s 1960 NCAA title game victory against Cal and Indiana’s 1976 NCAA championship game against Michigan.
Indiana’s upset of top-ranked North Carolina in the 1984 Sweet Sixteen, which proved to be Michael Jordan’s final collegiate game, the “Flying Illini’s” Elite Eight victory against Syracuse, Penn State’s 2001 win against UNC that sent the Nittany Lions to the Sweet 16 and Michigan State’s upset of Connecticut in last year’s Final Four in Detroit are also included in this winter broadcast.
Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said, “All Big Ten fans will enjoy looking back at some of the very best games, moments and performances in the storied history of this great conference. We have heard fans say they like to see games from past decades and so we’re really pleased to show six legendary games that are more than 20 years old.”
The Season The Big Ten’s Greatest Games schedule is as follows:
November 30
Jan. 26, 1987 – Northwestern 67, Michigan State 65
Led by Shawn Watts and Shon Morris, the Wildcats earn a hard-fought Big Ten victory. A controversial call at the end of the game goes Northwestern’s way as Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote and the Spartans leave Evanston empty-handed.
December 7
Jan. 6, 2000 – #19 Illinois 80, #13 Ohio State 77
Frank Williams swished a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving No. 19 Illinois an 80-77 victory against No. 13 Ohio State. The Buckeyes had rallied from a 10-point deficit with less than 7 minutes to go.
December 14
Nov. 30, 2002 – #24 Minnesota 72, #17 Georgia 69
Michael Bauer’s 3-pointer rolled in at the buzzer to give the Golden Gophers a 72-69 victory over Georgia. The Bulldogs had tied the game moments earlier on a 3-pointer by Jarvis Hayes. Maurice Hargrow led Minnesota with 15 points and eight rebounds.
December 21
Feb. 16, 1983 – #16 Iowa 58, #2 Indiana 57
Greg Stokes scored 22 points and Bob Hansen provided late heroics as 16th-ranked Iowa upset second-ranked Indiana in Bloomington.
December 28
Feb. 12, 1997 – Michigan State 69, Iowa 67
Antonio Smith’s basket with 1.7 seconds remaining broke a tie and lifted Michigan State to a 69-67 victory over Iowa. Mateen Cleaves’ driving layup was tipped by the Hawkeyes’ Ryan Bowen, but the ball went to Smith, who laid it in for the winning basket. Cleaves led the Spartans with 15 points and a career-high 10 assists, while Ray Weathers added 14 points.
January 4
Feb. 7, 2004 – Michigan 64, Purdue 63
Brandon McKnight’s mid-range jumper gave the Boilermakers the lead with less than 10 seconds to go, but Michigan’s Courtney Sims’ tip-in with 1.4 seconds left lifted the Wolverines to a 64-63 win.
January 11
2009 Final Four – #8 Michigan State 82, #5 Connecticut 73
In front of a huge home crowd at Detroit’s Ford Field, Michigan State upset top-seeded Connecticut in the Final Four to advance to the national championship game. The Spartans were led by Kalin Lucas (21 points) and Raymar Morgan (18 points).
January 18
March 13, 2003 – Ohio State 66, Iowa 64
Brent Darby’s late layup dropped in, and Ohio State survived the final few frantic minutes of Iowa’s miracle-in-the-making comeback in a first-round Big Ten tournament game at the United Center.
January 25
1984 Sweet Sixteen – Indiana 72, #1 North Carolina 68 Steve Alford scored 27 points to lead all scorers in this NCAA regional semifinal game. Dan Dakich scored only four points, but more importantly, he held UNC sensation Michael Jordan to just 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The game proved to be Jordan’s final collegiate game. Uwe Blab scored 16 points against a Carolina front line that featured future NBA stars like Sam Perkins and Brad Daugherty.
February 1
2001 NCAA Second Round – Penn State 82, #6 North Carolina 74
Seventh-seeded Penn State defeated second-seeded North Carolina to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1955. Titus Ivory scored a career-high 21 points and hit the game’s biggest shot, giving Penn State the lead for good. Joe Crispin added 21 points and the Nittany Lions forced 22 Tar Heel turnovers.
February 8
2007 NCAA Second Round – #1 Ohio State 78, Xavier 71
Ron Lewis hit a long, game-tying three-pointer with two seconds left on the clock to force overtime. The Buckeyes had trailed by 11 points with less than eight minutes to go. With Greg Oden fouled out, Mike Conley, Jr. dominated the extra period, scoring 11 points in overtime.
February 15
2009 NCAA Second Round – #17 Purdue 76, #15 Washington 74
Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson blocked two attempts by Washington to tie the game with a minute remaining and scored 22 points as the Boilermakers held off Washington’s late charge to advance to their first regional semifinal since 2000.
February 22
1989 NCAA Elite Eight – Illinois 89, #7 Syracuse 86
Despite trailing by seven at halftime, the Illini fought back and upset the Orangemen, with key contributions from Kenny Battle (28 points), Nick Anderson (24 points) and Kendall Gill (18 points). The victory sent the “Flying Illini” to the Final Four.
March 1
March 5, 2003 – #24 Wisconsin 60, #14 Illinois 59
Devin Harris had two chances from the free-throw line with four-tenths of a second left to break a 59-59 tie against the Illini. He needed both. He missed the first, but swished the second to give the 24th-ranked Badgers a 60-59 victory over No. 14 Illinois and its first outright conference title since 1947.
March 8
1976 NCAA Championship – #1 Indiana 86, #9 Michigan 68
After trailing 35-29 at halftime, Indiana came back to defeat the Wolverines and secure the national championship, completing their season with a perfect 32-0 undefeated record behind 26 points from Player of the Year Scott May and 25 points from Kent Benson. Quinn Bucker scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
March 16
1960 NCAA Championship – #3 Ohio State 75, #2 California 55
Future NBA legends Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek led the Buckeyes to the national championship. Lucas led all scorers with 16 points and Havlicek chipped in 12 points. Widely regarded as one of the best teams in NCAA history, the Buckeyes’ roster also included Bob Knight.
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