Posted 13 hours ago | By Chris Morgan
This year’s March Madness is going to be weird for Duke haters. Are you happy that the Blue Devils have missed the men’s tournament? Or are you disappointed you can’t root for them to lose and then celebrate their upset defeat? Coach K’s crew has won a few titles over the years and have been a tourney staple. Not in 2021, however. This is the first time Duke has missed out on March Madness since the 1994-95 season. That was quite a while ago. What was going on in 1995 when the Blue Devils were sitting at home watching the NCAA Men’s Tournament with the rest of us? Let’s take a look.
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UCLA wins it all
We might as well start with the teams that made the NCAA Tournament, right? Duke fans will probably be extra upset, because North Carolina made the Final Four this year alongside Arkansas, UCLA, and Oklahoma State. The Razorbacks, the preseason number one, made it to the championship game, but they fell short to the Bruins. Ed O’Bannon was named the outstanding player of the tourney, but these days he’s best known for fighting for college athletes to get compensated for the use of their names and likenesses.
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Joe Smith is the player of the year
Sticking in college hoops, Joe Smith out of Maryland was pretty much the consensus top player of the season. He won the Wooden, the Naismith, and the AP Player of the Year awards. The only other player to make a challenge was Michigan State’s Shawn Respert. Both players, as well as O’Bannon, were All-Americans.
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The beginning of UConn’s dominance
It may not be surprising to hear that Connecticut won the women’s tournament in 1995. After all, the Huskies have dominated women’s college basketball under Geno Auriemma. However, this was just the beginning of that run. While UConn went undefeated in the 1994-95 season and beat Tennessee in the championship game, this was the team’s first title. It certainly would not be their last.
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