The best moments in Pac-12's basketball history

The NCAA tournament was created in 1939 to be an alternative to the N.I.T., which was the elite postseason tournament of the time. The first tournament invited just eight schools -- Brown, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah State, Villanova, Wake Forest and the PCC's Oregon Webfoots. Oregon, playing in the West Regional, would dispatch Texas and Oklahoma before topping Ohio State for the national championship. 

The 7-foor-3 Swede Halbrook at the time was the tallest player to have ever played college basketball. In an era where big men ruled the sport, Halbrook was dominant and made Oregon State into a national title contender. Never more so than against Idaho on February 15, 1955. Halbrook grabbed a Pac-12 record 36 rebounds while attempting a conference record 28 free throws in the Beavers' 67-56 win. What makes this a bit more amazing is that Halbrook grabbed 32 rebounds the previous day against the same Idaho team. 

Cal's only NCAA championship came in 1959 as the Bears held on to oust the West Virginia Mountaineers, led by Jerry West. Cal was coached by the legendary Pete Newell and went on a NCAA tournament run where the Bears defeated some of the best players in the history of basketball. Led by Darrall Imhoff and Denny Fitzpatrick, the Bears won the PCC and entered the NCAA tournament on a 12-game winning streak. They rolled past Utah and Saint Mary's before facing Oscar Robertson and the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Final Four. The Bears held the nation's leading scorer to 19 points in the 64-58 win.

In the national championship, Cal was able to slow down the fast-paced Mountaineers by pressing them nearly full court, turning a 10-point deficit into a six-point halftime lead. The Bears extended the lead in the second half. West Virginia would go small by playing West at center and pressing the Bears and got back into the game, down 65-62. The 'Neers got it down to a point in the final minute but an Imhoff stick-back sealed the championship.

Cal would reach the national championship game the following year but would lose to Ohio State. Newell retired and the program wouldn't reach the NCAA Tournament for 30 years until 1990.

You cannot tell the story of the Pac-8/10/12 conference without discussing the John Wooden UCLA Bruins' ridiculous run in the 1960s and 1970s. UCLA reached its first Final Four in 1962, which would begin a run of 13 Final Four appearances in 15 years. In 1964, the Bruins won their first national championship, then they'd win it again in 1965. In 1967 they began a run that will never happen in college basketball again -- winning seven straight NCAA tournament championships. In those seven years, UCLA would compile an unreal 205-5 record -- including 95-3 in Pac-8 play. Their run ended with a loss to NC State in the 1974 Final Four, but would win another championship a year later in Wooden's final season. Ten national championships in 12 seasons.

It isn't just the championships but the players who contributed to them. Guys like Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Sidney Wicks, Walt Hazzard, Jamaal Wilkes, Marques Johnson and Henry Bibby are just a few of the legendary Bruins who dominated this era of college hoops.

This is just a bird's eye view of what UCLA accomplished, as we will have a few specific moments coming up in this list. 

If you were to pick one player to define that UCLA dynasty, it would most likely be Lew Alcindor. The 7-foot-2 center dominated college basketball, as his Bruins would go 88-2 and win three national championships during his three seasons in Westwood. While he had a ton of unfathomable moments during his college career, the fact he scored 56 points in his first varsity game may be the sickest of them all.

Alcindor was a dominant high school player at Power in New York (he'd finish his high school career with 71 straight wins), but couldn't play for UCLA's varsity since freshmen were ruled ineligible at the time (note: Alcindor's JV squad would beat Wooden's varsity team in a scrimmage). So when Alcindor finally got the opportunity to play varsity, he let it all loose ... and he did so against the Bruins biggest rivals. Alcindor hung 56 points on USC in his first college game. He made 23 of his 32 shot attempts and hit 10 free throws in the 105-90 win over the Trojans. 

Usually, I wouldn't talk about a giant Pac-8 loss on a list of greatest moments by a conference, but the Game of the Century between Lew Alcindor's UCLA Bruins and Elvin Hayes' Houston Cougars is an obvious exception. UCLA entered the game having won three of the last four national championships -- including the 1967 title where the Bruins beat Houston in the national semifinal -- and owners of a 47-game winning streak and the top ranking in the polls. Houston was ranked 2nd and had the second-best big man in the country and a drive for revenge after their Final Four loss.

The game was also played at the new Astrodome in Houston in front of 52,693 fans in the stadium and millions of fans watching at home in one of the first nationally televised regular season college basketball games. Hayes' two free throws would win the game, 71-69, ending the Bruins' win streak. Alcindor, playing with an eye injury, had one of the worst games in his college career.

The two wouldn't lose a game the rest of the season until they met again in the Final Four. This time UCLA dominated, blowing out the No. 1 ranked Cougars 101-69 en route to their second consecutive national championship. Hayes, who was averaging over 37 ppg that season, was held to just 10 in the loss. UCLA's win over North Carolina in the title game gave the Bruins the distinction of being the only school to win consecutive NCAA tournaments twice.

There has never been a championship performance like Bill Walton's effort in the 1973 NCAA tournament final against Memphis State. Walton shot 21 of 22 from the field and scored 44 points -- still a championship record -- in the 87-66 win over the Tigers. This would be the final title during their seven-year streak. Memphis State's head coach Gene Bartow would take over for Wooden at UCLA three years later. 

Cheryl Miller is one of the best women's basketball players to ever lace them up. As a senior in high school she famously dropped 105 points in a game against Norte Vista High School. At USC, she dominated. The Trojans went 112-20 during Miller's time at USC, including winning the 1983 and 1984 NCAA championships. Miller was the Naismith College Player of the Year three times and is still 10th all-time in points and third in rebounds.

Those Trojans teams were ridiculously talented. Joining Miller was Cynthia Cooper, who would one day win two WNBA MVP awards, and twin sisters Pamela and Paula McGee (Pamela is the mother of the NBA's JaVale McGee). 

When you think of Gary Payton, you think defense. Payton was one of the greatest defensive guards in basketball history, but his offense was on full display in Corvallis on February 22, 1990. Payton scored 32 points in the second half to erase a 22-point USC lead and send the game into overtime. The Glove kept carrying Oregon State in the extra period, dropping eight more points to claim a 98-84 win over the Trojans. Payton put the team on his back by dribble drives, spinning and twisting to get to the paint for floaters or layups. In that game Payton broke Oregon State's single-game scoring record, career scoring record and arena's scoring record. 

In the early 1990s, Loyola Marymount was known for their relentless up-tempo games as they were one of the top-scoring teams in college hoops history. Paul Westhead's offense built around Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble captured the imagination of the nation. Of course, when LMU faced UCLA on December 2, 1990, things had changed. LMU was coming off an emotional Cinderella run to the Elite 8 in March as they mourned the death of Gathers in the WCC tournament. Kimble was drafted by the Clippers and Westhead became the Denver Nuggets head coach.

When the Lions visited Pauley Pavilion, UCLA was able to dominate and put up the most points in Pac-12 basketball history. The Bruins shot 65% from the field (and nearly 75% of their shots in the second half) with Don MacLean leading the way with 33 points. 

Stanford has been the Pac-12's best program and will be taking their elite program to a very competitive ACC in 2024. In 1991, Tara VanDerveer finally got everything to click for a magical season and dominant NCAA championship run. Led by All-American Jennifer Azzi and freshmen Molly Goodenbour and Val Whiting, Stanford would go 32-1 (losing by three at Washington for their only defeat) and run through the tournament for their first national championship. The Cardinal had been an emerging program but would see their previous three seasons end at the hand of Pat Summit's Tennessee Volunteers. Irony would have it that Stanford wouldn't see the Vols in 1990 (Auburn stunned Tennessee in the East regional final) yet win the title on Tennessee's home floor -- Knoxville was the site of the Final Four.

Stanford would lose to ... you guessed it ... Tennessee in the 1991 Final Four but would win the 1992 national championship, making their mark as an elite program during Tennessee's dominance and as UConn burst on the scene. From 1989 to 1997, the Cardinal reached seven regional finals, six Final Fours and two national championships. 

Who knew a late season game featuring one of the Pac-10's top teams, Arizona, visiting a team just running out of time for a postseason berth in Washington State? That's what we got on March 2, 1995 when the Wildcats and Cougars battled late into the night with a double-overtime shootout.

Arizona erased a six-point deficit with 34 seconds left in regulation, with help coming from a technical foul called on Washington State's crowd for throwing objects on the court. Down one, Cougars' Isaac Fontaine went the length of the floor for a game-winning shot but was fouled. He made one of two free throws and the game went into overtime. With a second left of a tie game in that overtime, Washington State's Dominic Ellison clanged two free throws that sent the game into double overtime. Once there, Arizona senior Damon Stoudamire finished off his 40-point game in style with a 114-111 win, with Washington State setting a league record for most points scored by a losing team. Fontaine scored 38 points in the loss. 

UCLA's last championship came back in 1995 with a fantastic team with a historically great NCAA tournament moment. The nation's top team was on the ropes in the second round of the '95 tournament as Missouri held a 74-73 lead with under five seconds remaining. Edney received the in-bound pass and dribbled it the length of the court, scurrying around defenders, and banked a running floater as time expired to give the Bruins the one-point win.

UCLA would go on to beat Mississippi State, UConn, Oklahoma State and the defending champion Arkansas Razorbacks to win their 11th national championship and first in 20 years. 

MIles Simon (who will feature prominently on this list in a moment) hit a 65-foot heave to beat Cincinnati and give coach Lute Olson his 500th career victory.  16th-ranked Arizona faced No. 5 Cincinnati in Phoenix for the 7-Up Shootout with the two going blow for blow all game long. With the game tied at 76 with less than four seconds left, the Bearcats inbounded the ball under their own basket, but the bounce pass was tipped away. Simon grabbed the loose ball and just threw up a shot from across the court that banked in. Arizona pulled off a huge win -- Lute's 500th, 

The 1996-1997 Arizona Wildcats weren't the most likely team to pull off one of the top feats in NCAA tournament history. They entered the tournament 19-9 and just 11-7 in Pac-10 play, earning a No. 4 seed in the Southeast Regional. After beating South Alabama and squeaking by a really good College of Charleston team, the Wildcats would face the region's top seed, Kansas, in the Sweet 16. Arizona shocked everyone by taking down Kansas, then Providence, to reach the Final Four.

Once at the Final Four, Arizona faced North Carolina, the No. 1 seed from the East. After weathering a strong start by the Tar Heels, the Wildcats shut down UNC's perimeter offense and advanced to the championship game. There, they met another Wildcats -- the defending national champion Kentucky Wildcats. Miles Simon scored 30 points in a rousing affair that went into overtime. Four Kentucky players fouled out and Simon couldn't be stopped in Zona's championship victory.

Arizona is still the only team to beat three No. 1 seeds in one NCAA tournament, and the fact that all three of those top seeds were the bluest of the blue bloods (Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky) made it all the more sweeter.

This is also the last time the Pac-10/12 would win an NCAA tournament. 

Eddie House grew up in Berkeley, California and looked up to former Cal Bears point guard Jason Kidd. Cal didn't recruit him, however, making his 2000 effort against the Bears much more fulfilling. As a senior, House's Arizona State Sun Devils went to Berkeley to face the Bears and House ... well ... went off. House hit 7 of his 10 three-point attempts and 18 of his 19 free throws to pile up 61 points against the Bears. House tied Lew Alcindor's conference record for points in the 111-108 double-overtime win. What made it all the more remarkable was that 44 of his points came in the second half or in overtime. 

In the second round of the 2006 NCAA tournament, the Washington Huskies mounted an 11-point second-half comeback to upset Illinois, 67-64. Brandon Roy's 21 points led the charge against the Illini, who were the national runner-up the previous year. The Huskies (and the Pac-10 in general) were considered soft and unable to get into a physical battle with a team like Illinois, but Washington was able to make Illinois' Dee Brown uncomfortable and forced him into a poor shooting night -- including a miss that would've tied the game. 

Washington State and Washington have a heated rivalry, and that was on full display at the 2011 Pac-10 tournament at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. In their second-round showdown, Washington State's Klay Thompson (who was suspended for the Cougars regular-season finale) dumped 43 points on the Huskies -- including 25 points in the second half -- but it wasn't enough. Washington's Isaiah Thomas poured in 21 points and 11 assists while Terrence Ross added 17 points to come back from a 13-point deficit to earn a 89-87 win. Thompson's 43 points remain a conference tournament record for points in a game. 

Love him or hate him, Bill Walton's work on ESPN's coverage of college basketball ... especially Pac-12 hoops ... has been a success. Walton, who works with Dave Pasch on the telecasts, will wear Grateful Dead shirts, speak in hyperbole, eat cupcakes with lit candles and goes off on wild tangents while a basketball game is played in front of him. There are some who find his unique style off-putting but it does make the Pac-12 after dark games interesting for those who are tuning in just for their hoops fix. Incidentally, when I think of the demise of the Pac-12 I think of Walton's boasts of the league being the "Conference of Champions" and how sad that it will no longer exist, at least in its current state. Walton's outstanding playing career at UCLA, alongside his history in Oregon in the NBA as well as his son Luke's success at Arizona makes him as a great ambassador for the conference. 

The 2020-2021 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team is one of the most resilient champions in Pac-12 history. For starters, this was the COVID season that featured lots of fluidity to the season as well as the safety protocols that many athletes had to endure. They also played most of their season away from home due to Santa Clara County's ban on athletic activities. Still, the Cardinal persevered, going 25-2 (the two losses coming mid-January) and winning the Pac-12 tournament.

In the NCAA tournament (which was played entirely in San Antonio), Stanford breezed to the Final Four before meeting up with top-seeded South Carolina. Haley Jones out-dueled the Gamecocks' Zia Cooke to give Stanford the 66-65 win. In the closing moments, each team turned the ball over with South Carolina getting two shots at the basket to win it. Sophomore Aliyah Boston's tip famously rimmed out giving Stanford to victory (Boston would do okay the following two seasons). The Cardinal would hold off Arizona to nab their third national championship.