DePaul beats UNLV in battle of No.1s - WEST - 1-seed UCLA (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) BRACKET

 We set up four blogs to track the results of our tournament between these 30 new all-time great basketball teams in the Value Add Basketball Game.

DePaul's incredible 15 steals sink UNLV 82-64

The No. 1 teams from 1980 and 1987 clashed in our opening round. Perhaps fitting for a UNLV game, the first dice (opening tip) were rolled at 1:10 am and the game finished at 1:45 am - 35 minute play time. Some history first on the two teams No.1 ranked seasons without a title:

Both DePaul and UNLV went into their actual March Madness those years with only a single one point loss. UNLV finally lost in the Final 4 to Bobby Knight and Indiana.

DePaul had already beaten defending national champ Louisville but suffered one of many stunning tournament upsets with St. Joe's using tactics that would have not worked with modern rules (see account of game here). 

That season St. Joe's slowed it down with no shot clock in effect and used a late foul of Skip Dillard to force a 1 and 1 (there was no double bonus) and when he missed the front end St. Joe's beat the buzzer for a 49-48 stunner.

In this VABG game it was DePaul pulling the upset with Clyde Bradshaw completely disrupting the UNLV offense with 7 steals that led to transition baskets at the other end from one of the greatest duos to ever play the game - Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings - the player of the Year and future NBA Rookie of the Year respectively.

Aguirre scored 18 and Cummings 20 in a dominating 82-64 win to get DePaul that elusive first round win and get the winner of Duke 1986 vs Holy Cross 1950.

Here is Kareem's card for the No. 1 seed UCLA who is the team to beat in this bracket.

 

Here are 1st round results and match-ups from the MIDWEST - 3-seed Kansas (Paul Pierce) BRACKET, and at the bottom of all 4 blogs you can click on links to the other three brackets.

• No bracket games played yet.

Here are the links to all 4 brackets.

 WEST - 1-seed UCLA Bracket (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)

• Michigan 1965 vs. Arkansas 1978 (winner faces UCLA 1967)
• UNLV 1987 vs. DePaul 1980
• Duke 1986 vs. Holy Cross 1950

SOUTH - 4-seed North Carolina Bracket (Vince Carter)

• North Carolina 1998 vs. South Carolina 1973
• Loyola Marymount 1990 beat Kentucky 1970,  142-116
• Michigan State 2000 vs. Miami FO 1965
• St. Bonaventure 1970 vs. Maryland 1984

EAST - 2-seed Duke Bracket (Jay Williams, Shane Battier)

• Marquette 1971 beat Kansas 1988, 67-58 (Marquette plays Duke 2001 next)
• Illinois 1989 vs. Notre Dame 1981
• Indiana 1981 vs. Georgia Tech 1990

MIDWEST - 3-seed Kansas Bracket (Paul Pierce)

• Kansas 1997 vs. Niagara 1970
• LSU 1992 vs. Kentucky 1948
• Houston 1983 vs. Arizona State 1980
• Jacksonville 1970 vs. North Carolina 1957