March 19

From Hoopedia

• 1868 - (Above) Hall of Famer Senda Berenson Abbott, Smith College physical training instructor, who wrote the rules for women's basketball in 1893, and guided the women's game for its first decade, is born in Vilnius, Lithuania.

• 1929 - Bill Spivey, star center on the Kentucky squad that won the 1951 NCAA tournament, and who was banned from the NBA for refusing to testify against his teammates in a point-shaving scandal, is born in Walter Robins, Georgia. Observers say that he was the best center in the world in the era between George Mikan and Wilt Chamberlain.

• 1950 - The Rochester Royals close out the 1949-50 season with their 15th consecutive win, 97-66, over the Baltimore Bullets, setting an NBA record for the most consecutive games won at the end of a season. That record has endured for more than 50 years.

• 1953 - A free throw by Bob Leonard with 27 seconds to go gives Indiana a 69-68 win over Kansas and its second NCAA Championship.

• 1956 - The Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks, 133-75, in Game 2 of the Western Division Finals, the largest margin of victory (58 points) in NBA Playoff history.

• 1966 - (Right) Texas Western makes basketball history as it starts five African-American players for the first time ever in an NCAA Championship game. Texas Western beats the Kentucky Wildcats, who start five white players for the last time in NCAA finals history, 72-65. The film Glory Road is based on this Miners-Wildcats game.

• 1969 - NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy flips a coin. Phoenix calls 'heads,' but it turns up 'tails.' Thus, Milwaukee choses first in the NBA Draft, selecting Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Phoenix picks Neal Walk.

• 1972 - The Immaculata Mighty Macs beat West Chester State, 52-48, to win the national women's collegiate championship. Barely seven miles divide the two Pennsylvania schools.

• 1972 - The Los Angeles Lakers defeats Golden State in what was then the most lopsided victory in NBA history, 162-99, at the Forum. That 63-point margin lasted as a record for nearly 19 years, until Cleveland beat Miami by 68 points, 148-80, on December 17, 1991.

• 1988 - In an NCAA tournament first round duel for the ages, Chris Morris leads Auburn to a 90-86 win over Hersey Hawkins and Bradley. Hawkins wins the individual battle, however, with 44 points, ten rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks; Morris finished with 36 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.

• 1989 - Kentucky's Shame: In the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as the University of Kentucky coach. On May 19, 1989 the NCAA bans Kentucky's basketball program from post-season play.

• 1992 - Shaquille O'Neal (LSU) tallies a triple-double, racking up 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in a 94-83 triumph over BYU in a first round NCAA tournament game. The 11 blocks are a tournament record.

• 1995 - Michael Jordan comes out of his 17-month retirement and plays in his first NBA game since Game 6 of the 1993 Finals against Phoenix. Jordan scores 19 points in 43 minutes as his Chicago Bulls lost in overtime to the Indiana Pacers, 103-96. The game is televised on NBC and draws an estimated 35 million viewers, making it the most watched regular-season game in NBA history.

• 2007 - 26,752 spectators watch the Syracuse Orangemen play the San Diego State University Aztecs in the Carrier Dome, setting a new National Invitation Tournament (NIT) attendance record.