March 23
From Hoopedia
- 1954 - Hall of Fame college coach Geno Auriemma, winner of five NCAA Women's championships, is born in Montella, Italy.
- 1955 - Hall of Fame center Moses Malone, three-time NBA MVP, is born in Petersburg, Virginia.
- 1957 - In one of the greatest basketball games in history, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeat the Wilt Chamberlain-led Kansas Jayhawks to win the NCAA championship. In a triple-overtime thriller, the Tar Heels beat the Jayhawks, 54-53, and UNC finishes the season a perfect 32-0.
- 1963 - Chicago Loyola upsets defending champion Cincinnati, 60-58, in overtime, to win the national championship. Playing the day after the semifinals, Loyola comes back from a 15-point deficit using only their five starters for the entire game.
- 1973 - 9 time All Star Jason Kidd who led the NBA in assists 3 times is born in San Francisco, California
- 1974 - NC State ends UCLA's streak of seven national championships with an 80-77 victory in double overtime of the tournament semi-finals. David Thompson led the Wolfpack with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate Tom Burleson scored 20 and pulled 14.
- 1979 - Because a protest was upheld, the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets replay the final 17:50 of a contest that began on November 8, 1978. In November Harvey Catchings (Tamika's father) and Ralph Simpson played for the 76ers and Eric Money and Al Skinner played for the Nets. But when the game was completed they had been traded and switched sides. It's the only time in the history of professional sports that any player played for both teams in the same game.
