Cinderella Smackdown: Comparing 1983 North Carolina State and 1985 Villanova

I recently wrote an article detailing the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack and their magical run to the NCAA Tournament championship. In the article, I called that team the most amazing story in tournament history. A commenter on the article mentioned the Villanova team two years later and wanted to know why I considered State's a greater victory.

And an article was born.

In 1983, North Carolina State needed to win its conference tournament just to reach the NCAA Tournament. In 1985 Villanova lost in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament yet still made the big dance. I think the fact that the Wildcats were able to reach the NCAA Tournament without even making the finals, much less win the Big East, gives an indication that the Wolfpack was a bigger Cinderella story.

In the NCAA Tournament in 1985, Villanova played a brutal schedule to reach the championship game. Seeded eighth, the selection committee did no favors for the Wildcats. Villanova had to play its first game of the tournament against Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio, on the Flyers' home court.

After squeaking by with a two-point win, Villanova had to play the top seeded Michigan Wolverines. After earning a four-point victory to advance to the Sweet 16, the Wildcats then dispatched Len Bias and the fifth-seeded Maryland Terrapins. That earned them a matchup against second-seeded North Carolina, with future NBA players Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith, Dave Popson and Joe Wolf. Villanova trounced the Tar Heels by 12 points to reach the Final Four.

In the Final Four, Villanova drew Memphis State, which had the best team Dana Kirk could buy (literally - Memphis had to return nearly $1 million from proceeds from the 1985 and 1986 tournaments due to illegal payments to its players). That Tigers team was loaded, and included Vincent Askew, William Bedford, Baskerville Holmes, Keith Lee and Andre Turner. The Wildcats dispatched of that all-star lineup by six points.

In the championship game, Villanova got to play a team it had played twice previously. Both games in the regular season were won by Georgetown, but the Wildcats played the Hoyas close both times. There's an old saying that it's tough to beat the same team in college hoops three straight times, and that certainly played a factor in the final contest.

In 1985, Villanova played in a loaded Big East conference which placed three teams in the Final Four. The Wildcats played a brutal schedule in the tournament, knocking off two number-one seeds, two number-two seeds, a five seed and a ninth seed on its home floor. It went up against college stars and future NBA standouts and handled them all. Villanova wasn't a Cinderella as much as it was a really good basketball team.

There is one other thing to consider about the 1985 Wildcats team. This was a tournament-tested squad with key senior leadership that had been through the NCAA grind before. Dwayne McClain, Gary McLain and Eddie Pinckney had each been to the Final Eight twice before while Harold Pressley had been there one time previously. 1985 was the sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Wildcats and success in March was nothing new for this group.

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack had an easier road to the championship game, yet still needed some last-minute miracles to advance. There's no way they should have won the opening game against Pepperdine, and they advanced only due to some horrific free-throw shooting by the Waves.

State needed a last-second bucket to beat third-seeded UNLV and advance to the Sweet 16. Fate smiled on the Wolfpack, which did not have to face the second-seeded UCLA Bruins, who lost to a one-man team in Utah. Then State had to play a number-one seed, but just like Villanova in the finals, it drew Virginia and a team it had played three times previously.

In the Final Four, State drew fourth-seeded Georgia before finally facing the mighty Houston Cougars, who had won 26 straight games. In the 1985 championship, odds makers thought Georgetown would win handily, making the Hoyas about a 10-point favorite. In 1983, no one was willing to lay odds on State winning. Or maybe they were but I couldn't find anything online about it...

The Wolfpack got a favorable draw to the championship game yet still needed several miracles to reach the title game. Then they played a team with Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olujawon, to say nothing of Alvin Franklin and Benny Anders and Larry Michaux. Villanova got to play a team it played twice previously that year while State had to go up against Phi Slamma Jamma.

Villanova was a really good team that won because it played a near-perfect game in the championship. It was an impressive performance. North Carolina State was a better team than many want to give it credit for, but it won the 1983 championship due to a combination of great fortune (its draw to the finals), incredible luck (other team's dismal free throw shooting in the clutch), fantastic finishes and outstanding coaching.

And that's why I think they are the biggest Cinderella ever and the most amazing story in NCAA Tournament history.

Sources:

1985 Big East Tournament

Villanova NCAA Tournament History

1985 NCAA Tournament

1985 Championship Box Score

New York Times: Memphis State Decision

1983 NCAA Tournament