1997 National Championship

Arizona 84, Kentucky 79

March 31, 1997 - Indianapolis, Ind.
RCA Dome - 47,028

Team Picture | Box Score

In the span of just over six months and 34 games, the 1996-97 Arizona Wildcats journeyed from a relative unknown commodity to the talk of the entire nation. The ride was set in motion when Arizona headed into the NCAA Tournament after losing the the final two games of the season (albeit by a combined three points), finishing fifth in the Pac-10 Conference and earning the No. 4 seed in the Southeast Region. Three weeks and six games later, the UA put together one of the most impressive runs in the history of the NCAA men's basketball tournament -- and when the smoke had cleared -- shocked the country and won the program's first-ever NCAA national championship.

By beating the defending champion Kentucky Wildcats on March 31, 1997, in a dramatic 84-79 overtime NCAA title game, Arizona forged its name into the record book by becoming the first team to beat three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, downing the three winningest programs in the history of collegiate basketball - Kansas, North Carolina and UK -- on the way to its one shining moment.

The abuse the Wildcats inflicted on the tourney started in Memphis, headed south to Birmningham and wound up in the heartland of hoops hysteria -- Indianapolis. The team's never-say die attitude was shown in every NCAA tourney game. Down by 10 points in the second halves of the first and second round NCAA games at Memphis (South Alabama and College of Charleston), the Cats battled back to win both games and advance to the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Ala., where they would get the chance to knock off the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. After pulling off one of the bigger upsets in the history of the tournament by a margin of 85-82, the UA set ist sights on another suprise team, the 10th seeded Providence Friarts in the Southeast Final.

The game would have to be settled in overtime before Arizona won 96-92, therefore earning the right to advance to its second Final Four in the last four years. After trailing North Carolina in the semi-final by 11 points early in the first half (15-4), the Wildcats used three-point shooting from Mike Bibby and the usual big-game performance from Simon to march from behind to gain a 66-58 triumph, setting up the final game against Kentucky.

That title clash -- a game that had 16 ties and 18 lead changes -- would prove to be one of the more exciting games in championship history. After a back-and-forth 40-minutes of play, the game was tied at 74-74 going into the overtime period. Getting to that tie capped a wild final few moments of play that kept the 47,028 fans in attendance on their feet.

In the extra period, Arizona scored all 10 of its points from the free throw line and Kentucky could not score on its first four possessions, helping UA get out to a 79-74 advantage -- a lead it would never relinquish.

"I'm just so proud of these guys," Olson would say after the title game. "It's been a never say die group. They have had faith in themselves - they've had faith in their teammates. It's bee a closely knit family all year long. And as I told them in the lockeroom, I could not ever be prouder of a group of young people as I am of this group. They have just been a pleasure for me and the assistant coaches to work with. They were willing to pay the price and that is the reason why we won."

1997 National Championship Team

Front Row (l-r): Ed Orr (trainer), Deron Davenport (senior manager), Phil Johnson (assistant coach), Jessie Evans (assistant coach), Lute Olson (head coach), Jim Rosborough (assistant coach), Brad Jepson (coordinator of basketball operations), Walter Teike (equipment manager), Ryan Hansen (video coordinator)

Back Row (l-r): Josh Pastner, Mike Bibby, Quynn Tebbs, Jason Lee, Miles Simon, Justin Wessel, A.J. Bramlett, Donnell Harris, Bennett Davison, Eugene Edgerson, Michael Dickerson, Ortege Jenkins, Jason Terry, John Ash, Jason Stewart.

Arizona 85, Kentucky 79 - Box Score

Arizona
Name        MP   FGs   3Ps   FTs    R   F   A   TO  B   S   TP
Davison     29   3-9   0-0   3-3    7   2   0   2   0   0   9
Dickerson   24   1-8   1-3   2-2    4   0   0   2   0   0   5
Bramlett    27   1-3   0-0   1-1    6   5   1   1   2   1   3
Bibby       38   5-12  3-5   6-6    9   1   4   8   0   3   19
Simon       40   8-18  0-2   14-17  3   1   1   3   0   0   30
Terry       33   2-6   2-3   2-2    2   1   5   0   0   3   8
Edgerson    15   0-0   0-0   2-2    5   2   0   2   0   0   2
Harris      19   2-2   0-0   4-8    7   4   1   0   0   0   8
Totals      225  22-58 6-13  34-41  45  16  12  18  2   7   84

Kentucky
Name        MP   FGs   3Ps   FTs    R   F   A   TO  B   S   TP
Mercer      41   5-9   2-4   1-1    9   5   6   5   0   1   13
Padgett     30   5-16  3-12  4-4    1   5   0   3   0   2   17
Magloire    14   0-1   0-0   0-0    4   4   1   1   2   0   0
Turner      28   4-9   0-0   0-1    4   5   5   2   1   1   8
Epps        38   4-13  3-8   0-0    5   0   4   0   0   2   6
Edwards     6    0-0   0-0   0-0    0   0   0   1   0   0   0
Prickett    21   1-4   0-0   4-5    5   5   1   2   1   2   6
Mohammed    25   6-11  0-0   0-6    11  3   0   2   3   0   12
Mills       22   5-9   2-6   0-0    1   2   1   0   0   1   12
Masiello    0    0-0   0-0   0-0    0   0   0   0   0   0   0
Totals      225  30-72 10-30 9-17   40  29  18  16  7   9   79

FG Pct.: Arizona 37.9, Kentucky 41.7
FT Pct.: Arizona 82.9, Kentucky 52.9
3P Pct.: Arizona 46.2, Kentucky 33.3

Halftime: Arizona 33, Kentucky 32
Technicals: None
Attendance: 47,028
Officials: Tim Higgins, Ted Valentine, Tom O'Neill