1987

Did someone say “parity”? For the third time in six years, a decided underdog won the NCAA championship.

Unranked Kansas, entering the tournament with 11 losses, beat Big Eight rival and third-ranked Oklahoma, 83–79. Danny Manning scored 31 points to lead the Jayhawks to their first national title since 1952.

		Before NCAAs	Head Coach	Final Record
1	Temple	29–1	John Chaney	32–2
2	Arizona	31–2	Lute Olson	35–3
3	Purdue	27–3	Gene Keady	29–4
4	Oklahoma	30–3	Billy Tubbs	35–4
5	Duke	24–6	Mike Krzyzewski	28–7
6	Kentucky	25–5	Eddie Sutton	27–6
7	North Carolina	24–6	Dean Smith	27–7
8	Pittsburgh	23–6	Paul Evans	24–7
9	Syracuse	25–8	Jim Boeheim	26–9
10	Michigan	24–7	Bill Frieder	26–8
11	Bradley	26–4	Stan Albeck	26–5
12	UNLV	27–5	Jerry Tarkanian	28–6
13	Wyoming	26–5	Benny Dees	26–6
14	North Carolina St.	24–7	Jim Valvano	24–8
15	Loyola, CA	27–3	Paul Westhead	28–4
16	Illinois	22–9	Lou Henson	23–10
17	Iowa	22–9	Tom Davis	24–10
18	Xavier, OH	26–3	Pete Gillen	26–4
19	BYU	25–5	Ladell Andersen	26–6
20	Kansas St.	22–8	Lon Kruger	25–9

1. Temple
2. Arizona
3. Purdue
4. Oklahoma
5. Duke
6. Kentucky
7. North Carolina
8. Pittsburgh
9. Syracuse
10. Michigan

1. Temple
2. Arizona
3. Purdue
4. Oklahoma
5. Duke
6. Kentucky
7. Pittsburgh
8. North Carolina
9. Syracuse
10. Michigan

First Round
#1 Purdue 94, #16 Fairleigh Dickinson 79
#9 Memphis State 75, #8 Baylor 60
#5 DePaul 83, #12 Wichita State 62
#4 Kansas State 66, #13 La Salle 53
#6 Kansas 85, #11 Xavier 72
#14 Murray State 78, #3 North Carolina State 75
#7 Vanderbilt 80, #10 Utah State 77
#2 Pittsburgh 108, #15 Eastern Michigan 90
#1 Temple 87, #16 Lehigh 73
#8 Georgetown 66, #9 Louisiana State 63
#5 Georgia Tech 90, #12 Iowa State 78
#13 Richmond 72, #4 Indiana 69
#11 Rhode Island 87, #6 Missouri 80
#3 Syracuse 69, #14 North Carolina A&T 55
#7 Southern Methodist 83, #10 Notre Dame 75
#2 Duke 85, #15 Boston University 69
#1 Arizona 90, #16 Cornell 50
#8 Seton Hall 80, #9 Texas-El Paso 64
#5 Iowa 102, #12 Florida State 98
#4 UNLV 54, #13 Southwest Missouri State 50
#6 Florida 62, #11 St. John's 59
#3 Michigan 63, #14 Boise State 58
#10 Loyola Marymount 119, #7 Wyoming 115
#2 North Carolina 83, #15 North Texas 65
#1 Oklahoma 94, #16 Tennessee-Chattanooga 66
#8 Auburn 90, #9 Bradley 86
#5 Louisville 70, #12 Oregon State 61
#4 Brigham Young 98, #13 UNC Charlotte 92 (OT)
#6 Villanova 82, #11 Arkansas 74
#3 Illinois 81, #14 Texas-San Antonio 72
#7 Maryland 92, #10 UC Santa Barbara 82
#2 Kentucky 99, #15 Southern (La.) 84
Second Round
Purdue 100, Memphis State 73
Kansas State 66, DePaul 58
Kansas 61, Murray State 58
Vanderbilt 80, Pittsburgh 74 (OT)
Temple 74, Georgetown 53
Richmond 59, Georgia Tech 55
Rhode Island 97, Syracuse 94
Duke 94, Southern Methodist 79
Arizona 84, Seton Hall 55
Iowa 104, UNLV 86
Michigan 108, Florida 85
North Carolina 123, Loyola Marymount 97
Oklahoma 107, Auburn 87
Louisville 97, Brigham Young 76
Villanova 66, Illinois 63
Kentucky 90, Maryland 81
Regional Semifinals
Kansas State 73, Purdue 70
Kansas 77, Vanderbilt 64
Temple 69, Richmond 47
Duke 73, Rhode Island 72
Arizona 99, Iowa 79
North Carolina 78, Michigan 69
Oklahoma 108, Louisville 98
Villanova 80, Kentucky 74
Regional Finals
Midwest: Kansas 71, Kansas State 58
East: Duke 63, Temple 53
West: Arizona 70, North Carolina 52
Southeast: Oklahoma 78, Villanova 59
National Semifinals
Kansas 66, Duke 59
Oklahoma 86, Arizona 78
Championship Game
Kansas 83, Oklahoma 79

Kansas leaders: Danny Manning, Sr., F-C; Milt Newton, Jr., G; Kevin Pritchard, So., G; Chris Piper, Sr., F; Lincoln Minor, Jr., G; Jeff Gueldner, So., G; Scooter Barry, Jr., G

Leaders
Team
Offense: Loyola (Marymount), 110.3
Defense: Georgia Southern, 55.6

Individual Scoring

• Loyola (Marymount) became the first team to have four players average 17 or more points.

• Loyola (Chicago) freshman Kenny Miller because the first of his class to ever lead the nation in rebounding.

• Top individual scoring performance belonged to Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins, who scored 63 vs. Detroit.

988 Jan 05 "Pistol Pete" Mavarich NBAer (Atlanta), dies of a heart attack at 40.

They always were a strange pair, this little coach from Kansas and his tall superstar. The coach, so restless and uptight, never seemed satisfied no matter how much success he had. And his great big man never seemed eager to become the dominant player he could be, seeking instead to blend within the concepts of team play.

But on a warm, emotional April night in the heartland of America, the two men finally cast off their demons and found contentment by winning the 50th NCAA basketball championship in a most stunning and wonderful manner.

Larry Brown, the coach, has spent his adult life searching for what he calls "the perfect job." But what position could be better than his current one, now that he has won his first title with a team so depleted by injuries and ineligibilities that it hardly appeared good enough to last through the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament, much less get to the final?

"A guy I walk with told me I've got to stop and smell the roses," Brown said on the eve of the Jayhawks' 83-79 upset of Oklahoma in the championship. "I never knew what he meant until now.

"This has been the most enjoyable experience of my life because I've allowed it to be."

And what of his reluctant star, Danny Manning, who thought about jumping to the pros after his junior season? Blessed with extraordinary ability, Manning sometimes would hang back in games and play in the shadows of teammates.

Manning's inability to dominate had cost him some player of the year awards, and, finally, Brown had to take him aside and ask him to begin carrying the team.

The new Manning did just that, dragging what once had been a 12-8 squad into this title game, where his rare skills were never more evident: 31 points, 18 rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots.

When it was over, the two embraced and responded to the cheers of their fans, who had made the joyous trip from Lawrence, Kan., some 40 miles down the road from Kansas City.

"It's a phenomenal feeling. I've had some great moments, but nothing tops this," Brown said. "Our kids believed they could beat them. We knew Oklahoma had a great team but because we had played them before, we didn't fear them."

Kansas probably had no business beating Oklahoma, just as Villanova had no business beating Georgetown in 1985 and North Carolina State had no business beating Houston in 1983.

The Sooners had more talent at more positions and already had knocked off Kansas twice this season. But Brown, the crafty coach who has been in the playoffs every year of his pro and college career, and Manning, the intelligent player who refused to lose his last college game, combined to defy the odds as the Jayhawks became the first champion with as many as 11 loses.

Oklahoma, with its run-and-gun offense, seemed capable of overpowering Kansas, especially if the game was played at high speed. Shockingly, the Jayhawks chose to sprint with the Sooners in the first half and the teams wound up producing the highest-scoring first 20 minutes in the game's history - it was 50-50 at the half.

But it was hard for Brown's players to slow down, what with all the fast breaks and wide-open shots they were getting against the Oklahoma press.

That Kansas survived even that far was a testimony to its accurate shooting (71 percent in the opening half) and tenacious rebounding. But surely the pace would wear down the Jayhawks, leaving Oklahoma to coast to a national title.

But just as had been happening all during the NCAA Tournament, it was wrong to misjudge Kansas. This was a team with one great star and a bunch of role players, yet somehow it had held tournament opponents to 39 percent shooting while outrebounding them decisively.

And, with 20 minutes left in this impossible quest, the Jayhawks weren't about to stop playing smartly.

"All I wanted was to stay close until the final five minutes," Brown said. "Oklahoma hadn't had to deal with that in a long time. I thought we would have a chance.

"I was shocked we were able to play that fast in the first half. I was scared to death it was that fast."

Years from now, Oklahoma still probably never will believe what happened in the second half. The Sooners came into the game hoping to be the highest-scoring team to ever win the national title.

In the final 20 minutes, the Sooners scored only 29 points, the lowest second-half total of a championship game in the last six years. They needed to shoot well, but instead made only 35 percent of their field-goal attempts. And they needed to rebound to run but instead were beaten on the boards by a smaller Kansas team.

The game's tempo slowed and suddenly, the Sooners found themselves trying to beat Kansas in a half-court game, the Jayhawks' strength.

"Kansas survived Oklahoma basketball in the first half, but Oklahoma wasn't able to survive Kansas basketball in the second half and that is a real tribute to Larry," said former NBA great Rick Barry, whose son, Scooter, played for Kansas.

Oklahoma forced 15 turnovers in the opening half and made a record-tying seven 3-point shots, including six by forward Dave Sieger. And the Sooners' two big men, Harvey Grant and Stacey King, combined for 23 points.

But in the second half, Kansas committed only eight turnovers and its defense limited Sieger to just one more 3-pointer. The Twin Towers were held to just eight more points as the Jayhawks' defense cut off inside passes. The Sooners were reduced to relying on guards Ricky Grace and Mookie Blaylock, and they couldn't keep up with Manning and his helpers.

Oklahoma made attempts to take over, leading 65-60, midway through the half. But Kansas scratched back and, with the game tied at 71, broke off six consecutive points for a 77-71 advantage that it never completely surrendered.

The key was the Jayhawks' shooting: They made eight of their last 11 shots from the field compared to 5-of-17 for Oklahoma.

Oklahoma lost reluctantly. The Sooners closed to within 78-77 with 41 seconds left but took 25 seconds to foul, sending Barry to the line. He made the first free throw but missed the second, only to have Sieger push Manning on the rebound. Manning put in both ends of his one-and-one, then converted two more foul shots around a Grace layup to insure the triumph.

To offset the Sooners' impressive stamina, Brown used nine players. Every one of his substitutes helped, including guard Clint Normore, a recruit from the Kansas football team who scored seven points on 3-of-3 shooting.

And what of three of the four starters around Manning? Milt Newton scored 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Chris Piper had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and Kevin Pritchard contributed 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting.

Still, this became Manning's triumph. Never an exceptional rebounder, he had 11 in the second half, when Oklahoma was limited to just four offensive rebounds. He did everything else a leader had to do, from making the big-baskets to calming his teammates during tense moments.

"Considering the magnitude of the game, this was probably Danny's best game," Brown said.

"It's a great feeling and something we deserved." he said. "A lot of people said that we were lucky, but what's luck? Luck presents an opportunity. We capitalized on all of them."

At the end of January, Manning had to wonder what opportunities were left at Kansas. The Jayhawks had been ranked second in The Sporting News' preseason poll but lost center Marvin Branch to academics and forward Archie Marshall to a knee injury, part of an exodus that eventually saw Kansas depleted by six players.

At one point, the Jayhawks were 1-4 in the Big Eight and Brown found himself using 12 different starting lineups. It wasn't until mid-February that he settled upon the starting five that began the championship game.

Brown prodded and pushed his players, yelling and cajoling and demanding that they conform to specific roles in order to win.

"It may sound corny, but we just got together and decided to pick each other up," Manning said. "We really didn't have any other choice. We made each other better by trying harder."

But Brown readily admits he never envisioned a spot in the Final Four for his team.

"Not in my wildest dreams," said Brown, who began the tournament by packing extra clothes so he could go recruiting as soon as his team lost.

Brown had been on this kind of wild, unexpected ride before. In 1980, he had taken an unheralded UCLA team to the final game before losing to Louisville. In 1986, a much stronger Kansas team had lost in the semifinals to Duke when Manning, plagued by foul trouble, scored just four points.

"The last 1 1/2 years, before this February, were miserable for me," Brown said. "It was hell for me, with my family situation (he and his wife are getting divorced) and with Archie going down. Then after we beat Kansas State at their place (February 18), it all changed.

But even as he celebrated this wondrous victory, Brown was surrounded by speculation that he might leave Kansas to return to UCLA. He pleaded for a chance "to be respected more for the job I've done and my coaching ability than for where I've been and where I am going."

But even with the NCAA championship, Brown couldn't relax. During the postgame net-cutting ceremony, he was barking out directions to his players.

Finally, Manning turned to him and said quietly, "Lighten up, coach, it's over."

Rank	Team	W-L	Post-Season Result
1.	Temple	32-2	Lost NCAA regionals
2.	Arizona	35-3	Lost NCAA semifinals
3	Purdue	29-4	Lost NCAA regionals
4.	Oklahoma	35-4	NCAA 2nd Place
5.	Duke	28-7	Lost NCAA semifinals
6.	Kentucky	27-6	Lost NCAA regionals
7.	North Carolina	27-7	Lost NCAA regionals
8.	Pittsburgh	24-7	Lost NCAA regionals
9.	Syracuse	26-9	Lost NCAA regionals
10.	Michigan	26-8	Lost NCAA regionals

1. Hersey Hawkins	Bradley	36.3
2. Daren Queenan	Lehigh	28.5
3. Anthony Mason	Tennessee St.	28.0
4. Gerald Hayward	Loyola (Chi.)	26.1
5. Jeff Martin	Murray State	26.0
6. Marty Simmons	Evansville	25.9

1. Kenny Miller	Loyola (Chi.)	13.6
2. Rodney Mack	S.C. State	13.3
3. Jerome Lane	Pittsburgh	12.2

First Round	Player	College
1. LA Clippers	Danny Manning	Kansas
2. Indiana	Rik Smits	Marist
3. Philadelphia (1)	Charles Smith	Pittsburgh
4. New Jersey	Chris Morris	Auburn
5. Golden State	Mitch Richmond	Kansas State
6. LA Clippers (from Sac.) (1)	Hersey Hawkins	Bradley
7. Phoenix	Tim Perry	Temple
8. Charlotte	Rex Chapman	Kentucky
9. Miami	Rony Seikaly	Syracuse
10. San Antonio	Willie Anderson	Georgia
11. Chicago (from New York)	Will Perdue	Vanderbilt
12. Washington	Harvey Grant	Oklahoma
13. Milwaukee	Jeff Grayer	Iowa State
14. Phoenix (from Cleveland)	Dan Majerle	Central Michigan
15. Seattle (2)	Gary Grant	Michigan
16. Houston	Derrick Chievous	Missouri
17. Utah	Eric Leckner	Wyoming
18. Sacramento (from Atlanta)	Rick Berry	San Jose State
19. New York (from Chicago)	Rod Strickland	DePaul
20. Miami (from Dallas)	Kevin Edwards	DePaul
21. Portland	Mark Bryant	Seton Hall
22. Cleveland (from Detroit)	Randolph Keys	Southern Mississippi
23. Denver	Jerome Lane	Pittsburgh
24. Boston	Brian Shaw	UC Santa Barbara
25. LA Lakers	David Rivers	Notre Dame

Name	Cl.	Pos	Team
Sean Elliott	Jr.	F	Arizona
Danny Manning	Sr.	F	Kansas
Dave Sieger	Sr.	F	Oklahoma
Stacey King	Jr.	C	Oklahoma
Milt Newton	Jr.	G-F	Kansas