SI's Pat Forde Includes Indiana's 1987 Title Game Win on Best-of-All-Time List
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Final Four was supposed to start on Saturday, but COVID-19 has canceled the event and one of the biggest days of the year has come and gone with no games being played.
So to keep us amused during the weekend, Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde put together his list of all-time favorite Final Four games, and Indiana's 1987 title game victory over Syracuse made the list.
Here's the link TO THE STORY. Forde listed his 12 favorite national semifinal games and his 12 best finals.
The 1987 national championship game capped a great season for Steve Alford and the Hoosiers, who won the Big Ten that year and was a No. 1 seed in the tournament. They beat Duke and LSU in the regionals and then won a classic game in the national semifinals, beating UNLV 97-93.
The championship game came down to the final seconds, with Keith Smart hitting a jump shot from the left corner in the final seconds of the game. Smart had 17 second-half points that night to lead Indiana's comeback.
Related stories to the Indiana run in 1987
- March 20, 1987: Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski meet in the postseason for the first time, and IU prevails. CLICK HERE
- March 28, 1987: Steve Alford scores 33 points to lead Indiana past once-beaten UNLV in the national semifinals in 1987. CLICK HERE
- March 30, 1940, 1981 and 1987: It's the greatest day on the calendar for Indiana basketball fans, because the Hoosiers won three national titles (1940, 1981, 1987) on 3/30. CLICK HERE
