With March Madness finally here (albeit geographically different this year because of the pandemic) I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for take a trip down memory lane to chronicle each member school’s most memorable, and most forgettable NCAA Tournament moments. For some schools there will be some debate as too which victory was sweeter, or which defeat was more heartbreaking. For other schools there is simply no argument. Some of the Big East opponents in these games overlap, while others are now conference foes. So with that said take a look at the March Madness and Sadness Big East Style. Butler Madness 2010 Regional Semifinals: Butler 63 - Syracuse 59. It’s impossible not to think of Butler basketball without thinking of the incredible 2010 and 2011 NCAA championship game appearances for the Bulldogs. Not surprisingly both moments are from that first run. Many people forget that Butler came into the NCAA Tournament in 2010 as a 5 seed. So victories over 12 seed UTEP and 13 seed Murray State should not have been a surprise. But in the Sweet Sixteen they were matched with the the 1 seeded Syracuse Orange who came in with a 30-4 record. This is where Butler’s magic ride was supposed to end but instead the Bulldogs pulled out a gutsy 4 point win and the rest is history. Some might argue that the victory over Michigan State in the Final Four was more memorable but Butler had proven themselves by that point, so I am sticking with my guns on this one. Sadness 2010 NCAA National Championship: Duke 61 - Butler 59. Playing less than seven miles from their home court (Hinkle Fieldhouse), the Bulldogs were a classic underdog to perennial power and 1 seeded Duke. The Blue Devils came into the championship game sporting a 34-5 record after blowing away the #2 seed West Virginia in the national semifinal. Butler was not phased having already taken down a #1seed in the Sweet Sixteen, and after the Blue Devils led by 1 at halftime, the second half would turn into an instant classic. Down by 2 with 3.6 seconds left Butler’s dream season ended with a Gordon Haywood miracle three point shot that missed, but not before bouncing off the backboard and rim. Butler proved that they weren’t a one hit wonder by making another run to the NCAA title game the next year. However future Big East rival the UConn Huskies were on a miracle run of their own having finished the season on an 11 game winning streak culminating in a 53-41 victory over Butler in the 2011 championship game. UConn Madness 1999 NCAA National Championship: UConn 77 - Duke 74. It was tough for me to leave off the great Scott Burrell to Tate George pass and shot to beat Clemson with 1 second left in the 1990 Sweet Sixteen, but the 1999 season for UConn was the true benchmark for their future success. It was a trio of firsts for the UConn Huskies in 1999. They had their first ever Final Four appearance, played in their first ever title game, and brought home their first ever NCAA National Championship. Duke was steamrolling the opposition that year. They came into the championship game as the number one ranked team in the country with a 37-1 record, and a ridiculous 16-0 mark in the ACC. The Huskies however were starting a dynasty of their own. They came into the game vs Duke with a 33-2 record and had already beaten seven teams in the Top 25 during the regular season. Despite all of that Duke was a 9.5 favorite but UConn wasn’t going to be denied. The Huskies took a three point lead after two Khalid El-Amin free throws with 5 seconds left. Duke’s chances of sending the game into overtime were dashed when Trajan Langdon fell (Duke fans will stay tripped) before he could get off a shot resulting in a 77-74 victory for the Huskies. It was the first of four NCAA championships for UConn. Sadness 1990 NCAA Regional Semifinals: Duke 79 - UConn 78. The buzzer beater giveth and taketh away. This was not an easy call but the 1990 loss to Duke just barely edges out the 2006 Elite Eight overtime loss to George Mason. The 1990 UConn Huskies was the team that most experts didn’t see coming. Jim Calhoun had taken over as head coach in 1987 and was slowly building the team into a contender. In 1988 the program won the NIT Championship and two years later they were cutting down the nets again at Madison Square Garden as Big East Champions. This was the first school to win the conference tournament not named St. John’s, Syracuse or Georgetown. The Huskies were rewarded as the #1 seed in the East but needed the aforementioned “Burrell to George” miracle to advance. With a trip to the Final Four on the line the Huskies faced the Duke Blue Devils (notice a trend here) who were trying to erase their own Final Four “March Sadness” of years past. With 2.6 seconds remaining and the Huskies up one Tate George almost provided another miracle finish as he nearly picked off a Duke pass which was instead deflected out of bounds. That set up the first of many memorable NCAA moments for Duke forward Christian Laettner, who would take a running jumper with no time left to stun the Huskies at the buzzer 79-78. Creighton Madness 2002 NCAA Tournament First Round: Creighton 83 - Florida 82. Prior to the 2002 season Creighton had a total of twelve NCAA Tournament appearances. However it wasn’t until Dana Altman became their head coach in 1995 that the Blue Jays became regular participants. In 1999 Creighton started a run of five straight trips to the NCAA Tournament under Altman. Despite talented teams Creighton fell in the first round in 2000 and 2001 before their first round matchup with SEC power Florida in 2002. The Gators were just two years removed from playing in the National Championship game and were led by four future NBA players including future NBA Champions Udonis Haslem and David Lee. But Creighton had a future NBA player of their own in Kyle Korver, and the game turned into a classic 5 vs 12 upset special. It wasn’t Korver however who was the story for Creighton that day, it was Terrell Taylor who came off the bench and proceeded to shoot 0-6 in the first half. But in the second half he connected on 8 of 10 three point shots to lead the Jays with 28 points which also matched his career high. The game went into double overtime, where the Blue Jays had to play without Korver who had fouled out with 16 points, and in the 2nd OT Taylor drilled a three point shot with less than a second left to stun the Gators 83-82. Sadness 2014 NCAA Tournament Second Round: Baylor 85 - Creighton 55. 2014 saw the Creighton Blue Jays and their three time All-American and consensus National Player of the Year Doug McDermott in a new conference as they joined the Big East after the league reconfigured as a result of departures from football schools. The Blue Jays also had another long range bomber in Ethan Wragge and were coached by Doug’s father, Greg McDermott. Creighton’s inaugural year in the Big East was a memorable one. They finished the season with 27 wins, went 16-0 at home and finished 14-4 in conference play. They were a #3 seed in the West Region and advanced to Second Round after beating Louisiana-Lafayette by ten. Any hopes of a run to the Final Four were crushed by Baylor who dominated the Blue Jays from start to finish. McDermott was held to just 3 points in the first half and finished with 15, well below his season average of 27. Baylor led by 20 at halftime and Creighton never mounted a comeback finishing the season 27-8. DePaul Madness 1979 NCAA Tournament Regional Final: DePaul 95 - UCLA 91. Although John Wooden and his ten NCAA titles was no longer coaching the UCLA Bruins, they were still considered one of the favorites to win it all in 1979. They entered the NCAA Tournament as the #1 seed in the West Region with a 23-4 record. One of those 23 wins was a 108-85 destruction of DePaul very early in the season. The two teams would meet again with a trip to the Final Four on the line. It was apparent early on that this game would be different. DePaul jumped all over the Bruins in the first half and went into the locker room at halftime with a 17 point lead. In the second half DePaul had just enough left to withstand UCLA’s All American David Greenwood, who all but single handedly rallied the Bruins, scoring a career high 37 points in the game. UCLA did manage to cut the Blue Demons lead to just 2 but DePaul held on for 95-91 win sending them to their first Final Four since 1943. Sadness 1979 NCAA Final Four: Indiana State 76 - DePaul 74. The 1979 NCAA Tournament is best remembered for the classic Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson title game, but the best game in the Final Four that year was the National Semifinal game between Bird’s undefeated Sycamores and the DePaul Blue Demons.