DETROIT — A chart ran in today’s dead-tree edition about title game rematches that seems worth sharing (and maybe expanding a little) heading into tonight’s game.
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North Carolina, of course, pummeled Michigan State 98-63 back in early December. But rematches don’t always go the same way.
Here’s the rundown of previous NCAA final rematches with some tidbits on a few of these games:
1945
Regular season: DePaul 48, Oklahoma A&M 46
Title game: Oklahoma A&M 52, DePaul 44
* First of back-to-back titles for Henry Iba’s A&M (now Oklahoma State) program
1950
First meeting: CCNY 69, Bradley 61
Title game: CCNY 71, Bradley 68
* First meeting was a couple weeks earlier in NIT title game
1969
Regular season: UCLA 94, Purdue 82
Title game: UCLA 92, Purdue 72
* Impressive symmetry; Bruins started and ended season with defeats of John Wooden’s alma mater
1976
Regular season: Indiana 80, Michigan 74; Indiana 72, Michigan 67
Title game: Indiana 86, Michigan 68
* Hoosiers ended last perfect season with first intraconference title game
1981
Regular season: North Carolina 65, Indiana 56
Title game: Indiana 63, North Carolina 50
* Dean Smith’s first title waits another year
1985
Regular season: Georgetown 52, Villanova 50; Georgetown 57, Villanova 50
Title game: Villanova 66, Georgetown 64
* A near perfect-game knocks down the Hoyas at Rupp Arena
1988
Regular season: Oklahoma 73, Kansas 65; Oklahoma 95, Kansas 87
Title game: Kansas 83, Oklahoma 79
* Most comparable to 2009; game played 40 miles from Lawrence in Kansas City, Mo.
1992
Regular season: Duke 88, Michigan 85
Title game: Duke 71, Michigan 51
* Wire-to-wire Blue Devils received early-season scare from the Fab Five
1993
Regular season: Michigan 79, North Carolina 78
Title game: North Carolina 77, Michigan 71
* Both games played on a neutral floor
2004
Regular season: Georgia Tech 77, Connecticut 61
Title game: Connecticut 82, Georgia Tech 74
* Huskies only team to reverse double-digit loss in title game rematch
2007
Regular season: Florida 86, Ohio State 60
Title game: Florida 84, Ohio State 75
* Buckeyes’ Greg Oden didn’t play in the first game; his presence didn’t much matter in the second
