Sky is Falling: Shorthanded Ducks Still Can Prosper in NCAA Tournament

March 15th, 2017 - 7:52

The season-ending injury incurred by Final Four-bound Oregon center Chris Boucher offered a classic example depicting lame-stream media and so-called experts getting all bent out of shape while possessing little more than a rudimentary NCAA playoff perspective. They should brush up on their amateurish hoops history and go beyond "feeling" to "knowing" what in the world they are discussing. How about a little texture describing numerous teams boasting the resourcefulness to cope without a key player and go on to capture a national championship? Consider the following titlists not fond of Chicken Little:

  • Stanford '42 overcame the title game absence of flu-ridden Jim Pollard, who scored 43.4% of Stanford's points in its first two tourney contests.

  • Kentucky '51 (sans Walt Hirsch) and San Francisco '56 (K.C. Jones) won NCAA titles although key players were ineligible for the tournament.

  • Forward Edgar Lacey, the leading rebounder for UCLA's 1965 NCAA titlist when he was an All-Tournament team selection, missed the 1966-67 championship campaign because of a fractured left kneecap. Lacey dropped off the Bruins' titlist the next year in mid-season following a dispute with all-time great coach John Wooden after a highly-publicized defeat against Houston before 52,693 fans at the Astrodome when UH All-American Elvin Hayes erupted for 29 first-half points.

  • All-American guard Lucius Allen missed the 1968-69 campaign because of academic problems but it didn't stop UCLA from winning its third of seven straight NCAA titles.

  • Louisville '80 excelled with a freshman center Rodney McCray, who replaced his brother, Scooter, in the middle after Scooter suffered a season-ending knee injury.

  • Kansas, riding the coattails of national player of the year Danny Manning, withstood the loss of regulars Marvin Branch (academic problems) and Archie Marshall (knee injury) to capture the 1988 NCAA title.

  • In 1990, UNLV was without frontcourter George Ackles (medical redshirt because of a wrist injury) when the Rebels' 103-73 rout of Duke enabled them to become the only team to score more than 100 points in a championship game and establish a record for widest margin of victory in a final.

  • Donte DiVincenzo, sixth man as redshirt freshman for top-ranked Villanova's defending NCAA titlist in 2016-17, missed majority of previous championship campaign because of a broken right foot.