1952: They tried a new format. Kansas won the men’s basketball national championship 80–63 over St. John’s. It was the first national tournament to feature a true Final Four format.
1973: Lucky seven. The UCLA men’s basketball team took care of Memphis 81–76 to win their seventh straight national championship. For the second year in a row, the Bruins’ Bill Walton was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
1979: The day the rivalry began. Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team topped Larry Bird’s Indiana State squad 75–64 to win the national championship, and begin their rivalry. It was also at the time the highest-rated televised game in the history of men’s college basketball.
Happy birthday today to . . . Cincinnati Royals Hall of Fame center Wayne Embry, who’s 89. Los Angeles Raiders Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen is 66. Utah Jazz Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton is 64. Former Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is 42, and Washington Redskins linebacker Von Miller is 37.