Here are 10 great NCAA Tournament men’s basketball games played in Providence

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PROVIDENCE — Welcome back, old friend.

The men’s basketball version of the NCAA Tournament has been missed around here. The marquee event in college sports includes a rich history in our capital city.

March Madness has come through downtown on 10 previous occasions, starting with a 1976 trip to the Providence Civic Center. The building was less than four years old and opened at the outset of what wound up being a Final Four season for Providence College in 1972-73.

COVID-19 forced a cancellation of the last planned visit to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in 2021. Now the Amica Mutual Pavilion will open its doors for games on Thursday and Saturday, six contests that will come in the first and second rounds of the 68-team field.

What sort of legacy has been created here? We’ve enjoyed the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 in past versions of the tournament. Georgetown has been a frequent visitor, a power in the Big East under late Friars alum John Thompson.

Let’s take a look at 10 games — one from each year the tournament has rolled through downtown — that still leave an impression into this year’s Selection Sunday.

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Princeton’s Bob Slaughter trying in vain to stop a pass by Ed Jordan of Rutgers in the 1976 tournament game at the Providence Civic Center.

1976 — Rutgers 54, Princeton 53

The Scarlet Knights started their only Final Four run by outlasting a New Jersey rival. The Tigers couldn’t convert at the foul line with four seconds left, squandering a last chance to take the lead.

Eddie Jordan netted 16 points for Rutgers, which forced 16 turnovers to offset 56.1% shooting from Princeton. The Scarlet Knights added wins over Connecticut and Virginia Military Institute before losing to eventual national runner-up Michigan.

Apologies to the Huskies, who upended Massachusetts and Providence in the old ECAC…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/10-great-ncaa-tournament-mens-092547390.html

Author : The Providence Journal

Publish date : 2025-03-13 09:25:00

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