In the 1980s, the Memphis State Tigers made seven NCAA tournaments….while winning three Metro Conference titles….and amassing a record of 230-87 (.726)….as star player C Keith Lee began playing for the Tigers in 1982….which was followed by Memphis State being ranked number one in both major national polls for the first time the same year. However, that same night they were knocked off by Virginia Tech 69-56 in Blacksburg in the NCAA tournament. In the 1983 NCAA Tournament, the Tigers beat Georgetown….who were led by Patrick Ewing….whom Lee actually dominated in the paint. They lost their next game to top-seed University of Houston led by Akeem Olajuwon.
After finishing 24-3 in the regular season, the 1984–1985 season proved to be another memorable one in Tiger history…. as Lee eventually led the team to another NCAA Tournament….when Memphis State beat Penn, UAB, Boston College and Oklahoma to reach the school’s 2nd Final Four. They were defeated by eventual champion Villanova and finished the season 31-4….when all but one of the 12 players on this team were from Memphis or Shelby County. Lee was named a consensus All-American for the third time in his four-year career….then in 1986, Kirk was forced out after becoming the subject of a criminal investigation….and was also found to have committed many NCAA violations as well. The Tigers were forced to sit out the 1987 NCAA Tournament….and were stripped of all of their NCAA tournament appearances from 1982 to 1986….including the 1985 Final Four run.
The Boston College Eagles are a Division I college basketball program that has competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since 2005….after having previously played in the Big East. The Eagles have appeared in 18 NCAA Tournaments in their history….as home games have been played at the Conte Forum since 1988…..as te Eagles are currently coached by Jim Christian.
In the 1984-85 season, the B C Eagles were coached by Gary Williams (later of Maryland fame)….who ended his 42 year career of college coaching with 668 wins to 380 losses….which got him inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Basketball Hall of Fame….as he led this 1984-84 Boston College team to the Sweet Sixteen semifinals of the Midwest Region in the NCAA Tournament against Dana Kirk’s Memphis State Tigers….who one a wonderfully contested game by the score of 59 – 57….as Memphis State’s PG Andre Turner hits a last second “buzzer beater” in a game that is more than well worth the watch.
