This 1985 NCAA Men’s Basketball Southeast Regional semifinal game between the Villanova Wildcats verses the Maryland Terrapins featured two collegiate coaching legends with Villanova’s Rollie Massimino….who ended a 47 year college coaching career with 816 wins and 462 losses for a .638 career winning percentage….along with Maryland’s Left Driessell….who also coached college ball for 47 years….while amassing 786 wins and 394 losses for a ,666 career winning percentage. This game also showcased tow of the all time collegiate players in Villanova’s Ed Pinckney…..who would lead his Wildcats to a National Title by the time this NCAA tournament ended.
This was also the first year that one of the regional’s was named “Southeast”, replacing “Mideast.” This name was used until 1998….when the regional was renamed “South.” This was also the last tournament until 2010 to feature two private schools in the title game…..plus this tournament was also the last until 2012 to feature no teams in the sweet 16 from the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones.
Maryland would come into this Southeast Region Tournament as the 5th seed…..while Villanova would come in as an 8th seed….so, neither team was expected to get to the round of the Sweet 16. This semifinal game was a defensive defensive struggle….as both teams clammed down on the others offense….as Villanova would find themselves on top at the end of the game by a score of 46 – 43,
