The 1988 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Game was the final round of the 1988 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament….which determined the national champion for the 1987-88 NCAA Division I men’s basketball season….as this National Title Game was played on April 4, 1988 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri…..between the 1988 Southeast Regional Champions, #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners….who were led by legendary college coach Billy Tubbs….who retired from coaching in 2006 after a 40 year career….and the 1988 Midwest Regional Champions #6 ranked Kansas Jayhawks…. who were led by legendary coach Larry Brown and assistant coach R. C. Buford….who are still in active in basketball today in 2017….with Brown as head coach at SMU and Buford as long-time GM of the San Antonio Spurs after constructing a franchise that has won five NBA titles under his tutiledge.
The 1987–88 Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team won the 1987–1988 NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship….which was the second in the school’s history….as Coach Brown was in his fifth season as head coach. Their star player, Danny Manning, earned the team the nickname “Danny and the Miracles“….along with the Jayhawks’ improbable tournament run after an 11-loss season….the most ever by a national champion….as this team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. The Jayhawks were extremely fortunate In the last three games of the NCAA tournament….to avenge their three home losses to Kansas State, Duke, and Oklahoma from during the regular season.
The 1987–88 Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma….and were a member of the former Big Eight Conference at that time….who posted a 35–4 overall record and a 12–2 conference record to earn the Conference title under head coach Billy Tubbs….which was the 3rd Big Eight Conference Regular Season Championship for Tubbs….and his second Big Eight Conference Tournament Championship.
The team was led by three future NBA Draft first round selections F Harvey Grant, C Stacey King and G Mookie Blaylock….as Grant and King earned All-American recognition that season. The team won its first 14 games before losing back to back contests to unranked LSU and Kansas State…..then won 12 consecutive games before falling to unranked Missouri in overtime in its final regular season game. The team then ran off 9 more wins taking the Sooners to the championship game of the 1988 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament….where they lost to Kansas…..as seen in this video herewith. The team defeated all five ranked opponents it faced during the season….in order, # 6 Pitt, # 12 Iowa State twice…a rematch against # 14 Kansas State and #2 Arizona in the final four….as G Mookie Blaylock set the current NCAA college basketball single-season steals of 150….and the single-game steals record of 13…..while C Stacey King set the current Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball single-season blocked shots record of 103….and G Ricky Grace set the single-season assists record of 253… for this Sooners team holds numerous school records including 35 wins and 102.5 points per game. This 1988 NCAA Finals game was a game for the ages…..as both teams put up 50 points by halftime….and then settled in to some outstanding defense….as the Jayhawks won the National Title by a score of 83 – 79….which makes this video MUST SEE TV for any and all NCAA mens basketball junkies.
