Today in Sports – UConn beats Duke 77 – 74 to win first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship
March 29
1929 — The Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup with a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers to complete a two-game sweep.
1940 — Joe Louis knocks out Johnny Paychek in the second round at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1941 — Wisconsin, led by Gene Englund’s 13 points, wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 39-34 victory over Washington State.
1952 — George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers scores an NBA playoff record 47 points in an 88-78 loss in Game 1 of the Western Division Finals against Rochester.
1960 — Boston’s Bill Russell pulls down an NBA Finals record 40 rebounds, as the Celtics lose to St. Louis 113-103 to even the series at 1-1. Bob Petit has 35 points and 22 rebounds for the Hawks.
1962 — Elgin Baylor (45) and Jerry West (41) of the Los Angeles Lakers become the first teammates to both score 40 or more points in an NBA Playoff game. It isn’t enough as the Lakers lose to Detroit, 118-117, in Game 4 of the Western Division finals.
1966 — Muhammad Ali defeats George Chuvalo in 15 rounds for the heavyweight boxing title.
1976 — Indiana beats Michigan, 86-68. First time 2 teams from the same conference (Big Ten) play in title game.
1982 — Michael Jordan’s jump shot with 16 seconds remaining gives North Carolina a 63-62 victory over Georgetown for the NCAA men’s basketball championship.
1984 — The NFL Colts leave the city of Baltimore in the early hours of the morning, headed for Indianapolis.
1985 — Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 126th assist.
1990 — Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon is the third player in NBA history to achieve a quadruple double during a 120-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. He scores 18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 blocked shots and 10 assists.
1992 — Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi becomes the first American woman to win consecutive world figure skating championships since Peggy Fleming in 1968.
1994 — Jimmy Johnson quits as Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
1996 — The Vancouver Grizzlies break the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season with their 21st in a 105-91 loss to the Utah Jazz. The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks lost 20 straight.
1996 — Cleveland Browns choose new name for their relocated team – Baltimore Ravens.
1999 — UConn beats Duke 77 – 74 in the Men’s NCAA National Title game. Huskies’ first National Championship.
2003 — Michelle Kwan becomes the third American to win five World Figure Skating Championships. Kwan, a seven-time U.S. champion, ties Dick Button and Carol Heiss for most world crowns by an American.
2008 — Curlin rolls to a record-setting 7 3/4-length victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest race. Curlin is the fourth horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic and then take the World Cup the following year.
2015 — Seventh-seeded Michigan State caps an improbable Final Four run with 76-70 overtime victory over Louisville. Duke beats Gonzaga 66-52 to send coach Mike Krzyzewski to a 12th Final Four, matching coaching record by John Wooden.
2015 — Belmont breaks three NCAA Division I records and tied a fourth during a 20-run sixth inning in a 34-10 victory over UT Martin.
2016 — The United States fail to qualify for consecutive Olympic men’s soccer tournaments for the first time in a half century. Roger Martinez scores twice, Americans Luis Gil and Matt Miazga are ejected and Colombia’s under-23 team defeats the U.S. 2-1 to earn the last berth in the Rio de Janeiro Games with a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg, total-goals series.
2017 — Russell Westbrook has 57 points — the most in a triple-double in NBA history — 13 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 114-106 overtime win over the Orlando Magic.
2025 — New York Yankees Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge hit home runs on the first three pitches from Milwaukee Brewers Nester Cortes, the start of franchise record nine homers in 20-9 win at Yankee Stadium.
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