Top NCAA Moments for a Hoosier

With the Final Four in town, I thought it is time to list my top moments in NCAA tourney history -- from the totally subjective viewpoint of a Hoosier (as in Indiana native).  I'm sure I'll overlook some, but here goes:

1. Keith Smart hits a last second shot to lift the Indiana Hoosiers to a one-point win over Syracuse in the 1987 Championship game.  Smart was a very good player who, in an instant, became a legend.  The photo of his shot slipping through the nets still adorns walls of offices and dens of I.U. fans around the state.
2. After a floor length in-bounds pass, former Mr. Basketball Bryce Drew hits a game-winning 3-pointer to propel upstart Valparaiso passed 2d seed Mississippi State and into the Sweet 16. Drew collapsed to the floor as his teammates piles on him and his proud father Homer Drew, coach of Valpo, watched from the bench.  Replays of the event are still shown as part of CBS' promotion of its the tournament coverage.
3. North Carolina State's 1983 improbable win over the Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma's, with future NBA stars Akheem Olajawaun, Clyde "the Glide"sh Drexler, Michael Young and Larry Micheaux.  Who can forget the image of the long attempt at a game-winning shot, that just like NC State's hopes, was obviously falling short.  Then those two arms of Lorenzo Charles reaching up seemingly from no where, and in one motion, grabbing the errant shot and flushing it through the nets. Who could forget coach Jimmy Valvano running in shock and amazement, trying to find someone -- anyone -- to hug.  Now we see that moment with the poignancy of Jimmy V's courageous fight with cancer.  "Don't give up; don't ever give up."
4. I.U. wins undefeated national championship.  It is a team that is now legend. In 1975, I.U. was undefeated, but fell Kentucky when national player of the year Scott May broke his arm, and some referees lost their whistles.  In 1976, Indiana was viewed as a of destiny.  But so many teams of destiny find their journey derailed.   But not this one.  Even with a devastating early-game injury to guard Bob Wilkerson, the Hoosiers with Quinn Buckner, Scott May, Kent Benson and John Lazkowski were nearly perfect in beating Michigan.  In the 30 years since, no team has duplicated I.U.'s undefeated run to the championship.
5. Rick Mount's amazing shooting display.  It was 1969, UCLA, led by senior Lew Alcindor and coached by native Hoosier and Purdue All-American John Wooden, was dominating college basketball like no team had done before or since. But at Purdue, the best pure shooter to ever play the game was putting on a shooting display that has never been equaled.  With every defense focused on Mount, every shot contested, and long-range bombs only counting for "2", Mount led the Boilers on their run to the final game. His trademark full-speed dash to the corner, shot being thrown up as his body hurled out of bounds, then nothing but the sound of the ball ripping through the net.   In the Final Four, Mount scored 36 (2 at a time) as Purdue demolished North Carolina, 92-65.  Sure, UCLA won its gazillionth championship, but the image I will always remember is that slender flying body, seemingly out-of-control, the ball flying out of his hands, crashing into the front row of spectators -- and then ball gliding so perfectly into the net.