NCAA Championship: Biggest Blowouts and Closest Games in NCAA Finals History

Kentucky and Kansas Meet in Tonight’s 2012 NCAA Championship Game

The 2012 NCAA Championship is upon us. Kentucky vs. Kansas for all the marbles tonight, 9:23 PM ET.

Kentucky is the heavy favorite, and they should win. But anything can happen, of course.  It wouldn’t be the first time a No. 2 took down a No. 1 in the Championship.

But you know what? It would only be the third time. Yep, I couldn’t believe it either.

Anyway, on to today’s lists.

These are the biggest blowouts (15 points or more) and closest barn burners (5 points or less) in NCAA Finals history.

The 1990 Runnin’ Rebels are the proud owners of the biggest smackdown for the crown. They walloped the Duke Blue Devils [snicker] by 30 points. But Duke’s up there with a 20-point spanking of their own.

Kansas and Kentucky both made the list, too.  And UCLA is the big kid on the block, with five blowouts to its credit.

The latest beatdown was North Carolina‘s dispatching of Michigan State by 17 in 2009.

As for close Finals, interestingly, 25 games have been decided by 5 points or less. That’s a lot. If you go back to the earliest close game on the list, Wisconsin over Washington State in 1941, that’s 70 Finals in total. So, more than a third of the time, you’re in for an exciting contest.

Six Finals have been decided by one point, including Michael Jordan’s North Carolina victory over Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas in 1982.

The Duke vs. Butler classic in 2010 was the latest squeaker, the Blue Devils eking out a 2-point win.

Enjoy the game! Will it be a blowout or a nailbiter?

Follow @VinGetz

List up to date as of 2013.

BIGGEST NCAA FINALS BLOWOUTS

	DIFF	WINNER	PTS	LOSER	PTS	YEAR
1.	+30	Nevada-Las Vegas	103	Duke	73	1990
2.	+23	UCLA	78	North Carolina	55	1968
3.	+21	UCLA	87	Memphis	66	1973
4.	+20	Duke	71	Michigan	51	1992
4.	+20	Ohio State	75	California	55	1960
4.	+20	UCLA	92	Purdue	72	1969
7.	+18	Indiana	86	Michigan	68	1976
7.	+18	Indiana	60	Kansas	42	1940
9.	+17	Kansas	80	St. John’s (NY)	63	1952
9.	+17	North Carolina	89	Michigan State	72	2009
11.	+16	La Salle	92	Bradley	76	1954
11.	+16	Kentucky	58	Baylor	42	1948
11.	+16	Florida	73	UCLA	57	2006
14.	+15	UCLA	79	Dayton	64	1967
14.	+15	UCLA	98	Duke	83	1964
14.	+15	Stanford	53	Dartmouth	38	1942

CLOSEST NCAA FINALS

	DIFF	WINNER	PTS	LOSER	PTS	OT	Year
1.	+1	North Carolina	63	Georgetown	62		1982
1.	+1	Michigan	80	Seton Hall	79	OT	1989
1.	+1	Indiana	74	Syracuse	73		1987
1.	+1	Indiana	69	Kansas	68		1953
1.	+1	North Carolina	54	Kansas	53	3OT	1957
1.	+1	California	71	West Virginia	70		1959
7.	+2	Villanova	66	Georgetown	64		1985
7.	+2	North Carolina State	54	Houston	52		1983
7.	+2	Duke	61	Butler	59		2010
7.	+2	Loyola (IL)	60	Cincinnati	58	OT	1963
7.	+2	Utah	42	Dartmouth	40	OT	1944
12.	+3	Louisville	72	Duke	69		1986
12.	+3	Syracuse	81	Kansas	78		2003
12.	+3	City College of NY	71	Bradley	68		1950
12.	+3	Oklahoma State	43	North Carolina	40		1946
12.	+3	Connecticut	77	Duke	74		1999
17.	+4	Oklahoma State	49	NYU	45		1945
17.	+4	Kansas	83	Oklahoma	79		1988
17.	+4	Arkansas	76	Duke	72		1994
20.	+5	North Carolina	75	Illinois	70		2005
20.	+5	Arizona	84	Kentucky	79	OT	1997
20.	+5	UCLA	81	Florida State	76		1972
20.	+5	Cincinnati	70	Ohio State	65	OT	1961
20.	+5	Louisville	59	UCLA	54		1980
20.	+5	Wisconsin	39	Washington State	34		1941

Photo: aseaofblue.com / collegebasketball.ap.org