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Classic NCAA Tournament runs: 2004 Alabama topples No. 1 Stanford, then defending champ Syracuse
- Updated: May 27, 2017
Here at RoundballDaily.com, we often start feeling nostalgic.
Sure, basketball is great today–with the three-point shot, pace and space having taken over the game, NBA teams like the W’s regularly putting up 130-plus points and dudes like Russell Westbrook going all Oscar Robertson on everyone and averaging a triple double.
But we liked the way basketball was played in college back in the early-to-mid-2000’s, when one-and-done wasn’t a phrase many people used yet, and when seniors, parity and team basketball were at the core of the sport.
So, when we (ok–I) get on the treadmill at the gym, I’ll often put on a classic tourney game from around that time, and take a nice jog down the running trails off of Memory Lane. (God knows it’s better than watching ESPN).
One of the great runs from that time was 8th-seeded Alabama’s march to the Elite Eight back in 2004. The Tide upset No. 1 Stanford (in the video above) in the second round, and then downed defending champ Syracuse in the Sweet 16 (video below), before finding themselves overmatched in the Regional Final by eventual champion UConn.
If you remember the ’04 tournament, and loved the game back then as much as we did, you’ll enjoy this. Check it out.
Props to Antoine Pettway, Earnest Shelton, Emmett Thomas, Kennedy Winston, Chuck Davis, Mark Gottfried and the rest of that ‘Bama team for their incredible run, and for making this nostalgic post possible.
