For the fourth time in its history, the Pepsi Center will play host to two rounds of the NCAA Tournament when action starts on Thursday.
The home of the Avalanche and Nuggets experienced March Madness in 2004, 2008 and 2011, seeing many memorable moments, from Air Force’s first tourney appearance in more than four decades to the rise of the Manimal.
Here’s a look at some of the top moments of the tournament in Denver:
2004: Air Force returns to the NCAA Tournament
Forty-two years since Air Force last made a trip to the big dance, the No. 11 Falcons effectively had a home game against Roy Williams and the No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels. Air Force jumped out to a lead midway in the second half, but ultimately fell short, ending their run.
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Not all fairy tales have happy endings. Some are grim.
But for quite a while on Thursday night the Air Force Academy was in position for the biggest victory in school history that didn’t have Gerry Faust coaching the other side.
With 12:45 remaining in the fourth game of the first day of the NCAA Tournament at The Can, the Heels still were mired in Tar against the Falcons.
Air Force had a 44-38 lead.
Anchors away, a few good men, an army of one and off they go into the wild Blue yonder.
Then Carolina took off.
2008: (Almost) a chalk bracket
Fans of bracket-busting upsets would have been disappointed in 2008 as Denver saw just a minor one in the second round — No. 5 Michigan State beat No. 4 Pittsburgh 65-54.
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With his college career on the verge of extinction and his team riding him as far as he can take it, Neitzel was the biggest man in the only close game of the NCAA Tournament’s subregional at Pepsi Center. He scored 12 of his game-high 21 points, including three consecutive jumpers, in the final 6:25 on Saturday night to lift Michigan State to a 65-54 South Regional win over Pittsburgh.
In a subregional of yawning blowouts, this one had all the trappings of a nail-biter. Pitt was seeded fourth, ranked 17th and 27-9. Michigan State was seeded fifth, ranked 18th and 26-8. The Spartans came in with their coach questioning their toughness and a nation questioning Neitzel’s prowess in big games.
2011: Upset City
Lower seeds ruled in 2011 as three of the four first-round games at the Pepsi Center resulted in upset victory. No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 12 Richmond and No. 13 Morehead State came up victorious.
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(Demonte) Harper dribbled, dribbled, then drained his trey and Morehead beat Louisville, 62-61. Three hours later, on the same court, No. 12 Richmond, of the unheralded Atlantic 10 Conference, defeated No. 5 Vanderbilt of the mighty SEC, 69-66.
Who had No. 13 playing No. 12 in the third round of their NCAA bracket?
And to finish off the night, 11th-seeded Gonzaga, the paragon of midmajors, beat sixth seed St. John’s 86-71.
2011: The rise of the Manimal
Before he became a household name with the Nuggets, Kenneth Faried’s debut at the Pepsi Center was one to remember. The star for No. 13 Morehead State, Faried grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Eagles to a 62-61 shocker over heavily favored Louisville.
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You can never know too much about The Next Big Thing. Faried — and his team — stepped out of the shadows into the national spotlight after their stunning 62-61 upset of fourth-seeded Louisville.
Not many outside of Morehead, Ky., knew of Faried before Thursday, yet he’s so revered by the university that his jersey is already retired.
Now, fans nationwide are finding out about him. Demonte Harper hit a shot for the ages, the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left, but it was Faried’s work inside that gave the 9 ½-point underdogs a chance to win late.
“Hopefully, the world knows me,” Faried said, laughing.
2011: Underdog vs. underdog
Who would’ve thunk that a No. 12 seed would be the higher seed going into a second-round game? Two Cinderellas — Morehead State and Richmond — would meet, but only one’s journey would continue.
The Richmond Spiders entangled Morehead State with their strong defense, scoring a 65-48 win and a trip to the Sweet 16.
From :
It doesn’t have a special nickname, but the Richmond Spiders play a defense that can be tough to figure out.
Richmond held Morehead State to 37.5 percent shooting as it coasted to a third-round NCAA Tournament victory Saturday at the Pepsi Center, two days after knocking out Southeastern Conference heavyweight Vanderbilt.
Spiders coach Chris Mooney said the biggest thing about his team’s defense is that it’s flexible. The Spiders’ base defense is a matchup zone, but they’ll switch to a man-to-man on a moment’s notice. Morehead State was never able to handle the Spiders’ length on the perimeter and, without an effective outside game, could not put pressure on the interior of the zone.
CHEW ON THIS
• Broncos’ T.J. Ward recalls .”
• The Colorado State men’s basketball team .
• to become the new Rockies shortstop.
• ICYMI: on Saturday.
• And here’s a in the NCAA Tournament.
WATCH THIS
The Nuggets lost, but .
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Takeru Kobayashi turns 38 today. The Japanese competitive eater owns a number of world records in the sport and is a six-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion. Here he is in a . And here he’s .
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or @joenguyen
