Five lesser-known facts about College Basketball

Few spectator sports attract as much passion and excitement as the NCAA March Madness. It draws a lot of television audience and almost every game is played in sold-out arenas. Especially punters who couldn't get enough of betting opportunities at https://apuestas-caballos.com/resena-betamerica/ hare a great enthusiasm for the game.

1- The Slam Dunk

We all know how popular the slam dunk is in basketball these days. But you would be surprised to know that there was a time when this scoring move was banned because of a single player.

Lew Alcindor, who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, dominated his opponents because he was a master of this move. To limit the player's dominance, the NCAA banned the slam dunk from 1967 to 1976.

2- Invention of Basketball

The invention of Basketball took place in very interesting circumstances. It happened when a physical education teacher in Canada named James Naismith was tasked by his head of department to create an indoor game that would serve as an 'athletic distraction' for a rowdy class of YMCA in 1891.

That's how the great teacher came up with Basketball, a game that doesn't take up much room, plus is a good physical exercise and serves as a fair competition for all players.

He later wrote a book about Basketball and also founded the University of Kansas basketball program.

3- The four number one seeds won their regionals

In the long history of the March Madness, only once have all four number one seeds won their regionals and progressed to the Final Four. UCLA, Kansas, Memphis, and North Carolina were the number one seeds who pulled off this feat in 2008. That was the year when Kansas got away with the NCAA Championship.

4- Peach baskets

In the early years of the game's invention, peach baskets were employed as basketball hoops. However, it proved to be cumbersome because the ball needed to be retrieved from the basket after every score. Therefore, they soon introduced string nets that were far more efficient.

5- A unique feat

In 1961, the state of Ohio performed a unique feat in the history of the NCAA March Madness. The top-ranked team Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati both played against each other in that year's Championship game. This was the first time in history that both teams from the same state played the Championship game.

Cincinnati won that game against the defending champions Ohio by 70-65 in the end.