The percentage Villanova shot from the field in the 1985 national championship game. It is the highest figure recorded in a Final Four.
The mismatch
Georgetown had won the title the year before. They had Patrick Ewing, who would go first in the NBA draft, and a defence that had held opponents to under forty per cent all season. John Thompson was the coach.
Villanova had lost ten games. They were seeded eighth in their region, the lowest seed ever to reach the final at that point. They had already lost to Georgetown twice in the regular season.
The method
College basketball in 1985 had no shot clock and no three point line. A team that was behind could not be forced to hurry, and a team that was ahead could hold the ball indefinitely.
Rollie Massimino's plan was to take almost no shots at all unless they were the right ones. Villanova attempted twenty eight field goals in forty minutes. A normal total for the period was somewhere near sixty.
The game
They made twenty two of the twenty eight. In the second half they attempted ten and made nine.
Georgetown were not bad. They shot fifty five per cent themselves, which in most finals wins comfortably. Villanova led by one at half time and were in front at the end by two.
Sixty six to sixty four.
After
Ed Pinckney was named most outstanding player. Rollie Massimino stayed at Villanova until 1992.
The shot clock arrived in college basketball the following season, and the three point line the season after that. The conditions that made the game possible were removed within two years of it being played.
Villanova remain the lowest seeded team ever to win the tournament.