Dancing at The Dee: 1994, Phoenix vs. Cal | | standard.net
After a run in the 1980s, the Dee Events Center played host to the NCAA Tournament once more in 1994 and, for the first and only time, did not feature a team from Utah.
What it did feature was 11 future NBA players of the eight teams at the site. Most notable were longtime NBA veterans Jason Kidd and Michael Finley.
Finley, a junior, scored 22 points for Wisconsin in the first round to beat Cincinnati, then 36 in a loss to No. 1 seed Missouri.
Kidd didn’t get as many games, despite his usual near-triple-double effort for No. 5 seed California.
Kidd totaled 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists but shot 4 of 17 from the field. It was part of a woeful shooting night for the Golden Bears, who were 19 of 56 from the floor and 2 of 19 from the 3-point line.
No. 12 Wisconsin-Green Bay survived giving up 18 offensive rebounds to Cal and scored a 61-57 upset in the first round. UWGB was coached by Dick Bennett, who later turned turned around Wisconsin. His son, Tony, is currently the head coach at Virginia.
