Arizona vs. Kentucky March 31, 1997 — Indianapolis, Indiana On March 31st, 1997, the RCA Dome in Indianapolis played host to the NCAA National Championship between the Arizona Wildcats and the Kentucky Wildcats. From the opening tip, this “cat fight” lived up to the hype as these two national powerhouses scrapped and clawed the entire 40 minutes of action in hopes of being crowned national champions. The Arizona Wildcats, coached by the legendary Lute Olson, lacked title game experience. Making their first appearance in the national championship game, they were facing the best of the best in their opponent, the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky, led by Head Coach Rick Pitino, was making its ninth championship game appearance in school history and was the defending national champion. However, in the end, the Arizona Wildcats prevailed with an 84-79 overtime victory. Led by the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Miles Simon, and point guard Mike Bibby the Wildcats stole the show from Kentucky in claiming their first national championship in school history. Bonus Disc: Relive the magic in this exciting match up where Arizona beat UNC 66-58 to make their way to one of the biggest Championship games in NCAA Tournament history!