EDITOR'S NOTE — A panel of Associated Press sports writers voted in March 2020 on the top 10 men's basketball games in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
They are being republished because the sport has been shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. The following game was voted No.
9 and this game story was published in The Times-Tribune of Scranton (Pa.) on March 30, 1982 ___ By KEN RAPPOPORT AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A national champion at last, North Carolina basketball Coach Dean Smith can finally say what he thinks about his critics. “A great writer in Charlotte once said that it was our system that kept us from winning the national championship,” Smith says. “It's the most ridiculous comment ever made and I've always