Today in Chicago History: DePaul stuns UCLA to reach NCAA Final Four

Chicago Tribune

17-03-2025

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on March 17, according to the Tribune's archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
1971: Lou Malnati and his wife, Jean, opened their first deep-dish pizzeria in Lincolnwood.
After working with his father at Pizzeria Uno, overseeing Pizzeria Due and opening Su Casa, Malnati debuted his own pizza place on St. Patrick's Day.
'Seldom has the lowly but luscious pizza been served in a more attractive atmosphere than this,' Tribune columnist Will Leonard wrote days later. 'The former Novak's restaurant, at 6649 N. Lincoln Av., has been completely redone with warm, soft lighting, dark wood paneling, red carpeting and stained glass windows.'
Malnati often hosted charitable events at his flagship restaurant, including an annual benefit for a scholarship fund set up in the name of friend and Chicago Bears halfback Brian Piccolo.
Malnati died of cancer at age 48 in 1978. His sons took over. Marc Malnati stepped down as CEO of the company in 2016 but remains involved in the family business.
1979: DePaul University men's basketball coach Ray Meyer made it back to the Final Four for the first time in 36 years.
The Blue Demons faced No. 1 seed UCLA in the regional final with a chance to reach the Final Four in Salt Lake City. UCLA, led by David Greenwood and Kiki Vandeweghe, was a heavy favorite.
DePaul came out slow and deliberate, and with 5 minutes, 50 seconds left in the first half led 35-26.
'There was a timeout,' Tribune sports columnist Rick Talley wrote the next day. 'And after looking at the clock, 65-year-old Meyer peered down at his players seated on the bench and said: 'All right! Now we're going to pull it out. They're going to come out of this timeout in a trap zone, and we're going to take it right at 'em.'
'How did Meyer know UCLA would come out in a trap zone? Because he's been coaching 37 years and he knows how other coaches think.'
At halftime, DePaul led by 17. They held on for a 95-91 victory. For the first time since his first season at DePaul in 1942-43, Meyer was in the Final Four.
The other three teams: Magic Johnson's Michigan State, Larry Bird's undefeated Indiana State and surprising Penn, a No. 9 seed.
Indiana State squeezed past DePaul 76-74 on March 24, 1979, and advanced to the NCAA championship game.
1985: Dallas-based Southwest Airlines began service from Chicago's Midway International Airport. The first destination: St. Louis.
Introductory rates were just $17 for the seven daily flights aboard Southwest's Boeing 737-300s and 737-200s.
1992: Carol Moseley Braun upset Sen. Alan Dixon in the Democratic primary election, then went on to become the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
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