| NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Bethesda Softworks [1] Mirage Graphics [1] |
| Publisher(s) | Bethesda Softworks [1] Mirage Graphics [1] |
| Platform(s) | IBM [2] |
| Release | 1992 [3] |
NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four is a basketball video game. The game was a joint effort by Bethesda Softworks and Earl Weaver Baseball creators Mirage Graphics. [4] [5] A sequel, NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four 2 , was released in 1994.
NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four is a college basketball simulation which includes all 64 teams that appeared in the 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. [2] [3]
The game was in development for three years. [3]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Power Play | 70/100 [6] |
| PC Joker | 35% [7] |
| Aktueller Software Markt | 5/12 [8] |
| Joystick | 70% [9] |
Dennis Lynch from Chicago Tribune stated "Consequently, though it looks great, it soon becomes a bore. This is one basketball program that should be bounced. [2]
German magazine Power Play stated "Basketball freaks should strike – those who want to become one should take a look – the extensive manual helps just fine. However, this program is not suitable for action athletes" [6]
Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon. His profile on the NBA website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."
Michael William Krzyzewski, nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five national titles, 13 Final Fours, 15 ACC tournament championships, and 13 ACC regular season titles. Among men's college basketball coaches, only UCLA's John Wooden has won more NCAA championships (10). Krzyzewski is widely regarded as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.
The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
Mindscape was a video game developer and publisher. The company was founded by Roger Buoy in October 1983 in Northbrook, Illinois, originally as part of SFN Companies until a management buyout was completed in 1987. Mindscape went public in 1988 and was acquired in 1990 by The Software Toolworks, eyeing Mindscape's Nintendo license. When Toolworks was acquired by Pearson plc in 1994, Mindscape became the primary identity for the development group. Mindscape was then sold to The Learning Company in 1998 and bought out by Jean-Pierre Nordman in 2001, becoming headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Following the poor performance of its products, Mindscape exited the video game industry in August 2011. Notable titles released by Mindscape include the MacVenture series, Balance of Power, Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight, Legend, Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat, Warhammer: Dark Omen and Lego Island.
Klax is a puzzle video game released in arcades in 1990 by Atari Games while Namco distributed the game in Japanese markets. It was designed and animated by Mark Stephen Pierce with the software engineering done by Dave Akers. The object is to catch colored blocks tumbling down a machine and arrange them in colored rows and patterns to make them disappear. Klax was originally published as a coin-op follow-up to Tetris, about which Atari Games was in a legal dispute at the time.
Capstone Software was a subsidiary of IntraCorp, a Miami-based computer and video game company. Founded in 1984, Capstone created first-person games such as Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, Operation Body Count, William Shatner's TekWar and Witchaven, and is also known for releasing games based on movie/TV licenses. Capstone's first-person games used the Wolfenstein 3D engine, and later, the Build engine.
1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 4, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, along with new titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Battletoads, Lemmings, Sunset Riders, Duke Nukem, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, and Streets of Rage. The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II. The year's best-selling system was the Game Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game was Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which was also the year's top video game rental in the United States.
Dana "Pokey" Chatman is currently an assistant coach for the Seattle Storm in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Chatman is the former head coach of the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky of the WNBA. She is also the former head coach of the LSU Lady Tigers basketball team and the Spartak Moscow women's basketball team.
The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represents Duke University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team is fifth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is currently coached by Jon Scheyer.
The 1991–92 NBA season was the Bulls' 26th season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as defending NBA champions, having defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals in five games, and winning their first NBA championship in franchise history. The 1991-92 Bulls team are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams of all time. Early into the season, the Bulls traded Dennis Hopson to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Bob Hansen after the first two games. Coming off their first ever championship, the Bulls had a very successful season winning 14 consecutive games after a 1–2 start to the season. They later on posted a 13-game winning streak in January, which led them to a 37–5 start, and held a 39–9 record at the All-Star break. The Bulls finished in first place in the Central Division, along with having the best record in the league at 67–15.
The 1992–93 NBA season was the Bulls' 27th season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as the back-to-back defending NBA champions, having defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals in six games, winning their second NBA championship. In the off-season, the team acquired Rodney McCray from the Dallas Mavericks, and signed free agent Trent Tucker. At midseason, the team signed Darrell Walker, who was previously released by the Detroit Pistons. After two straight championships, the Bulls would make changes to their lineup, replacing John Paxson at point guard with B. J. Armstrong after Paxson went down with a knee injury, and only played 59 games. The team won nine of their first eleven games, and posted a 7-game winning streak between December and January, holding a 35–17 record at the All-Star break. The Bulls posted another 7-game winning streak between February and March, and would yet again have another successful season finishing in first place in the Central Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 57–25 record. They also advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season, becoming the first team since the 1987–88 Boston Celtics to do so.
The 1991–92 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1991–92 season. The team played its home games in the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Ramblers had joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013, and stayed until 2022. Prior to 2013, the team had spent 34 seasons as a charter member of the Horizon League.
Porter Andrew Moser is a college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the University of Oklahoma men's basketball team. Moser spent 10 years (2011–2021) at Loyola University Chicago, helping lead the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018.
The Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball team represents California Polytechnic State University, located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference. The Cal Poly men's basketball team's first season was 1907 and its first season as a four-year institution was 1941–42. The Mustangs are coached by Mike DeGeorge and play their home games at Robert A. Mott Athletics Center.
Martell Bailey is an American basketball player who is most notable for his time spent as point guard for the UIC Flames men's basketball team from 2001 to 2004. He was the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season assists leader and holds the Horizon League records for single-season and career assists in conference games. He was a two-time second team All-Horizon League selection, and he led the Flames to three of the four post season tournaments they have ever participated in, including two of their three NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments. Bailey's three seasons at UIC are the school's only consecutive 20-win seasons and culminated with a school record 24 wins. He was not accorded a fourth year of eligibility for academic reasons.
Jack Nicklaus Golf & Course Design: Signature Edition is a 1992 golf video game developed by Sculptured Software and published by Accolade for MS-DOS. It is part of a series of games named after golfer Jack Nicklaus, and follows Jack Nicklaus' Unlimited Golf & Course Design (1990). Like its predecessor, the game includes a golf course designer that allows the player to create customized courses. Two add-on disks provide additional courses. In 1995, both disks were re-released along with Signature Edition as a compilation titled Jack Nicklaus: The Tour Collection.
Trump Castle is a series of gambling video games published by Capstone Software between 1989 and 1993. The games are named after Trump's Castle hotel-casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and were released for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and MS-DOS.
Trump Castle II is a 1991 video game published by Capstone Software.
NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four 2 (also known as NCAA: Road to the Final Four 2) is an NCAA licensed basketball video game. The game is a sequel to NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four.