It's a phrase you hear over and over during the three weeks of the NCAA tournament: "Since the field went to 64 teams..." It's usually describing some record, or accomplishment, or set of results based on particular seeds.

The phrase drives me nuts, since it carries an implication that the "modern era" of March Madness begins with Villanova's upset of Georgetown in the 1985 tournament, the first with a 64-team field. Anything that happened before then is prehistory, the domain of scholars and sports paleontologists.

There were some differences back then, true. Shorts were short. There was no shot clock. UCLA mattered; for a while, no one other than UCLA mattered. Dunking was banned for nine years, because it was too hard on the peach baskets. (The last half of the last sentence is not true, but if it were, it would be no more outlandish than one school winning seven straight titles and ten out of twelve, which did happen and never will again.)

Until 1975, only one team from each conference went to the tournament; the Smaller Dance included 25 teams, with seven receiving first-round byes. When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (né Lew Alcindor) won three straight titles from 1967-69, UCLA had to win twelve tournament games - the same number that Joakim Noah's Florida teams won in 2006-7.

As we prepare for the 2010 edition of Bracketmania, I present this observer's ranking of the ten biggest games of the Not-Yet-Sixty-Four Era:

10. A Sense of Who You Are: With five minutes to go and Princeton leading Wichita State by more than 20, Bill Bradley's teammates begged him to do something he'd never done before in his college career: shoot, shoot again, and just keep shooting. Bradley scored sixteen points on eight straight shots -- an assortment of jumpers, scoops, even a twenty-two foot hook -- to finish with a then-record 58 points in the 1965 third-place game. After the game, referee Bob Korte told Bradley, "That was the greatest exhibition I ever saw. It was a pleasure to watch, and I wanted to thank you." Princeton 118, Wichita St. 82.

9. Almost Perfect: UCLA's Bill Walton set a championship-game record with 44 points in 1973, on 21-of-22 shooting, despite missing the last 4:14 of the first half with three fouls and the last 2:51 of the second with a knee injury. Greg Lee and Larry Hollyfield fed him for most of their 23 assists, as the Bruins broke open a game that was tied at halftime. UCLA 87, Memphis State 66.

8. Preview of Coming Attractions: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would have many memorable showdowns, but this wasn't one of them - though it's still the highest-rated college hoops telecast of all time. Indiana State entered the NCAAs unbeaten but largely unproven; in the 1979 final, Michigan State's matchup zone put "a man and a half" on Bird, frustrating him into 7-for-21 shooting, six turnovers and just two assists. Johnson had 24 points, forward Gregory Kelser added 19, and the Spartans led by nine at halftime, by sixteen two minutes into the second half, and won going away. Michigan State 75, Indiana State 64.

7. One for the (History) Books: Five African-American players took the floor for Don Haskins's Texas Western team in the 1966 final. No person of color had ever played for its opponent, the University of Kentucky, and none would for four more years. The Miners took the lead with ten minutes gone in the first half and never relinquished it; the Wildcats twice pulled to within a point, but Texas Western (now UTEP) drew away for the historic victory. Yes, it was once necessary to prove that African-Americans could play winning basketball. Texas Western 72, Kentucky 65.

6. Revenge in the Semis: In economic terms, the most important college basketball game ever was played between Houston (with Elvin Hayes) and UCLA (Lew Alcindor) at the Astrodome in January 1968. The game was so appealing its telecast was syndicated nationally, a first for college hoops and a herald of a future beyond the three-network universe. Alcindor played despite an eye injury, and Houston knocked off the top-ranked Bruins, 71-69. The rematch took place in the national semifinals at the L.A. Sports Arena, and it was no contest: UCLA romped to a 44-point lead before pulling its starters with minutes left on the clock. "We haven't really said anything publicly," Bruins guard Mike Warren noted, "but we're a vindictive team." UCLA 101, Houston 69.

5. Tortoise 2, Hares 0: Pete Newell's slow and steady Cal Bears faced a daunting task in the Final Four in 1959: First, slow down Oscar Robertson and high-powered Cincinnati; then, do the same to West Virginia and its star, Jerry West. Cal's disciplined man-to-man defense held the Bearcats twenty-six points below their average thanks to some key blocks by center Darrall Imhoff on Robertson drives. Then, in the finals, Imhoff put in a crucial follow of his own missed hook shot with fifteen seconds to go as the Bears held off the Mountaineers for their only national championship. California 71, West Virginia 70.

4. End of an Era: Though John Wooden squeezed out one more title over a young Kentucky squad the next season, the UCLA dynasty truly ended in the 1974 semifinals in Greensboro, where Bill Walton's Bruins fell to top-ranked North Carolina State in double overtime. The Wolfpack were led by 6-4 skywalker David Thompson, 5-7 waterbug Monte Towe, and 7-4 center Tom Burleson; the three combined for State's final 24 points as the Pack overcame an eleven-point deficit in the second half, and a seven-point margin in the second overtime. NC State 80, UCLA 77.

3. The Bigger They Are...: Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire sent 5-11 Tommy Kearns to jump center against Kansas's 7-1 Wilt Chamberlain in the 1957 finals. This ploy had less effect than North Carolina's slow and disciplined offense, which looked only for good shots while keeping the ball away from the Jayhawks' big man. The game was tied at 46 at the end of regulation; at 48 after the first overtime; still at 48 after the second. In the third overtime, trailing by a point, Carolina's Joe Quigg made two free throws with six seconds to play for the victory. It was the first overtime final - and Carolina's second triple-overtime game in two nights. North Carolina 54, Kansas 53.

2. The Greatest Air Ball Ever Thrown: After many years of falling short, Houston was expected to win its first title in 1983, thanks to its "Phi Slamma Jamma" fraternity that included future Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. Its opponent in the finals, Jim Valvano's North Carolina State, needed two overtimes to win its first-round game against Pepperdine, and eked out one-point wins over UNLV and Virginia en route to the Final Four. With the clock ticking down on a tie game, Wolfpack guard Dereck Whittenburg threw up a prayer from 35 feet with three seconds left. The shot fell short of the rim, but forward Lorenzo Charles was alone under the basket and he grabbed it and stuffed it home just before time ran out. NC State 54, Houston 52.

1. Hall of Fame Matchup: On one bench, Dean Smith. On the other, John Thompson. Three consensus All-Americas were in the starting lineups: Eric "Sleepy" Floyd, James Worthy, and Sam Perkins. So was a pair of freshmen named Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan. Carolina did not sink a field goal in the first eight minutes, but only trailed by two thanks to four goaltending calls against the hyperactive Ewing. Worthy scored 28, but it was Jordan who hit the game-winning jumper with sixteen seconds to play. Georgetown had a chance to tie, but sophomore Fred Brown didn't notice that teammate Eric Smith had cut inside of Worthy, and threw a pass directly to the Tar Heel with seven seconds left to seal the game. North Carolina 63, Georgetown 62.