1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament

Last updated
1981 NCAA Division I
Basketball Tournament
1981 Final Four logo.png
Season 198081
Teams48
Finals site The Spectrum
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Champions Indiana Hoosiers (4th title, 4th title game,
5th Final Four)
Runner-up North Carolina Tar Heels (5th title game,
8th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coach Bob Knight (2nd title)
MOP Isiah Thomas (Indiana)
Attendance347,414
Top scorer Al Wood North Carolina
(109 points)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
« 1980 1982 »

The 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1981, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in Philadelphia. A total of 48 games were played, including a national third place game (the last in the NCAA Tournament). It was also the last tournament to be televised on NBC, before CBS took over the following year. Additionally, it was the last season in which the NCAA sponsored championships only in men's sports; the first Division I Women's Tournament would be played the following year.

Contents

Indiana, coached by Bob Knight, won the national title with a 63–50 victory over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Isiah Thomas of Indiana was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The March 14 upsets

The date of Saturday, March 14, 1981, resulted in three major second round tournament upsets which were decided by last-second baskets.

St. Joseph's trailed No. 1 seed DePaul by seven at about the midway point of the second half, in an early afternoon Mideast Region game from Dayton, Ohio. However, with 48 seconds left, the Hawks had rallied to within 48–47. Blue Demons guard Skip Dillard was fouled with 13 seconds left. Dillard was known as 'Money' for his superb free throw shooting, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and St. Joseph's got the rebound, then quickly passed the ball to the front court without calling a timeout. Guard Bryan Warrick got the ball to freshman Lonnie McFarlan who was wide open in the right corner. McFarlan began to shoot until forward John Smith yelled "Please!" to him. McFarlan passed to Smith, who was open underneath the basket. Smith's layup with two seconds left enabled the Hawks of coach Jim Lynam to stun the Blue Demons of Ray Meyer, 49–48.

Later in the afternoon in Austin, Texas, Arkansas coach Eddie Sutton called timeout with 5 seconds left after falling behind Louisville in the Midwest Region, 73–72 on a jumper by guard Derek Smith. Sutton told his team to get the ball to U.S. Reed. The Razorbacks' guard dribbled to near half court, then launched a 49-foot shot that beat the buzzer and swished through the net, as Arkansas dethroned the defending national champion Cardinals of Denny Crum, 74–73. Sutton told the media, "Champions die hard."

Only moments after the Razorbacks' upset, the season ended for another #1 seed in the West Region in Los Angeles. Oregon State led Kansas State by as much as 11 points in the second half. Coach Ralph Miller and center Steve Johnson had led the Beavers to a two-year record of 52–4. Then Rolando Blackman led the Wildcats back with a 16-6 run to tie the game, 48–48 with 3:23 left. Johnson then fouled out, and both teams stalled with the ball until Oregon State missed the front end of a one-and-one from the foul line. K-State then held for the last shot. With two seconds left, Blackman, double-teamed, drilled a fall-away 17 footer from the right baseline for a 50–48 upset by the Wildcats of Jack Hartman.

In another second round Mideast Region upset, UAB defeated Kentucky 69–62. A semifinal in the East Region saw Danny Ainge dribble the length of the court and drive all the way in for a layup and another buzzer-beating winner, lifting BYU over Notre Dame 51–50.

Greg Johnson of NCAA.com, in a March 9, 2011 article, indicated that March 14, 1981 was a date which defined March Madness. [1] [2]

Schedule and venues

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Charlotte
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Austin
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El Paso
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Dayton
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Los Angeles
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Providence
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Tuscaloosa
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Wichita
1981 sites for first and second round games
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Atlanta
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New Orleans
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Bloomington
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Salt Lake City
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Philadelphia
1981 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1981 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)

The Spectrum in Philadelphia hosted its second Final Four, both of which were won by Indiana. New Orleans hosted its second regional, the first at the Superdome and first in the city since 1942. This tournament would be the last until 2021 for Indiana's Assembly Hall to be host to tournament games. This also marked only the second year ever to feature a domed stadium, and an NFL stadium; only four times since (1983, 1985, 1994, and 2018) has the tournament not included any NFL stadiums, and only in 1985 did it not include any domes at all. Two cities, Austin and El Paso, hosted Tournament games for the first time; it would be the only time El Paso would host tournament games and Austin would once again be host in 1990.

Teams

RegionSeedTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East1 Virginia Terry Holland Atlantic CoastThird Place1 LSU W 78–74
East2 Notre Dame Digger Phelps IndependentSweet Sixteen6 BYU L 51–50
East3 UCLA Larry Brown Pacific-10Round of 326 BYU L 78–55
East4 Tennessee Don DeVoe SoutheasternSweet Sixteen1 Virginia L 62–48
East5 VCU J. D. Barnett Sun BeltRound of 324 Tennessee L 58–56
East6 BYU Frank Arnold Western AthleticRegional Runner-up1 Virginia L 74–60
East7 Georgetown John Thompson Big EastRound of 4810 James Madison L 61–55
East8 Houston Guy Lewis SouthwestRound of 489 Villanova L 90–72
East9 Villanova Rollie Massimino Big EastRound of 321 Virginia L 54–50
East10 James Madison Lou Campanelli ECAC SouthRound of 322 Notre Dame L 54–45
East11 Princeton Pete Carril Ivy LeagueRound of 486 BYU L 60–51
East12 Long Island Paul Lizzo ECAC MetroRound of 485 VCU L 85–69
Mideast
Mideast1 DePaul Ray Meyer IndependentRound of 329 Saint Joseph's L 49–48
Mideast2 Kentucky Joe B. Hall SoutheasternRound of 327 UAB L 69–62
Mideast3 Indiana Bob Knight Big TenChampion2 North Carolina W 63–50
Mideast4 Wake Forest Carl Tacy Atlantic CoastRound of 325 Boston College L 67–64
Mideast5 Boston College Tom Davis Big EastSweet Sixteen9 Saint Joseph's L 42–41
Mideast6 Maryland Lefty Driesell Atlantic CoastRound of 323 Indiana L 99–64
Mideast7 UAB Gene Bartow Sun BeltSweet Sixteen3 Indiana L 87–72
Mideast8 Creighton Tom Apke Missouri ValleyRound of 489 Saint Joseph's L 59–57
Mideast9 Saint Joseph's Jim Lynam East CoastRegional Runner-up3 Indiana L 78–46
Mideast10 Western Kentucky Clem Haskins Ohio ValleyRound of 487 UAB L 93–68
Mideast11 Chattanooga Murray Arnold SouthernRound of 486 Maryland L 81–69
Mideast12 Ball State Steve Yoder Mid-AmericanRound of 485 Boston College L 93–90
Midwest
Midwest1 LSU Dale Brown SoutheasternFourth Place1 Virginia L 78–74
Midwest2 Arizona State Ned Wulk Pacific-10Round of 327 Kansas L 88–71
Midwest3 Iowa Lute Olson Big TenRound of 326 Wichita State L 60–56
Midwest4 Louisville Denny Crum MetroRound of 325 Arkansas L 74–73
Midwest5 Arkansas Eddie Sutton SouthwestSweet Sixteen1 LSU L 72–56
Midwest6 Wichita State Gene Smithson Missouri ValleyRegional Runner-up1 LSU L 96–85
Midwest7 Kansas Ted Owens Big EightSweet Sixteen6 Wichita State L 66–65
Midwest8 Lamar Pat Foster SouthlandRound of 321 LSU L 100–78
Midwest9 Missouri Norm Stewart Big EightRound of 488 Lamar L 71–67
Midwest10 Ole Miss Bob Weltlich SoutheasternRound of 487 Kansas L 69–66
Midwest11 Southern Carl Stewart Southwest AthleticRound of 486 Wichita State L 95–70
Midwest12 Mercer Bill Bibb Trans AmericaRound of 485 Arkansas L 73–67
West
West1 Oregon State Ralph Miller Pacific-10Round of 328 Kansas State L 50–48
West2 North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic CoastRunner Up3 Indiana L 63–50
West3 Utah Jerry Pimm Western AthleticSweet Sixteen2 North Carolina L 61–56
West4 Illinois Lou Henson Big TenSweet Sixteen8 Kansas State L 57–52
West5 Wyoming Jim Brandenburg Western AthleticRound of 324 Illinois L 67–65
West6 Fresno State Boyd Grant Pacific CoastRound of 4811 Northeastern L 55–53
West7 Idaho Don Monson Big SkyRound of 4810 Pittsburgh L 70–69
West8 Kansas State Jack Hartman Big EightRegional Runner-up2 North Carolina L 82–68
West9 San Francisco Peter Barry West CoastRound of 488 Kansas State L 64–60
West10 Pittsburgh Roy Chipman EasternRound of 322 North Carolina L 74–57
West11 Northeastern Jim Calhoun ECAC NorthRound of 323 Utah L 94–69
West12 Howard A.B. Williamson Mid-EasternRound of 485 Wyoming L 78–43

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
8 Houston 72
9 Villanova90
9 Villanova 50
1 Virginia54
1 Virginia62
4 Tennessee 48
4 Tennessee58
5 VCU 56*
5 VCU85
12 Long Island 69
1 Virginia74
6 BYU 60
6 BYU60
11 Princeton 51
6 BYU78
3 UCLA 55
6 BYU51
2 Notre Dame 50
2 Notre Dame54
10 James Madison 45
7 Georgetown 55
10 James Madison61

West region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
8 Kansas State64
9 San Francisco 60
8 Kansas State50
1 Oregon State 48
8 Kansas State57
4 Illinois 52
4 Illinois67
5 Wyoming 65
5 Wyoming78
12 Howard 43
8 Kansas State 68
2 North Carolina82
6 Fresno State 53
11 Northeastern55
11 Northeastern 69
3 Utah94
3 Utah 56
2 North Carolina61
2 North Carolina74
10 Pittsburgh 57
7 Idaho 69*
10 Pittsburgh70

Mideast region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
8 Creighton 57
9 Saint Joseph's59
9 Saint Joseph's49
1 DePaul 48
9 Saint Joseph's42
5 Boston College 41
4 Wake Forest 64
5 Boston College67
5 Boston College93
12 Ball State 90
9 Saint Joseph's 46
3 Indiana78
6 Maryland81
11 Chattanooga 69
6 Maryland 64
3 Indiana99
3 Indiana87
7 UAB 72
2 Kentucky 62
7 UAB69
7 UAB93
10 Western Kentucky 68

Midwest region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
8 Lamar71
9 Missouri 67
8 Lamar 78
1 LSU100
1 LSU72
5 Arkansas 56
4 Louisville 73
5 Arkansas74
5 Arkansas73
12 Mercer 67
1 LSU96
6 Wichita State 85
6 Wichita State95
11 Southern 70
6 Wichita State60
3 Iowa 56
6 Wichita State66
7 Kansas 65
2 Arizona State 71
7 Kansas88
7 Kansas69
10 Ole Miss 66

Final Four

National Semifinals National Finals
      
E1 Virginia 65
W2 North Carolina78
W2 North Carolina 50
ME3 Indiana63
ME3 Indiana67
MW1 LSU 49 National Third Place Game
E1 Virginia78
MW1 LSU 74

Notes

Announcers (NBC and NCAA Productions)

See also

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References

  1. "March Madness defining moment?". ncaa.com. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  2. "The myth of three consecutive buzzer beaters in the 1981 NCAA tournament".