1981 NCAA Division I basketball championship game

Last updated

1981 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
National championship game
NCAA logo.svg
North Carolina Tar Heels Indiana Hoosiers
ACC Big Ten
(29–7)(25–9)
5063
Head coach:
Dean Smith
Head coach:
Bob Knight
1st half2nd halfTotal
North Carolina Tar Heels 262450
Indiana Hoosiers 273663
DateMarch 30, 1981
Venue The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees Ken Lauderdale, Lou Moser, & Booker Turner [1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkNBC
Announcers Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, and Al McGuire
  1980
1982  

The 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game took place on March 30, 1981, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Indiana Hoosiers at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The matchup was the final one of the forty-third consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship single-elimination tournament — commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament — organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is used to crown a national champion for men's basketball at the Division I level. [2]

Contents

Because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, there was talk of postponing or cancelling the title game; but once NCAA officials learned that Reagan had made it through surgery and would survive his injuries, the game was played as scheduled. [3] Howard Cosell criticized the NCAA for not postponing the game due to the Reagan assassination attempt.

Indiana defeated North Carolina by a 63–50 score to win their second national title in six years and fourth overall. As of 2024, this remains the only time a team from the Big Ten defeated an ACC team in the championship game.

The 1980–81 season was the last before the NCAA began sponsoring a championship for Division I women's basketball. All future NCAA men's tournaments and championship games would include "Men's" in their official titles.

Participants

It was the first national championship game between the schools. Indiana was seeking its fourth national championship (1940, 1953, 1976) while North Carolina was looking for its second, having last won in 1957.

Indiana Hoosiers

North Carolina Tar Heels

Starting lineups

IndianaPositionNorth Carolina
Isiah Thomas 1G Jimmy Black
Randy Wittman GMike Pepper
Ted Kitchel F James Worthy
Landon Turner F Al Wood 1
Ray Tolbert 1C Sam Perkins
1981 Consensus First Team All-American
 Players selected in the 1981 NBA draft  (number indicates round)

Source [4]

Game summary

Source: [5] [6]

NBC
March 30, 1981
#ME3 Indiana Hoosiers 63, #W2 North Carolina Tar Heels 50
Scoring by half: 27-26, 36-24
Pts: Isiah Thomas 23
Rebs: Ray Tolbert 11
Asts: Jim Thomas 8
Pts: Al Wood 18
Rebs: Sam Perkins 8
Asts: Jimmy Black 6
The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Ken Lauderdale, Lou Moser, & Booker Turner
Starters:PtsRebAst
F 32 Landon Turner 1261
F 30 Ted Kitchel 000
G 11 Isiah Thomas 2325
G 24 Randy Wittman 1640
C 45 Ray Tolbert 5110
Reserves:
G 20 Jim Thomas 248
F 34 Steve Risley 540
Head coach:
Bob Knight
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Kit body basketball.svg
Kit shorts whitesides.png
Kit shorts.svg
Indiana
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Kit body basketball.svg
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Kit shorts.svg
North Carolina

IndianaStatisticsNorth Carolina
23/48 (48%) Field goals 20/47 (43%)
17/22 (77%) Free throws 10/16 (63%)
31Total rebounds29
14Assists12
14Turnovers19
8Steals9
1Blocks2
17Fouls23
Starters:PtsRebAst
F 33 James Worthy 762
F 30 Al Wood 1862
G 21 Jimmy Black 626
G 11 Mike Pepper 610
C 41 Sam Perkins 1181
Reserves:
F 44 Matt Doherty 240
G 24 Jim Braddock 001
C 45 Chris Brust 000
C 34 Pete Budko 010
F 32 Eric Kenny 010
Head coach:
Dean Smith

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References

Citations
  1. "The Final Four" (PDF). 2014 NCAA Men's Final Four Records. NCAA. 2014. p. 20. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  2. Hager 2012, p. 21.
  3. "Indiana, UNC meet 35 years after Reagan shooting jeopardized title game". FoxSports.com. 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  4. "North Carolina vs. Indiana Box Score, March 30, 1981". Sports Reference. March 30, 1981. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  5. Jeff Borzello. "1981 Men's NCAA basketball tournament". CBSSports.com. CBS Broadcasting Inc. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  6. "North Carolina vs. Indiana Box Score, March 30, 1981". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
Bibliography