This was the last championship game to ever feature a team from the Southwest Conference, which disbanded in 1996.
Background
Georgetown reached the Final Four for the third time in school history and second time in three years to face Kentucky, a team which had never lost a national semifinal game and was led by the "Twin Towers," Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin. Bowie and Turpin managed to get Ewing into foul trouble early, and with him on the bench and Reggie Williams shooting only 1-for-7 (14.3%) from the field during the game, the Wildcats raced out to a 27–15 lead with 3:06 left in the first half. After that however, the Hoyas made a defensive stand still unequalled in college basketball: Kentucky scored only two more points in the first half; the Wildcats also did not score in the first 9 minutes 55 seconds of the second half, missing their first 12 shots and after that shooting 3-for-21 (14.3%) during the remainder of the game. Overall, Kentucky shot 3-for-33 (9.1 percent) from the field during the second half. Although he played for only 17 minutes and suffered a season-ending foot injury in the second half, Gene Smith had one of the best defensive games of his career. Bowie and Turpin finished the game a combined 0-for-12, Wingate scored 12 points and held Kentucky's Jim Master to 2-for-7 (28.6%) shooting from the field, Michael Jackson scored 12 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds, and Georgetown won 53–40 to advance to the national final for the third time in school history and second time in three years.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Meanwhile, Houston was making its second straight national title game appearance after North Carolina State had famously upset them in Albuquerque in 1983. Clyde Drexler had declared for the NBA Draft after that season, but Hakeem Olajuwon remained on the roster.
Game summary
Reggie Williams demonstrated his true potential for the first time in the national championship game, putting in a strong defensive performance and shooting 9-for-18 (50.0%) from the field with 19 points and seven rebounds in the game, while Wingate scored 16 points and Ewing managed 10 points and nine rebounds. Jackson scored 11 points and had six assists, two of which set up Ewing and Graham 14 points and six rebounds for decisive slam dunks baskets late in the game. The game was decided well before the final whistle, and the Hoyas won the school's first national championship 84–75.
Late in the game, with Georgetown enjoying a comfortable lead, Thompson began to pull starters out and give bench players some time on the court; the game's enduring image came when senior guard Fred Brown came out of the game. Two years earlierat the same stage in New Orleans against North Carolina, after Michael Jordan had given the Tar Heels the lead, Brown had mistakenly passed the ball to James Worthy with less than 15 seconds to go, ruining Georgetown's chances for a final game-winning shot and allowing North Carolina to take the national championship, and cameras had captured Thompson consoling a devastated Brown with a hug as the Tar Heels celebrated. As Brown left the 1984 championship game, cameras caught Brown and Thompson again embracing on the sideline, this time to celebrate a victory.[1][2][3][4][6][7]
Aftermath
Olajuwon declared for the NBA Draft after the game and remained in Houston as he was selected #1 overall by the Rockets ahead of Sam Bowie at #2 by the Portland Trail Blazers and Michael Jordan at #3 by the Chicago Bulls. Ewing returned for his senior season and helped lead Georgetown back to the national championship game, but the Hoyas were upset by conference rival Villanova.
Ten years after the game, Olajuwon and Ewing faced each other in the 1994 NBA Finals between the Rockets and the New York Knicks, which the Rockets won in seven games to win the first of two consecutive NBA championships. As of 2024, this is the last time Houston has appeared in the national championship game, and would not return to the Final Four until 2021.
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