1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Last updated

1990 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament
1990 Final Four logo.png
Season 198990
Teams64
Finals site McNichols Sports Arena
Denver, Colorado
Champions UNLV Runnin' Rebels (1st title, 1st title game,
3rd Final Four)
Runner-up Duke Blue Devils (4th title game,
8th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coach Jerry Tarkanian (1st title)
MOP Anderson Hunt (UNLV)
Attendance537,138
Top scorer Dennis Scott (Georgia Tech)
(153 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
« 1989 1991 »

The 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the NCAA Division I men's basketball national champion for the 1989-1990 season. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Denver, Colorado. A total of 63 games were played.

Contents

UNLV won the national title with a 103–73 victory in the final game over Duke. In doing so, UNLV set the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament record for largest margin of victory in a championship game. UNLV's championship win marks the last time a school from a non-power conference has won the tournament. Anderson Hunt of UNLV was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This tournament is also remembered for an emotional run by the Loyola Marymount Lions (LMU) in the West region. In the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament against the Portland Pilots, Lions star forward Hank Gathers collapsed and died due to a heart condition. [1] The WCC tournament was immediately suspended and LMU, the regular-season champion, was given the conference's automatic bid to the tournament. The team defeated New Mexico State, then laid a 34-point thrashing on defending national champion Michigan, and defeated Alabama in the Sweet Sixteen (the only game in which LMU did not score 100 or more points in the tournament) before running into eventual champion UNLV in the regional final. Gathers' childhood friend, Bo Kimble, the team's undisputed floor leader in the wake of the tragedy, paid tribute to his friend by attempting his first free throw in each game left-handed despite being right-handed (Gathers was right-handed, but struggled so much with free throws that he tried shooting them left-handed for a time.) [2] Kimble made all of his left-handed attempts in the tournament.

The tournament employed a new timing system borrowed from FIBA & the NBA: when the game was played in an NBA arena, the final minute of the period is measured in tenths-seconds, rather than whole seconds as in previous years.

Schedule and venues

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Atlanta
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Indianapolis
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Austin
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Hartford
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Richmond
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Knoxville
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Long Beach
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Salt Lake City
1990 first and second rounds
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Oakland
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Dallas
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New Orleans
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E. Rutherford
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Denver
1990 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1990 tournament, and their host(s):

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

RegionSeedTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East1 Connecticut Jim Calhoun Big EastElite 83 Duke L 79–78
East2 Kansas Roy Williams Big EightRound of 327 UCLA L 71–70
East3 Duke Mike Krzyzewski Atlantic CoastNational Runner Up1 UNLV L 103–73
East4 La Salle Speedy Morris Metro AtlanticRound of 325 Clemson L 79–75
East5 Clemson Cliff Ellis Atlantic CoastSweet Sixteen1 Connecticut L 71–70
East6 St. John's Lou Carnesecca Big EastRound of 323 Duke L 76–72
East7 UCLA Jim Harrick Pacific-10Sweet Sixteen3 Duke L 90–81
East8 Indiana Bob Knight Big TenRound of 649 California L 65–63
East9 California Lou Campanelli Pacific-10Round of 321 Connecticut L 74–54
East10 UAB Gene Bartow Sun BeltRound of 647 UCLA L 68–56
East11 Temple John Chaney Atlantic 10Round of 646 St. John's L 81–65
East12 BYU Roger Reid Western AthleticRound of 645 Clemson L 49–47
East13 Southern Miss M.K. Turk MetroRound of 644 La Salle L 79–63
East14 Richmond Dick Tarrant ColonialRound of 643 Duke L 81–46
East15 Robert Morris Jarrett Durham NortheastRound of 642 Kansas L 79–71
East16 Boston University Mike Jarvis North AtlanticRound of 641 Connecticut L 76–52
Midwest
Midwest1 Oklahoma Billy Tubbs Big EightRound of 328 North Carolina L 79–77
Midwest2 Purdue Gene Keady Big TenRound of 3210 Texas L 73–72
Midwest3 Georgetown John Thompson Big EastRound of 326 Xavier L 74–71
Midwest4 Arkansas Nolan Richardson SouthwestNational semifinals3 Duke L 97–83
Midwest5 Illinois Lou Henson Big TenRound of 6412 Dayton L 88–86
Midwest6 Xavier Pete Gillen MidwesternSweet Sixteen10 Texas L 102–89
Midwest7 Georgia Hugh Durham SoutheasternRound of 6410 Texas L 100–88
Midwest8 North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic CoastSweet Sixteen4 Arkansas L 96–73
Midwest9 Southwest Missouri State Charlie Spoonhour Mid-ContinentRound of 648 North Carolina L 83–70
Midwest10 Texas Tom Penders SouthwestElite 84 Arkansas L 88–85
Midwest11 Kansas State Lon Kruger Big EightRound of 646 Xavier L 87–79
Midwest12 Dayton Jim O'Brien MidwesternRound of 324 Arkansas L 86–84
Midwest13 Princeton Pete Carril Ivy LeagueRound of 644 Arkansas L 68–64
Midwest14 Texas Southern Robert Moreland Southwest AthleticRound of 643 Georgetown L 70–52
Midwest15 Northeast Louisiana Mike Vining SouthlandRound of 642 Purdue L 75–63
Midwest16 Towson State Terry Truax East CoastRound of 641 Oklahoma L 77–68
Southeast
Southeast1 Michigan State Jud Heathcote Big TenSweet Sixteen4 Georgia Tech L 81–80
Southeast2 Syracuse Jim Boeheim Big EastSweet Sixteen6 Minnesota L 82–75
Southeast3 Missouri Norm Stewart Big EightRound of 6414 Northern Iowa L 74–71
Southeast4 Georgia Tech Bobby Cremins Atlantic CoastNational semifinals1 UNLV L 90–81
Southeast5 LSU Dale Brown SoutheasternRound of 324 Georgia Tech L 94–91
Southeast6 Minnesota Clem Haskins Big TenElite 84 Georgia Tech L 93–91
Southeast7 Virginia Terry Holland Atlantic CoastRound of 322 Syracuse L 63–61
Southeast8 Houston Pat Foster SouthwestRound of 649 UC Santa Barbara L 70–66
Southeast9 UC Santa Barbara Jerry Pimm Big WestRound of 321 Michigan State L 62–58
Southeast10 Notre Dame Digger Phelps IndependentRound of 647 Virginia L 75–67
Southeast11 UTEP Don Haskins Western AthleticRound of 646 Minnesota L 64–61
Southeast12 Villanova Rollie Massimino Big EastRound of 645 LSU L 70–63
Southeast13 East Tennessee State Les Robinson SouthernRound of 644 Georgia Tech L 99–83
Southeast14 Northern Iowa Eldon Miller Mid-ContinentRound of 326 Minnesota L 81–78
Southeast15 Coppin State Ron Mitchell Mid-EasternRound of 642 Syracuse L 70–48
Southeast16 Murray State Steve Newton Ohio ValleyRound of 641 Michigan State L 75–71
West
West1 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Big WestChampion3 Duke W 103–73
West2 Arizona Lute Olson Pacific-10Round of 327 Alabama L 77–55
West3 Michigan Steve Fisher Big TenRound of 3211 Loyola Marymount L 149–115
West4 Louisville Denny Crum MetroRound of 3212 Ball State L 62–60
West5 Oregon State Jim AndersonPacific-10Round of 6412 Ball State L 54–53
West6 New Mexico State Neil McCarthy Big WestRound of 6411 Loyola Marymount L 111–92
West7 Alabama Wimp Sanderson SoutheasternSweet Sixteen11 Loyola Marymount L 62–60
West8 Ohio State Randy Ayers Big TenRound of 321 UNLV L 76–65
West9 Providence Rick Barnes Big EastRound of 648 Ohio State L 84–83
West10 Colorado State Boyd Grant Western AthleticRound of 647 Alabama L 71–54
West11 Loyola Marymount Paul Westhead West CoastElite 81 UNLV L 131–101
West12 Ball State Dick Hunsaker Mid-AmericanSweet Sixteen1 UNLV L 69–67
West13 Idaho Kermit Davis Big SkyRound of 644 Louisville L 78–59
West14 Illinois State Bob Bender Missouri ValleyRound of 643 Michigan L 76–70
West15 South Florida Bobby Paschal Sun BeltRound of 642 Arizona L 79–67
West16 Little Rock Mike Newell Trans AmericaRound of 641 UNLV L 102–72

Bracket

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

First round Second Round Regional semifinals Regional Final
            
1 Connecticut76
16 Boston University 52
1 Connecticut74
Hartford
9 California 54
8 Indiana 63
9 California65
1 Connecticut71
5 Clemson 70
5 Clemson49
12 BYU 47
5 Clemson79
Hartford
4 La Salle 75
4 La Salle79
13 Southern Miss 63
1 Connecticut 78
3 Duke79OT
6 St. John's81
11 Temple 65
6 St. John's 72
Atlanta
3 Duke76
3 Duke81
14 Richmond 46
3 Duke90
7 UCLA 81
7 UCLA68
10 UAB 56
7 UCLA71
Atlanta
2 Kansas 70
2 Kansas79
15 Robert Morris 71

Regional Final summary

CBS
Saturday, March 24
#3 Duke Blue Devils79, #1 Connecticut Huskies 78 (OT)
Pts: A. Abdelnaby 27
Rebs: A. Abdelnaby 14
Asts: B. Hurley 8
Pts: J. Gwynn, N. Henefeld 15
Rebs: N. Henefeld 6
Asts: C. Smith 5
Halftime Score: Duke, 37–30
End of Regulation: 72–72
Brendan Byrne Arena – East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 19,546

Midwest Regional – Dallas, Texas

First round Second Round Regional semifinals Regional Final
            
1 Oklahoma77
16 Towson State 68
1 Oklahoma 77
Austin
8 North Carolina79
8 North Carolina83
9 SW Missouri State 70
8 North Carolina 73
4 Arkansas96
5 Illinois 86
12 Dayton88
12 Dayton 84
Austin
4 Arkansas86
4 Arkansas68
13 Princeton 64
4 Arkansas88
10 Texas 85
6 Xavier87
11 Kansas State 79
6 Xavier74
Indianapolis
3 Georgetown 71
3 Georgetown70
14 Texas Southern 52
6 Xavier 89
10 Texas102
7 Georgia 88
10 Texas100
10 Texas73
Indianapolis
2 Purdue 72
2 Purdue75
15 Northeast Louisiana 63

Regional Final summary

CBS
Saturday, March 24
#4 Arkansas Razorbacks88, #10 Texas Longhorns 85
Pts: L. Howell 21
Rebs: L. Howell, O. Miller 9
Asts: L. Mayberry 7
Pts: J. Wright, T. Mays 20
Rebs: L. Collie 14
Asts: T. Mays 5
Halftime Score: Arkansas, 43–36
Reunion Arena – Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 16,413

Southeast Regional – New Orleans, Louisiana

First round Second Round Regional semifinals Regional Final
            
1 Michigan State75OT
16 Murray State 71
1 Michigan State62
Knoxville
9 UC Santa Barbara 58
8 Houston 66
9 UC Santa Barbara70
1 Michigan State 80
4 Georgia Tech81OT
5 LSU70
12 Villanova 63
5 LSU 91
Knoxville
4 Georgia Tech94
4 Georgia Tech99
13 East Tennessee State 83
4 Georgia Tech93
6 Minnesota 91
6 Minnesota64OT
11 UTEP 61
6 Minnesota81
Richmond
14 Northern Iowa 78
3 Missouri 71
14 Northern Iowa74
6 Minnesota82
2 Syracuse 75
7 Virginia75
10 Notre Dame 67
7 Virginia 61
Richmond
2 Syracuse63
2 Syracuse70
15 Coppin State 48

Regional Final summary

CBS
Sunday, March 25
#4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets93, #6 Minnesota Golden Gophers 91
Pts: D. Scott 40
Rebs: K. Anderson 8
Asts: K. Anderson 3
Pts: W. Burton 35
Rebs: R. Coffey 9
Asts: M. Newbern 6
Halftime Score: Minnesota, 49–47
Louisiana Superdome – New Orleans
Attendance: 17,782

West Regional – Oakland, California

First round Second Round Regional semifinals Regional Final
            
1 UNLV102
16 Arkansas–Little Rock 72
1 UNLV76
Salt Lake City
8 Ohio State 65
8 Ohio State84OT
9 Providence 83
1 UNLV69
12 Ball State 67
5 Oregon State 53
12 Ball State54
12 Ball State62
Salt Lake City
4 Louisville 60
4 Louisville78
13 Idaho 59
1 UNLV131
11 Loyola Marymount 101
6 New Mexico State 92
11 Loyola Marymount111
11 Loyola Marymount149
Long Beach
3 Michigan 115
3 Michigan76
14 Illinois State 70
11 Loyola Marymount62
7 Alabama 60
7 Alabama71
10 Colorado State 54
7 Alabama77
Long Beach
2 Arizona 55
2 Arizona79
15 South Florida 67

Regional Final summary

CBS
Sunday, March 25
#1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels131, #11 Loyola Marymount Lions 101
Pts: S. Augmon 33
Rebs: L. Johnson 18
Asts: A. Hunt 13
Pts: B. Kimble 42
Rebs: B. Kimble 11
Asts: T. Lowery 6
Halftime Score: UNLV, 67–47
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena – Oakland, California
Attendance: 14,298

Final Four – Denver, Colorado

National semifinals National Championship Game
      
E3 Duke97
MW4 Arkansas 83
E3 Duke 73
W1 UNLV103
SE4 Georgia Tech 81
W1 UNLV90

Game summaries

CBS
March 31
#1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels90, #4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 81
Pts: S. Augmon 22
Rebs: M. Scurry 11
Asts: A. Hunt 7
Pts: D. Scott 29
Rebs: J. McNeil 9
Asts: K. Anderson 8
Halftime Score: Georgia Tech 53–46
McNichols Arena – Denver
Attendance: 17,675
Referees: Jim Bain, Dick Paparo, Jim Stupin
CBS
March 31
#3 Duke Blue Devils97, #4 Arkansas Razorbacks 83
Pts: P. Henderson 28
Rebs: C. Laettner 14
Asts: B. Hurley 6
Pts: T. Day 27
Rebs: T. Day 7
Asts: L. Mayberry 6
Halftime Score: Duke, 46–43
McNichols Arena – Denver
Attendance: 17,675
Referees: Gerry Donaghy, Jim Burr, Frank Bosone

National Championship

CBS
April 2
#1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels103, #3 Duke Blue Devils 73
Pts: A. Hunt 29
Rebs: L. Johnson 11
Asts: S. Augmon 7
Pts: P. Henderson 21
Rebs: C. Laettner 9
Asts: C. Laettner 5
Halftime Score: UNLV, 47–35
McNichols Arena – Denver
Attendance: 17,675
Referees: Ed Hightower, Richie Ballesteros and Tim Higgins

Announcers

CBS

CBS and NCAA Productions broadcast all tournament games.

ESPN/NCAA Productions

This would be the last year that ESPN would be involved in broadcasting games of the tournament, as CBS took over exclusive coverage of the tournament the following year.

Tournament notes

See also

References

  1. Nehus Saxon, Lisa (6 March 1990). "Winning and losing: Players, friends believed Gathers was invincible". The Vindicator. p. 11. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  2. "This Bo knows heartache, happiness". The Argus-Press. 19 March 1990. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  3. 2025 Men's Final Four Records Book. National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
  4. Nagel, Cody (7 April 2024). "March Madness: College basketball's most dominant NCAA Tournament champions since 1985". 247Sports. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Which is the only basketball team to have scored over 100 points in a NCAA championship game?". 6 April 2017.
  6. 1 2 "The Tournament" (PDF). Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. "The highest-scoring men's basketball games in NCAA March Madness history | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
  8. "March Madness History".
  9. "100 worst blowouts in history: Nos. 50-26". ESPN.com. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  10. "The longest winning streaks in college basketball history | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.