1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

See also: 1994 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game

1994 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	1993–94
Teams	64
Finals site	Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Champions	Arkansas Razorbacks (1st title, 1st title game, 5th Final Four)
Runner-up	Duke Blue Devils (7th title game, 11th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Arizona Wildcats (2nd Final Four) Florida Gators (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Nolan Richardson (1st title)
MOP	Corliss Williamson (Arkansas)
Attendance	578,007
Top scorer	Khalid Reeves (138 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments « 1993 1995 »

The 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 56th annual edition of the tournament began on March 17, 1994, and ended with the championship game at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 4, 1994. The tournament consisted of 63 games.

The Final Four consisted of Arkansas, making its fifth trip and first since 1990, Arizona, Florida, making its first trip, and Duke, making its sixth trip in the last seven tournaments.

In the national championship game, Arkansas defeated Duke by a score of 76–72 and won its first-ever national championship.

Schedule and venues

Uniondale

Landover

Lexington

St. Petersburg

Oklahoma City

Wichita

Ogden

Sacramento

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1994 first and second rounds

Los Angeles

Dallas

Knoxville

Miami

Charlotte

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1994 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1994 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

• March 17 and 19
  • East Region
    • Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York (Hosts: St. John's University, Big East Conference)
  • Midwest Region
    • Kansas Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas (Host: Wichita State University)
  • Southeast Region
    • Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
  • West Region
    • Dee Events Center, Ogden, Utah (Host: Weber State University)
• March 18 and 20
  • East Region
    • USAir Arena, Landover, Maryland (Host: George Mason University)
  • Midwest Region
    • Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma)
  • Southeast Region
    • Thunderdome, St. Petersburg, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)
  • West Region
    • ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California (Hosts: University of the Pacific, Big West Conference)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 24 and 26
  • Southeast Regional, Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Hosts: University of Tennessee, Southeastern Conference)
  • West Regional, Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California (Hosts: University of Southern California, Pacific-10 Conference)
• March 25 and 27
  • East Regional, Miami Arena, Miami, Florida (Host: University of Miami)
  • Midwest Regional, Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas (Host: Southwest Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 2 and 4
  • Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

Teams

There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 27 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while three were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Big Ten, Ivy League and Pac-10).

Three conferences, the East Coast Conference, ^[1] Great Midwest Conference, ^[2] and Midwestern Collegiate Conference, ^[3] did not receive automatic bids to the tournament.

Four conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Liberty (Big South), Loyola (MD) (MAAC), Southwest Texas State (Southland), and UCF (TAAC). Additionally, College of Charleston received an at-large bid for its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Automatic qualifiers

Automatic qualifiers

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	North Carolina	28th	1993
Atlantic 10	UMass	4th	1993
Big East	Providence	12th	1990
Big Eight	Nebraska	5th	1993
Big Sky	Boise State	4th	1993
Big South	Liberty	1st	Never
Big Ten	Purdue	13th	1993
Big West	New Mexico State (vacated)	–	1991
CAA	James Madison	4th	1983
Ivy League	Penn	15th	1993
MAAC	Loyola (MD)	1st	Never
MAC	Ohio	10th	1985
MEAC	North Carolina A&T	8th	1988
Metro	Louisville	24th	1993
Mid-Continent	Green Bay	2nd	1991
Missouri Valley	Southern Illinois	3rd	1993
NAC	Drexel	2nd	1986
NEC	Rider	3rd	1993
Ohio Valley	Tennessee State	2nd	1993
Pac-10	Arizona	13th	1993
Patriot	Navy	9th	1987
SEC	Kentucky	35th	1993
Southern	Chattanooga	6th	1993
Southland	Southwest Texas State	1st	Never
Sun Belt	Southwestern Louisiana	3rd	1992
SWAC	Texas Southern	2nd	1990
SWC	Texas	13th	1992
TAAC	UCF	1st	Never
WAC	Hawaii	2nd	1972
West Coast	Pepperdine	11th	1992

Tournament seeds

East Regional – Miami Arena, Miami, Florida Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 North Carolina ACC 27–6 Automatic 2 Connecticut Big East 27–4 At-Large 3 Florida SEC 25–7 At-Large 4 Temple Atlantic 10 22–7 At-Large 5 Indiana Big Ten 19–8 At-Large 6 Nebraska Big Eight 20–9 Automatic 7 UAB Great Midwest 22–7 At-Large 8 Washington State Pac-10 20–10 At-Large 9 Boston College Big East 20–10 At-Large 10 George Washington Atlantic 10 17–11 At-Large 11 Penn Ivy League 24–2 Automatic 12 Ohio MAC 25–7 Automatic 13 Drexel NAC 25–4 Automatic 14 James Madison CAA 20–9 Automatic 15 Rider NEC 21–8 Automatic 16 Liberty Big South 18–11 Automatic

Midwest Regional – Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Arkansas SEC 25–3 At-Large 2 UMass Atlantic 10 27–6 Automatic 3 Michigan Big Ten 21–7 At-Large 4 Oklahoma State Big Eight 23–9 At-Large 5 UCLA Pac-10 21–6 At-Large 6 Texas SWC 25–7 Automatic 7 Saint Louis Great Midwest 23–5 At-Large 8 Illinois Big Ten 17–10 At-Large 9 Georgetown Big East 18–11 At-Large 10 Maryland ACC 16–11 At-Large 11 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 20–10 At-Large 12 Tulsa Missouri Valley 21–7 At-Large 13 New Mexico State (vacated) Big West 23–7 Automatic 14 Pepperdine WCC 19–10 Automatic 15 Southwest Texas State Southland 25–6 Automatic 16 North Carolina A&T MEAC 16–13 Automatic

Southeast Regional – Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Purdue Big Ten 26–4 Automatic 2 Duke ACC 23–5 At-Large 3 Kentucky SEC 26–6 Automatic 4 Kansas Big Eight 25–7 At-Large 5 Wake Forest ACC 20–11 At-Large 6 Marquette Great Midwest 22–8 At-Large 7 Michigan State Big Ten 19–11 At-Large 8 Providence Big East 20–9 Automatic 9 Alabama SEC 19–9 At-Large 10 Seton Hall Big East 17–12 At-Large 11 Southwestern Louisiana Sun Belt 22–7 Automatic 12 College of Charleston TAAC 24–3 At-Large 13 Chattanooga Southern 23–6 Automatic 14 Tennessee State Ohio Valley 19–11 Automatic 15 Texas Southern SWAC 19–10 Automatic 16 UCF TAAC 21–8 Automatic

West Regional – Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Missouri (vacated) Big Eight 25–3 At-Large 2 Arizona Pac-10 25–5 Automatic 3 Louisville Metro 26–5 Automatic 4 Syracuse Big East 21–6 At-Large 5 California Pac-10 22–7 At-Large 6 Minnesota (vacated) Big Ten 20–11 At-Large 7 Virginia ACC 17–12 At-Large 8 Cincinnati Great Midwest 22–9 At-Large 9 Wisconsin Big Ten 17–10 At-Large 10 New Mexico WAC 23–7 At-Large 11 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 23–6 Automatic 12 UW–Green Bay Mid-Continent 22–6 Automatic 13 Hawaii WAC 18–14 Automatic 14 Boise State Big Sky 17–12 Automatic 15 Loyola (MD) MAAC 17–12 Automatic 16 Navy Patriot 17–12 Automatic

Bracket

East Regional – Miami, Florida

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	North Carolina	71
	16	Liberty	51
						1	North Carolina	72
	Landover
						9	Boston College	75
	8	Washington State	64
	9	Boston College	67
											9	Boston College	77
											5	Indiana	68
	5	Indiana	84
	12	Ohio	72
						5	Indiana	67
	Landover
						4	Temple	58
	4	Temple	61
	13	Drexel	39
																9	Boston College	66
																3	Florida	74
	6	Nebraska	80
	11	Penn	90
						11	Penn	58
	Uniondale
						3	Florida	70
	3	Florida	64
	14	James Madison	62
											3	Florida	69OT
											2	Connecticut	60
	7	UAB	46
	10	George Washington	51
						10	George Washington	63
	Uniondale
						2	Connecticut	75
	2	Connecticut	64
	15	Rider	46

Southeast Regional – Knoxville, Tennessee

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Purdue	98
	16	UCF	67
						1	Purdue	83
	Lexington
						9	Alabama	73
	8	Providence	70
	9	Alabama	76
											1	Purdue	83
											4	Kansas	78
	5	Wake Forest	68
	12	College of Charleston	58
						5	Wake Forest	58
	Lexington
						4	Kansas	69
	4	Kansas	102
	13	Chattanooga	73
																1	Purdue	60
																2	Duke	69
	6	Marquette	81
	11	Southwest Louisiana	59
						6	Marquette	75
	St. Petersburg
						3	Kentucky	63
	3	Kentucky	83
	14	Tennessee State	70
											6	Marquette	49
											2	Duke	59
	7	Michigan State	84
	10	Seton Hall	73
						7	Michigan State	74
	St. Petersburg
						2	Duke	85
	2	Duke	82
	15	Texas Southern	70

Midwest Regional – Dallas, Texas

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Arkansas	94
	16	North Carolina A&T	79
						1	Arkansas	85
	Oklahoma City
						9	Georgetown	73
	8	Illinois	77
	9	Georgetown	84
											1	Arkansas	103
											12	Tulsa	84
	5	UCLA	102
	12	Tulsa	112
						12	Tulsa	82
	Oklahoma City
						4	Oklahoma State	80
	4	Oklahoma State	65
	13	New Mexico State	55
																1	Arkansas	76
																3	Michigan	68
	6	Texas	91
	11	Western Kentucky	77
						6	Texas	79
	Wichita
						3	Michigan	84
	3	Michigan	78OT
	14	Pepperdine	74
											3	Michigan	78
											10	Maryland	71
	7	Saint Louis	66
	10	Maryland	74
						10	Maryland	95
	Wichita
						2	Massachusetts	87
	2	Massachusetts	78
	15	Southwest Texas State	60

West Regional – Los Angeles, California

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Missouri	76
	16	Navy	53
						1	Missouri	109
	Ogden
						9	Wisconsin	96
	8	Cincinnati	72
	9	Wisconsin	80
											1	Missouri	98OT
											4	Syracuse	88
	5	California	57
	12	UW–Green Bay	61
						12	UW–Green Bay	59
	Ogden
						4	Syracuse	64
	4	Syracuse	92
	13	Hawaii	78
																1	Missouri	72
																2	Arizona	92
	6	Minnesota	74
	11	Southern Illinois	60
						6	Minnesota	55
	Sacramento
						3	Louisville	60
	3	Louisville	67
	14	Boise State	58
											3	Louisville	70
											2	Arizona	82
	7	Virginia	57
	10	New Mexico	54
						7	Virginia	58
	Sacramento
						2	Arizona	71
	2	Arizona	81
	15	Loyola (MD)	55

Minnesota vacated its NCAA Tournament appearance from the 1993–94 season due to an academic fraud scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Minnesota removing the wins from its own record.

West Region First round

CBS

Thursday, March 17 approx. 3:15 pm MST

box score

#12 UW–Green Bay Phoenix61, #5 California Golden Bears 57
Scoring by half: 32–23, 29–34
Pts: J. Nordgaard – 24 Rebs: J. Nordgaard – 9 Asts: J. Martinez – 7		Pts: L. Murray – 18 Rebs: J. Kidd, L. Murray – 11 Asts: J. Kidd – 7

Dee Events Center – Ogden Attendance: 12,126 Referees: Lenny Wirtz, Ed Corbett, Rick Hartzell

West Region Second Round

CBS

Saturday, March 19 2:35 pm MST

box score

#12 UW–Green Bay Phoenix 59, #4 Syracuse Orangemen64
Scoring by half: 26–37, 33–27
Pts: J. Nordgaard – 19 Rebs: J. Ludvigson – 7 Asts: G. Grzesk – 7		Pts: L. Moten – 17 Rebs: L. Jackson, L. Moten, J. Wallace – 8 Asts: A. Autry – 5

Dee Events Center – Ogden Attendance: 12,126 Referees: Lenny Wirtz, Andre Pattillo, Bob Barnett

Final Four – Charlotte, North Carolina

	National semifinals					National Championship Game
	E3	Florida	65
	SE2	Duke	70
						SE2	Duke	72
						MW1	Arkansas	76
	MW1	Arkansas	91
	W2	Arizona	82

Broadcast information

On television, CBS Sports covered all 63 games of the tournament, with regional splits until the Regional Finals followed by national telecasts.

Exclusive national radio coverage was provided by CBS Radio Sports.

CBS announcers

• James Brown or Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – Brown/Packer, First & Second Round at Uniondale, New York; Nantz/Packer, Midwest Regional at Dallas, Texas; Final Four at Charlotte, North Carolina
• Dick Stockton and Al McGuire – First & Second Round at Lexington, Kentucky; West Regional at Los Angeles
• Greg Gumbel/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser – First & Second Round at Landover, Maryland; Southeast Regional at Knoxville, Tennessee
• Verne Lundquist and Dan Bonner or Clark Kellogg – Lundquist/Bonner, First & Second Round at St. Petersburg, Florida; Lundquist/Kellogg, East Regional at Miami
• Sean McDonough and Derrek Dickey – First & Second Round at Wichita, Kansas
• Ted Robinson and Greg Kelser – First & Second Round at Oklahoma City
• Tim Ryan and Ann Meyers – First & Second Round at Ogden, Utah
• Dave Sims and Larry Farmer – First & Second Round at Sacramento, California

Local radio

Region	Seed	Teams	Flagship station	Play-by-play announcer	Color analyst(s)
West	1
	2
	3
	4	Syracuse	WSYR–AM 570 (Syracuse, NY)
	5	California	KSFO–AM 560 (Berkeley, CA)
	6
	7
	8
	9
	10
	11
	12	UW–Green Bay	WDUZ–AM 1400 (Green Bay, WI)
	13
	14
	15
	16

See also

• 1994 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1994 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 1994 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1994 National Invitation Tournament
• 1994 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1994 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1994 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament

References

1. Beach, Jerry (March 9, 2021). "'Island Of Misfit Toys': East Coast Conference Curiosity & The Big Dance". FloHoops . Retrieved May 21, 2023.
2. "TEXAS CLAIMS ITS FIRST SWC TITLE; CINCINNATI WINS GREAT MIDWEST". Deseret News . Associated Press. March 13, 1994. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
3. "MCC LOSES AUTOMATIC NCAA BID". Chicago Tribune . December 11, 1992. Retrieved May 21, 2023.