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1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament

Field	Value
Year	1981
Image	1981 Final Four logo.png
ImageSize	150px
Teams	48
FinalFourArena	The Spectrum
FinalFourCity	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Champions	Indiana Hoosiers
TitleCount	4th
ChampGameCount	4th
ChampFFCount	5th
RunnerUp	North Carolina Tar Heels
GameCount	5th
RunnerFFCount	8th
Semifinal1	Virginia Cavaliers
FinalFourCount	1st
Semifinal2	LSU Tigers
FinalFourCount2	2nd
Coach	Bob Knight
CoachCount	2nd
MOP	Isiah Thomas
MOPTeam	Indiana
Attendance	347,414
TopScorer	Al Wood
TopScorerTeam	North Carolina
Points	109

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. The 43rd annual edition of the tournament began on March 12, 1981, and ended with the championship game on March 30, at The Spectrum 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.

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.

Bob Kearney and Tony Costner of Saint Joseph's celebrate after their upset win over DePaul

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 under a minute left, the Hawks had rallied to within one point, 48–47. Blue Demons guard Skip Dillard was fouled with 12 seconds left. Dillard was known as 'Money' for his superb free throw shooting (85%), but he missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and St. Joseph's guard Bryan Warrick got the rebound and dribbled to the front court without calling a timeout. Then he 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.

Schedule and venues

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

First and Second rounds

March 12 and 14
- East Region
  - Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College)
- Mideast Region
  - University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
- Midwest Region
  - Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
- West Region
  - Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: UCLA)
March 13 and 15
- East Region
  - Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
- Mideast Region
  - Memorial Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Host: University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa)
- Midwest Region
  - Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas (Host: Wichita State University)
- West Region
  - Special Events Center, El Paso, Texas (Host: University of Texas at El Paso)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

March 19 and 21
- East Regional, Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech)
- West Regional, Special Events Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
March 20 and 22
- Mideast Regional, Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University Bloomington)
- Midwest Regional, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Tulane University)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

March 28 and 30
- The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: The Philadelphia Big 5 - Villanova University, Temple University, La Salle University, Saint Joseph's University, University of Pennsylvania)

Teams

Region	Seed	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East	1	Virginia	Terry Holland	ACC	Third Place	1 LSU	W 78–74
East	2	Notre Dame	Digger Phelps	Independent	Sweet Sixteen	6 BYU	L 51–50
East	3	UCLA	Larry Brown	Pacific-10	Round of 32	6 BYU	L 78–55
East	4	Tennessee	Don DeVoe	SEC	Sweet Sixteen	1 Virginia	L 62–48
East	5	VCU	J. D. Barnett	Sun Belt	Round of 32	4 Tennessee	L 58–56
East	6	BYU	Frank Arnold	WAC	Regional Runner-up	1 Virginia	L 74–60
East	7	Georgetown	John Thompson	Big East	Round of 48	10 James Madison	L 61–55
East	8	Houston	Guy Lewis	Southwest	Round of 48	9 Villanova	L 90–72
East	9	Villanova	Rollie Massimino	Big East	Round of 32	1 Virginia	L 54–50
East	10	James Madison	Lou Campanelli	ECAC South	Round of 32	2 Notre Dame	L 54–45
East	11	Princeton	Pete Carril	Ivy League	Round of 48	6 BYU	L 60–51
East	12		Paul Lizzo	ECAC Metro	Round of 48	5 VCU	L 85–69
Mideast	1	DePaul	Ray Meyer	Independent	Round of 32	9 Saint Joseph's	L 49–48
Mideast	2	Kentucky	Joe B. Hall	SEC	Round of 32	7 UAB	L 69–62
Mideast	3	Indiana	Bob Knight	Big Ten	Champion	2 North Carolina	W 63–50
Mideast	4	Wake Forest	Carl Tacy	ACC	Round of 32	5 Boston College	L 67–64
Mideast	5	Boston College	Tom Davis	Big East	Sweet Sixteen	9 Saint Joseph's	L 42–41
Mideast	6	Maryland	Lefty Driesell	ACC	Round of 32	3 Indiana	L 99–64
Mideast	7	UAB	Gene Bartow	Sun Belt	Sweet Sixteen	3 Indiana	L 87–72
Mideast	8	Creighton	Tom Apke	Missouri Valley	Round of 48	9 Saint Joseph's	L 59–57
Mideast	9	Saint Joseph's	Jim Lynam	East Coast	Regional Runner-up	3 Indiana	L 78–46
Mideast	10	Western Kentucky	Clem Haskins	Ohio Valley	Round of 48	7 UAB	L 93–68
Mideast	11	Chattanooga	Murray Arnold	Southern	Round of 48	6 Maryland	L 81–69
Mideast	12	Ball State	Steve Yoder	MAC	Round of 48	5 Boston College	L 93–90
Midwest	1	LSU	Dale Brown	SEC	Fourth Place	1 Virginia	L 78–74
Midwest	2	Arizona State	Ned Wulk	Pacific-10	Round of 32	7 Kansas	L 88–71
Midwest	3	Iowa	Lute Olson	Big Ten	Round of 32	6 Wichita State	L 60–56
Midwest	4	Louisville	Denny Crum	Metro	Round of 32	5 Arkansas	L 74–73
Midwest	5	Arkansas	Eddie Sutton	Southwest	Sweet Sixteen	1 LSU	L 72–56
Midwest	6	Wichita State	Gene Smithson	Missouri Valley	Regional Runner-up	1 LSU	L 96–85
Midwest	7	Kansas	Ted Owens	Big Eight	Sweet Sixteen	6 Wichita State	L 66–65
Midwest	8	Lamar	Pat Foster	Southland	Round of 32	1 LSU	L 100–78
Midwest	9	Missouri	Norm Stewart	Big Eight	Round of 48	8 Lamar	L 71–67
Midwest	10	Ole Miss	Bob Weltlich	SEC	Round of 48	7 Kansas	L 69–66
Midwest	11		Carl Stewart	SWAC	Round of 48	6 Wichita State	L 95–70
Midwest	12	Mercer	Bill Bibb	Trans America	Round of 48	5 Arkansas	L 73–67
West	1	Oregon State	Ralph Miller	Pacific-10	Round of 32	8 Kansas State	L 50–48
West	2	North Carolina	Dean Smith	ACC	Runner Up	3 Indiana	L 63–50
West	3	Utah	Jerry Pimm	WAC	Sweet Sixteen	2 North Carolina	L 61–56
West	4	Illinois	Lou Henson	Big Ten	Sweet Sixteen	8 Kansas State	L 57–52
West	5	Wyoming	Jim Brandenburg	WAC	Round of 32	4 Illinois	L 67–65
West	6	Fresno State	Boyd Grant	Pacific Coast	Round of 48	11 Northeastern	L 55–53
West	7	Idaho	Don Monson	Big Sky	Round of 48	10 Pittsburgh	L 70–69
West	8	Kansas State	Jack Hartman	Big Eight	Regional Runner-up	2 North Carolina	L 82–68
West	9	San Francisco	Peter Barry	West Coast	Round of 48	8 Kansas State	L 64–60
West	10	Pittsburgh	Roy Chipman	Eastern	Round of 32	2 North Carolina	L 74–57
West	11	Northeastern	Jim Calhoun	ECAC North	Round of 32	3 Utah	L 94–69
West	12	Howard	A.B. Williamson	MEAC	Round of 48	5 Wyoming	L 78–43

Bracket

– Denotes overtime period

East region

West region

Mideast region

Midwest region

Final Four

Notes

This was the last tournament that a third-place game was staged prior to the national championship; every prior championship since 1946 had featured the game.
The 1981 tournament holds the record for the most first-time participants. Twelve teams – UAB, Ball State, Chattanooga, Fresno State, Howard, Idaho, James Madison, LIU, Mercer, Mississippi, Northeastern, and Southern – appeared in their first tournament. UAB, coached by Gene Bartow, made it the furthest, reaching the Sweet Sixteen before falling to eventual champion Indiana. The twelve teams beat the previous record of eleven set in 1955. Half of the first time teams would return in 1982, with the longest drought before their second appearance being sixteen years for the Ole Miss Rebels.
As of 2024, this is the only time all three Division I schools from Kansas—Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State—have advanced to the Sweet 16.
As of 2023, all forty-eight teams in the 1981 tournament have returned to the tournament at least once. This would happen five more times in the 1980s, but has not happened again since 1989.

Announcers (NBC and NCAA Productions)

Dick Enberg, Billy Packer and Al McGuire – Second round at Providence, Rhode Island (UCLA–Brigham Young, Notre Dame–James Madison); Second round at Charlotte, North Carolina (Virginia–Villanova, Tennessee–VCU); East Regional Final at Atlanta, Georgia; Midwest Regional Final at New Orleans, Louisiana; Final Four at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marv Albert and Steve Grote – Mideast Regional Final at Bloomington, Indiana
Don Criqui and Gary Thompson – Second round at Dayton, Ohio (DePaul–St. Joseph's, Indiana–Maryland); West Regional Final at Salt Lake City, Utah (Kansas State-North Carolina)
Bill O'Donnell and Jeff Mullins – East Regional semifinals at Atlanta, Georgia
Jim Thacker and Steve Grote – Mideast Regional semifinals at Bloomington, Indiana
Fred White and Larry Conley – Midwest Regional semifinals at New Orleans, Louisiana
Bob Costas and Gary Thompson – Second round at Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Kentucky–UAB, Wake Forest–Boston College)
Marv Albert and Bucky Waters – Second round at Austin, Texas (LSU–Lamar, Louisville–Arkansas)
Charlie Jones and Lynn Shackelford – Second round at Wichita, Kansas (Iowa–Wichita State, Arizona State–Kansas)
Jay Randolph and Steve Grote – Second round at Los Angeles, California (Oregon State–Kansas State, Illinois–Wyoming)
Merle Harmon and Matt Guokas – Second round at El Paso, Texas (Utah–Northeastern, North Carolina–Pittsburgh)
Tom Hammond and Larry Conley – First round at Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Boston College–Ball State, UAB–Western Kentucky)
Tom Hammond and Gary Thompson-West Regional Semifinals at Salt Lake City, Utah

References

YouTube - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwHv3tTg8mU&t=1271s March 1981 - St Joe's vs DePaul, NCAA Tournament (Final 8+ Minutes)]Joe Tolstoy
(March 9, 2011). "March Madness defining moment?". ncaa.com.

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