1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament August 2023 March 2026 1983 1983 Final Four logo.png 52 The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico NC State Wolfpack 2nd 2nd 3rd Houston Cougars 1st 4th Georgia Bulldogs 1st Louisville Cardinals 6th Jim Valvano 1st Akeem Olajuwon Houston 364,356 Dereck Whittenburg NC State 120 The 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 52 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 45th annual edition of the tournament began on March 17, 1983, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at The Pit, then officially known as University Arena, on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/postseason/1983-ncaa.html 1983 NCAA Tournament Summary A total of 51 games were played. North Carolina State, coached by Jim Valvano, won the national title with a 54–52 victory in the final game over Houston, coached by Guy Lewis. The ending of the final game is one of the most famous in college basketball history, with a buzzer-beating dunk by Lorenzo Charles off a desperation shot from 30 feet out by Dereck Whittenburg. This would also be NC State's last appearance in the Final Four until 2024. Both Charles's dunk and Valvano's running around the court in celebration immediately after the game have been staples of NCAA tournament coverage ever since. North Carolina State's victory has often been considered one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history, and is the fourth biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. Akeem Olajuwon of Houston was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, becoming the last player to date to earn this award while playing for a team that failed to win the national title. National championship game 1983 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game In the final game, played in Albuquerque, New Mexico, NC State led at halftime by a score of 33–25. Houston was hampered by foul trouble that plagued star Clyde Drexler, who picked up four first half fouls. In the second half, the Cougars came out with a second wind and established control of the game, eventually taking a seven-point lead. However, things were not all good for Houston. Since the game was played in Albuquerque, players had to deal with the city's mile-high altitude. The Cougars' star center, Akeem Olajuwon, had problems adjusting to the environment and tired quickly, needing to check out of the game multiple times so he could put on an oxygen mask and recover. With Olajuwon on the bench, Houston head coach Guy Lewis decided that in order to protect the lead and the health of his big man at the same time, the Cougars needed to start slowing the game down. Once again, this enabled the Wolfpack to return to their standby strategy of extending the game. Houston's free throw shooting was very suspect entering the game, which worked greatly in NC State's favor as they were able to rally back and even the score at 52 in the final two minutes. On what would be the last Houston possession, Valvano called for his players to back off and let freshman guard Alvin Franklin bring the ball up the court. The Wolfpack defenders would let the Cougars employ their slowdown strategy of passing it around. Once the ball got back to Franklin he was to be fouled immediately. With 1:05 left, the freshman was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one. The idea to foul Franklin sprung from the enormity of the moment; NC State believed that the relatively inexperienced Franklin could not withstand the pressure of going to the line with the championship at stake and knowing that fifty million viewers were tuned in to watch the game. The theory proved correct as Franklin failed to convert and the Wolfpack grabbed the rebound. Valvano called timeout with 44 seconds left and drew up a play for senior guard Dereck Whittenburg during the timeout, which called for the team to pass him the ball with ten seconds left on the clock so he could take the final shot. Houston needed a defensive stop so they could get another chance to close out the game. Lewis decided to move from the man-to-man defense his team had been running the whole game to a half court zone trap defense. The Wolfpack, who were not expecting the defensive adjustment, were forced to deviate and began passing the ball around just to keep the Cougars from stealing it. Houston nearly got the turnover it was looking for when Whittenburg made an errant pass to Terry Gannon that Drexler nearly came away with before the sophomore regained control of the ball. The ball eventually wound up in the hands of guard Sidney Lowe, who gave it to forward and fellow senior Thurl Bailey in the corner. Trying to keep the ball moving, as he had been double teamed as soon as he received the pass, Bailey looked back toward Whittenburg, who was approximately thirty feet away from the hoop near midcourt. Bailey threw what Whittenburg would later call a "poor fundamental" overhanded pass which Houston's Benny Anders, guarding Whittenburg on the play, was in position to steal. At this point, Whittenburg hearkened back to his high school days with Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School, where he was taught to always catch the basketball with both hands. If Whittenburg had not attempted to do so in this case, Anders may have gotten the steal and a game-winning breakaway layup. In college basketball at the time, the game clock continued to run after a made field goal, and the Wolfpack likely would not have had time even to inbound the ball. As it was, Anders knocked the ball out of Whittenburg's hands, but Whittenburg quickly regained control. The clock, meanwhile, had ticked down to five seconds and Whittenburg was still standing a significant distance from the goal. Once he regained control, Whittenburg turned and launched a desperation shot, later claimed by Whittenburg to be a pass, to try and win the game for NC State. The shot's trajectory took it to the front of the basket where Olajuwon was covering Wolfpack center Lorenzo Charles. As he watched the shot, Olajuwon said he knew the shot was going to come up short but he also did not want to go for the ball too early because of the potential for goaltending. Charles took advantage of the indecision by Olajuwon and went up for the air ball, and, in one motion, he scored the go-ahead points with a two-handed dunk. The final second ticked off the clock before Houston could inbound the ball (the rule which stops the clock on a made basket in the last minute of the second half and any overtime period(s) was not adopted until the 1993–94 season), and with that, the game ended, and the Wolfpack were the national champions. Schedule and venues USA 450 right 1983 sites for play-in (orange) and first and second (green) rounds USA orange pog.svg 39.758948 -84.191607 top #FFFFFF Dayton University of Dayton Arena USA orange pog.svg 39.952584 -75.165222 bottom #FFFFFF Philadelphia Spectrum (arena) The Spectrum USA green pog.svg 36.072635 -79.791975 bottom #FFFFFF Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum USA green pog.svg 37.971559 -87.571090 left #FFFFFF Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium USA green pog.svg 44.564566 -123.262044 right #FFFFFF Corvallis Gill Coliseum USA green pog.svg 43.618710 -116.214607 right #FFFFFF Boise Taco Bell Arena USA green pog.svg 41.763711 -72.685093 top #FFFFFF Hartford XL Center Hartford Civic Center USA green pog.svg 29.760427 -95.369803 left #FFFFFF Houston Lakewood Church Central Campus The Summit USA green pog.svg 38.252665 -85.758456 right #FFFFFF Louisville Freedom Hall USA green pog.svg 27.950575 -82.457178 top #FFFFFF Tampa USF Sun Dome USA 450 right 1983 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red) USA blue pog.svg 43.048122 -76.147424 bottom #FFFFFF Syracuse Carrier Dome USA blue pog.svg 35.960638 -83.920739 bottom #FFFFFF Knoxville Stokely Athletic Center USA blue pog.svg 39.099727 -94.578567 left #FFFFFF Kansas City Kemper Arena USA blue pog.svg 41.223000 -111.973830 bottom #FFFFFF Ogden Dee Events Center USA red pog.svg 35.110703 -106.609991 bottom #FFFFFF Albuquerque The Pit (arena) The Pit The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1983 tournament: Opening Round March 15 East & West Regions Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League) Mideast & Midwest Regions University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) First and Second Rounds March 17 and 19 East Region Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference) Mideast Region USF Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida) Midwest Region The Summit, Houston, Texas (Hosts: University of Houston, Rice University, Southwest Conference) West Region BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University) March 18 and 20 East Region Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) Mideast Region Roberts Municipal Stadium, Evansville, Indiana (Hosts: University of Evansville, Midwestern City Conference) Midwest Region Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) West Region Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 24 and 26 Mideast Regional, Stokely Athletic Center, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee) West Regional, Dee Events Center, Ogden, Utah (Host: Weber State University) March 25 and 27 East Regional, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University) Midwest Regional, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Big 8 Conference) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 2 and 4 University Arena ("The Pit"), Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico) Teams Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East East 1 St. John's Lou Carnesecca Big East Sweet Sixteen4 GeorgiaL 70–67 East 2 North Carolina Dean Smith ACC Regional Runner-up4 GeorgiaL 82–77 East 3 Ohio State Eldon Miller Big Ten Sweet Sixteen2 North CarolinaL 64–51 East 4 Georgia Hugh Durham SEC Final Four6 NC StateL 67–60 East 5 VCU J.D. Barnett Sun Belt Second Round4 GeorgiaL 56–54 East 6 Syracuse Jim Boeheim Big East Second Round3 Ohio StateL 79–74 East 7 West Virginia Gale Catlett Atlantic 10 First round10 James MadisonL 57–50 East 8 Southwestern Louisiana Bobby Paschal Independent First round9 RutgersL 60–53 East 9 Rutgers Tom Young Atlantic 10 Second Round1 St. John'sL 66–55 East 10 James Madison Lou Campanelli ECAC South Second Round2 North CarolinaL 68–49 East 11 Morehead State Wayne Martin Ohio Valley First round6 SyracuseL 74–59 East 12 Boston University Rick Pitino ECAC North Preliminary Round12 La SalleL 70–58 East 12 La Salle Lefty Ervin East Coast First round5 VCUL 76–67 Mideast Mideast 1 Louisville Denny Crum Metro Final Four1 HoustonL 94–81 Mideast 2 Indiana Bob Knight Big Ten Sweet Sixteen3 KentuckyL 64–59 Mideast 3 Kentucky Joe B. Hall SEC Regional Runner-up1 LouisvilleL 80–68 Mideast 4 Arkansas Eddie Sutton Southwest Sweet Sixteen1 LouisvilleL 65–63 Mideast 5 Purdue Gene Keady Big Ten Second Round4 ArkansasL 78–68 Mideast 6 Illinois State Bob Donewald Missouri Valley First round11 OhioL 51–49 Mideast 7 Oklahoma Billy Tubbs Big Eight Second Round2 IndianaL 63–49 Mideast 8 Tennessee Don DeVoe SEC Second Round1 LouisvilleL 70–57 Mideast 9 Marquette Hank Raymonds Independent First round8 TennesseeL 57–56 Mideast 10 UAB Gene Bartow Sun Belt First round7 OklahomaL 71–63 Mideast 11 Ohio Danny Nee MAC Second Round3 KentuckyL 57–40 Mideast 12 Georgia Southern Frank Kerns Trans America Preliminary Round12 Robert MorrisL 64–54 Mideast 12 Robert Morris Matt Furjanic ECAC Metro First round5 PurdueL 55–53 Midwest Midwest 1 Houston Guy Lewis Southwest Runner Up 6 NC StateL 54–52 Midwest 2 Missouri Norm Stewart Big Eight Second Round7 IowaL 77–63 Midwest 3 Villanova Rollie Massimino Big East Regional Runner-up1 HoustonL 89–71 Midwest 4 Memphis State (vacated) Dana Kirk Metro Sweet Sixteen1 HoustonL 70–63 Midwest 5 Georgetown John Thompson Big East Second Round4 Memphis StateL 66–57 Midwest 6 Alabama Wimp Sanderson SEC First round11 LamarL 73–50 Midwest 7 Iowa Lute Olson Big Ten Sweet Sixteen3 VillanovaL 55–54 Midwest 8 Maryland Lefty Driesell ACC Second Round1 HoustonL 60–50 Midwest 9 Chattanooga Murray Arnold Southern First round8 MarylandL 52–51 Midwest 10 Utah State Rod Tueller Pacific Coast First round7 IowaL 64–59 Midwest 11 Lamar Pat Foster Southland Second Round3 VillanovaL 60–58 Midwest 12 Alcorn State Davey Whitney SWAC First round5 GeorgetownL 68–63 Midwest 12 Xavier Bob Staak Midwestern City Preliminary Round12 Alcorn StateL 81–75 West West 1 Virginia Terry Holland ACC Regional Runner-up6 NC StateL 63–62 West 2 UCLA Larry Farmer Pacific-10 Second Round10 UtahL 67–61 West 3 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Pacific Coast Second Round6 NC StateL 71–70 West 4 Boston College Gary Williams Big East Sweet Sixteen1 VirginiaL 95–92 West 5 Oklahoma State Paul Hansen Big Eight First round12 PrincetonL 56–53 West 6 NC State Jim Valvano ACC Champion1 HoustonW 54–52 West 7 Illinois Lou Henson Big Ten First round10 UtahL 52–49 West 8 Washington State George Raveling Pacific-10 Second Round1 VirginiaL 54–49 West 9 Weber State Neil McCarthy Big Sky First round8 Washington StateL 62–52 West 10 Utah Jerry Pimm WAC Sweet Sixteen6 NC StateL 75–56 West 11 Pepperdine Jim Harrick West Coast First round6 NC StateL 69–67 West 12 North Carolina A&T Don Corbett MEAC Preliminary Round12 PrincetonL 53–41 West 12 Princeton Pete Carril Ivy League Second Round4 Boston CollegeL 51–42 Bracket * – Denotes overtime period Preliminary round left East #12 SeedPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania 12 La Salle 70 12 Boston University 58 left Mideast #12 SeedDayton, Ohio 12 Robert Morris 64 12 Georgia Southern 54 left Midwest #12 SeedDayton, Ohio 12 Alcorn State 81 12 Xavier 75 left West #12 SeedPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania 12 Princeton 51 12 North Carolina A&T 42 East region 1 y Regional semifinals Regional Finals 8 Southwest Louisiana 53 9 Rutgers 60 5 VCU 76 12 La Salle 67 6 Syracuse 74 11 Morehead State 59 7 West Virginia 50 10 James Madison 57 9 Rutgers 55 1 St. John's 66 4 Georgia 56 5 VCU 54 6 Syracuse 74 3 Ohio State 79 2 North Carolina 68 10 James Madison 49 1 St. John's 67 4 Georgia 70 3 Ohio State 51 2 North Carolina 64 4 Georgia 82 2 North Carolina 77 West region 1 y Regional semifinals Regional Finals 8 Washington State 62 9 Weber State 52 5 Oklahoma State 53 12 Princeton 56 6 NC State 69 11 Pepperdine 67** 7 Illinois 49 10 Utah 52 8 Washington State 49 1 Virginia 54 4 Boston College 51 12 Princeton 42 6 NC State 71 3 UNLV 70 2 UCLA 61 10 Utah 67 1 Virginia 95 4 Boston College 92 6 NC State 75 10 Utah 56 1 Virginia 62 6 NC State 63 Mideast region 1 y Regional semifinals Regional Finals 8 Tennessee 57 9 Marquette 56 5 Purdue 55 12 Robert Morris 53 6 Illinois State 49 11 Ohio 51 7 Oklahoma 71 10 UAB 63 8 Tennessee 57 1 Louisville 70 4 Arkansas 78 5 Purdue 68 11 Ohio 40 3 Kentucky 57 2 Indiana 63 7 Oklahoma 49 1 Louisville 65 4 Arkansas 63 3 Kentucky 64 2 Indiana 59 1 Louisville 80 3 Kentucky 68* Midwest region 1 y Regional semifinals Regional Finals 8 Maryland 52 9 Chattanooga 51 5 Georgetown 68 12 Alcorn State 63 6 Alabama 50 11 Lamar 73 7 Iowa 64 10 Utah State 59 8 Maryland 50 1 Houston 60 4 Memphis State# 66 5 Georgetown 57 11 Lamar 58 3 Villanova 60 2 Missouri 63 7 Iowa 77 1 Houston 70 4 Memphis State# 63 3 Villanova 55 7 Iowa 54 1 Houston 89 3 Villanova 71 # - Memphis State was forced to vacate its NCAA tournament appearance after a massive gambling scandal and a criminal investigation into head coach Dana Kirk. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Memphis removing the wins from its own record. https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/06/24/troubled-times-at-memphis-state https://web.archive.org/web/20201128115244/https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/06/24/troubled-times-at-memphis-state dead November 28, 2020 TROUBLED TIMES AT MEMPHIS STATE Sports Illustrated June 24, 1985 May 15, 2024 https://bleacherreport.com/articles/241057-the-ncaas-toothless-punishment-of-memphis Mauro, Patrick The NCAA's Toothless Punishment Of Memphis Bleacher Report August 22, 2009 May 15, 2024 Final Four National semifinalsSaturday, April 2 National FinalMonday, April 4 E4 Georgia 60 W6 NC State 67 ME1 Louisville 81 MW1 Houston 94 W6 NC State 54 MW1 Houston 52 Tournament notes The Louisville vs. Houston semi-final was a matchup of the #1 vs. #2 team. Johnson Gary K. Sean W. Straziscar Jeff Williams Kevin Buerge Official 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Records Books 2007 1089-5280 https://www.ncaa.org Drexler, Clyde., Eggers, Kerry. Clyde the Glide: My Life in Basketball. United States: Sports Publishing, 2011. The #1 ranked Houston Cougars (nicknamed Phi Slama Jama) vs. #2 the Louisville Cardinals (nicknamed "The Doctors of Dunk") was considered likely to produce the national champion. It featured two strong offensive teams that specialized in the slam dunk.Weintraub, Robert – Jamfest for the Ages. E-Ticket – ESPN.COM the magazine, March 29, 2007 Both teams put on a show of offense, with Houston winning out over Louisville 94–81. Another historically significant game in this tournament was the Mideast Regional final between Kentucky and Louisville, in-state rivals that had not played one another in basketball since the 1959 NCAA tournament, and had not played in the regular season since 1922. After regulation time ended with Kentucky tying the game at the buzzer, Louisville dominated the overtime to advance to the Final Four. This result directly led to the start of the Battle for the Bluegrass annual basketball series between the two schools that November. A historically significant run in the tournament was that of Georgia, who became the last team to date to advance to the Final Four in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. But the N.C. State team led by Jim Valvano became the archetype of the "Cinderella team", the underdog that many fans look to as a possible spoiler over top-ranked teams. This label has, since then, been applied to many programs, including Villanova in 1985, Gonzaga in 1999, George Mason in 2006, Butler in 2010 and 2011, VCU in 2011, Wichita State in 2013, Loyola Chicago in 2018, UCLA in 2021, Saint Peter's in 2022, Florida Atlantic in 2023, and N.C. State in 2024. Not only did N.C. State beat Houston to win the championship, but they also beat #1 seeded Virginia on their way to the Final Four. The Wolfpack did not assure themselves of a tournament bid until they upset Virginia in the championship game of the ACC tournament. North Carolina State became the first team in tournament history to win six games en route to the title (the tournament being 32 teams or fewer prior to 1979, and all champions from 1979 to 1982 had first-round byes). Christopher Cross' "All Right" accompanied the highlight montage at the end of CBS' broadcast of the championship game. Announcers Gary Bender and Billy Packer – First (Illinois–Utah) and Second (Virginia–Washington State, UCLA–Utah) Rounds at Boise, Idaho; Second Round at Evansville, Indiana (Indiana–Oklahoma, Louisville–Tennessee); Midwest Regional semifinal (Houston–Memphis State) at Kansas City, Missouri; Mideast Regional Final at Knoxville, Tennessee; Midwest Regional Final at Kansas City, Missouri; Final Four at Albuquerque, New Mexico Frank Glieber and Larry Conley – East Regional Final at Syracuse, New York Tom Hammond and Larry Conley – Preliminary Round at Dayton, Ohio; Mideast Regional semifinals at Knoxville, Tennessee Dick Stockton and Steve Grote – First (N.C. State–Pepperdine) and Second (UNLV–N.C. State, Boston College–Princeton) Rounds at Corvallis, Oregon; West Regional Final at Ogden, Utah Jim Thacker and Bill Raftery – East Regional semifinals at Syracuse, New York Fred White and Gary Thompson – Midwest Regional semifinal (Villanova–Iowa) at Kansas City, Missouri Dick Stockton and Billy Packer – West Regional semifinal (Virginia–Boston College) at Ogden, Utah Larry Zimmer and Irv Brown – West Regional semifinal (N.C. State–Utah) at Ogden, Utah Jim Thacker and Larry Conley – Second Round at Greensboro, North Carolina (North Carolina–James Madison, Georgia–VCU) Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery – First (Syracuse–Morehead State, Southwestern Louisiana–Rutgers) and Second (Ohio State–Syracuse, St. John's–Rutgers) Rounds at Hartford, Connecticut Frank Herzog and James Brown – Second Round at Tampa, Florida (Kentucky–Ohio, Arkansas–Purdue) Tim Ryan and Lynn Shackelford – Second Round at Houston, Texas (Villanova–Lamar, Houston–Maryland) Frank Glieber and Irv Brown – Second Round at Louisville, Kentucky (Memphis State–Georgetown, Missouri–Iowa) Jim Thacker and Jeff Mullins – First round at Greensboro, North Carolina (West Virginia–James Madison, VCU–La Salle) Tom Hammond and Irv Brown - First round at Louisville, Kentucky (Georgetown–Alcorn State, Iowa–Utah State) See also 1983 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 1983 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 1983 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 1983 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament 1983 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament 1983 National Invitation Tournament 1983 National Women's Invitation Tournament 1983 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1983 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament References Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Ncaa Category:Basketball in Houston NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament