1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament August 2023 March 2026 January 2022 1976 NCAA 70s logo.svg NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979 32 The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA Indiana Hoosiers 3rd 3rd 4th Michigan Wolverines 2nd 3rd Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1st UCLA Bruins 13th Bob Knight 1st Kent Benson Indiana 202,502 Scott May Indiana 113 The 1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 38th annual edition of the tournament began on March 13, 1976, and ended with the championship game on March 29, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third-place game. Indiana, coached by Bob Knight, won the national title with an 86–68 victory in the final game over Michigan, coached by Johnny Orr. Kent Benson of Indiana was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Notably, this was the first time that two teams from the same conference (the Big Ten) played in the title game. This was also the last men's Division I tournament to date to feature two unbeaten teams, as both Indiana and Rutgers entered the tournament unbeaten. To date, Indiana is the last team to go the entire season undefeated at 32–0. Both advanced to the Final Four, with Indiana winning the title and Rutgers losing to Michigan in the semifinals and UCLA in the third-place game. This tournament was also the first since the creation of the NCAA men's tournament in 1939 in which no regional third-place games were played. In the first two NCAA tournaments (1939 and 1940), the West Regional held a third-place game, but the East (the only other regional of that day) did not. The East began holding its own third-place game in 1941, and from that point through 1975 each regional held a third-place game. This was the second year of the 32-team field, and the NCAA announced the selections several days prior to the end of the regular season.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MfNLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=de0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6963%2C1453365 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Huskies get NCAA berth March 5, 1976 28 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=n65hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LOADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4445%2C949703 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon UPI NCAA picture March 5, 1976 2D As site of the Continental Congress and signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia also served as host for the 1976 NBA All-Star Game, the 1976 National Hockey League All-Star Game, and the 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at which President Ford threw out the first pitch.Lyon Bill Sports helped Philly celebrate Bicentennial The Philadelphia Inquirer 17 March 2009 http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20090327_Sports_helped_Philly_celebrate_Bicentennial.html 2009-03-30 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090330204525/http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20090327_Sports_helped_Philly_celebrate_Bicentennial.html March 30, 2009 The 1976 Pro Bowl was an exception and was played in New Orleans, likely due to weather concerns. Schedule and venues USA 450 right 1976 first round USA green pog.svg 35.227087 -80.843127 bottom #FFFFFF Charlotte Bojangles' Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum USA green pog.svg 41.823989 -71.412834 top #FFFFFF Providence Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence Civic Center USA green pog.svg 39.758948 -84.191607 bottom #FFFFFF Dayton UD Arena University of Dayton Arena USA green pog.svg 41.676355 -86.251990 left #FFFFFF South Bend Edmund P. Joyce Center USA green pog.svg 33.214841 -97.133068 left #FFFFFF Denton UNT Coliseum USA green pog.svg 38.971669 -95.235250 left #FFFFFF Lawrence Allen Fieldhouse USA green pog.svg 44.052069 -123.086754 right #FFFFFF Eugene McArthur Court USA green pog.svg 33.425510 -111.940005 bottom #FFFFFF Tempe Wells Fargo Arena (Tempe) Arizona State University Activity Center USA 450 right 1976 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red) USA blue pog.svg 36.072635 -79.791975 right #FFFFFF Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum USA blue pog.svg 30.458283 -91.140320 right #FFFFFF Baton Rouge Pete Maravich Assembly Center LSU Assembly Center USA blue pog.svg 38.252665 -85.758456 right #FFFFFF Louisville Freedom Hall USA blue pog.svg 34.052234 -118.243685 bottom #FFFFFF Los Angeles Pauley Pavilion USA red pog.svg 39.952584 -75.165222 bottom #FFFFFF Philadelphia Spectrum (arena) The Spectrum The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1976 tournament: First round March 13 East Region Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: Davidson College) Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College) Mideast Region University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) Athletic & Convocation Center, South Bend, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame) Midwest Region UNT Coliseum, Denton, Texas (Host: North Texas State University) Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas (Host: University of Kansas) West Region McArthur Court, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon) ASU Activity Center, Tempe, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 18 and 20 East Regional, Greensboro Memorial Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Hosts: Atlantic Coast Conference and North Carolina A&T University) Mideast Regional, LSU Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University) Midwest Regional, Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) West Regional, Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: UCLA) National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship) March 27 and 29 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Host: Temple University) Teams Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final opponent Score East East Connecticut Dee Rowe Yankee Sweet Sixteen Rutgers L 93–79 East DePaul Ray Meyer Independent Sweet Sixteen VMI L 71–66 East Hofstra Roger Gaeckler East Coast Round of 32 Connecticut L 80–78 East Princeton Pete Carril Ivy League Round of 32 Rutgers L 54–53 East Rutgers Tom Young Independent Fourth Place UCLA L 106–92 East Tennessee Ray Mears Southeastern Round of 32 VMI L 81–75 East Virginia Terry Holland Atlantic Coast Round of 32 DePaul L 69–60 East VMI Bill Blair Southern Regional Runner-up Rutgers L 91–75 Mideast Mideast Alabama C. M. Newton Southeastern Sweet Sixteen Indiana L 74–69 Mideast Indiana Bob Knight Big Ten Champion Michigan W 86–68 Mideast Marquette Al McGuire Independent Regional Runner-up Indiana L 65–56 Mideast North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Round of 32 Alabama L 79–64 Mideast St. John's Lou Carnesecca Independent Round of 32 Indiana L 90–70 Mideast Virginia Tech Don DeVoe Independent Round of 32 Western Michigan L 77–67 Mideast Western Kentucky Jim Richards Ohio Valley Round of 32 Marquette L 79–60 Mideast Western Michigan Eldon Miller Mid-American Sweet Sixteen Marquette L 62–57 Midwest Midwest Cincinnati Gale Catlett Metropolitan Round of 32 Notre Dame L 79–78 Midwest Michigan Johnny Orr Big Ten Runner Up Indiana L 86–68 Midwest Missouri Norm Stewart Big Eight Regional Runner-up Michigan L 95–88 Midwest Notre Dame Digger Phelps Independent Sweet Sixteen Michigan L 80–76 Midwest Syracuse Roy Danforth Independent Round of 32 Texas Tech L 69–56 Midwest Texas Tech Gerald Myers Southwest Sweet Sixteen Missouri L 86–75 Midwest Washington Marv Harshman Pacific-8 Round of 32 Missouri L 69–67 Midwest Wichita State Harry Miller Missouri Valley Round of 32 Michigan L 74–73 West West Arizona Fred Snowden Western Athletic Regional Runner-up UCLA L 82–66 West Boise State Bus Connor Big Sky Round of 32 UNLV L 103–78 West Georgetown John Thompson Independent Round of 32 Arizona L 83–76 West Memphis State Wayne Yates Metropolitan Round of 32 Pepperdine L 87–77 West UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Independent Sweet Sixteen Arizona L 114–109 West Pepperdine Gary Colson West Coast Sweet Sixteen UCLA L 70–61 West San Diego State Tim Vezie Pacific Coast Round of 32 UCLA L 74–64 West UCLA Gene Bartow Pacific-8 Third Place Rutgers W 106–92 Bracket * – Denotes overtime period East region – Greensboro, North Carolina Regional semifinals Regional Finals Charlotte Providence DePaul 69 Virginia 60 VMI 82 Tennessee 75 Rutgers 54 Princeton 53 Connecticut 80 Hofstra 78* DePaul 66* VMI 71 Rutgers 93 Connecticut 79 VMI 75 Rutgers 91 Midwest region – Louisville, Kentucky Regional semifinals Regional Finals Lawrence Denton Michigan 74 Wichita State 73 Notre Dame 79 Cincinnati 78 Missouri 69 Washington 67 Texas Tech 69 Syracuse 56 Michigan 80 Notre Dame 76 Missouri 86 Texas Tech 75 Michigan 95 Missouri 88 Mideast region – Baton Rouge, Louisiana Regional semifinals Regional Finals Notre Dame Dayton Alabama 79 North Carolina 64 Indiana 90 St. John's 70 Marquette 79 Western Kentucky 60 Western Michigan 77 Virginia Tech 67* Alabama 69 Indiana 74 Marquette 62 Western Michigan 57 Indiana 65 Marquette 56 West region – Los Angeles Regional semifinals Regional Finals Tempe Eugene Pepperdine 87 Memphis State 77 UCLA 74 San Diego State 64 UNLV 103 Boise State 78 Arizona 83 Georgetown 76 Pepperdine 61 UCLA 70 UNLV 109* Arizona 114 UCLA 82 Arizona 66 Final Four – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National semifinalsSaturday, March 27 National Championship GameMonday, March 29 National third-place game E Rutgers 70 MW Michigan 86 ME Indiana 65 W UCLA 51 MW Michigan 68 ME Indiana 86 E Rutgers 92 W UCLA 106 Announcers Curt Gowdy, Dick Enberg, and Billy Packer - Final Four at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dick Enberg and Billy Packer called the first game while Packer teamed with Curt Gowdy for the second game. For the Championship Game, Dick Enberg and Curt Gowdy called it while NBC used Billy Packer as a studio analyst. Dick Enberg and Billy Packer - First Round at Lawrence, Kansas (Notre Dame-Cincinnati); Mideast Regional Final at Baton Rouge, Louisiana Curt Gowdy and John Wooden - First Round at South Bend, Indiana (Indiana-St. John's); West Regional Final at Los Angeles, California Jim Simpson (sportscaster) and Tom Hawkins (basketball)- First Round at Dayton, Ohio (Alabama-North Carolina); Midwest Regional Final at Louisville, Kentucky See also 1976 NCAA Division II basketball tournament 1976 NCAA Division III basketball tournament 1976 National Invitation Tournament 1976 NAIA basketball tournament 1976 National Women's Invitation Tournament References Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Ncaa Category:College basketball tournaments in Pennsylvania NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1976 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Category:Basketball competitions in Philadelphia