2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2012–13 season. The 75th annual edition of the tournament (dating to 1939) began on March 19, 2013, and concluded with the championship game on April 8, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. This was the last men's Final Four to be held at the Georgia Dome as it was demolished in 2017.

The Final Four consisted of Louisville (tenth overall appearance, eighth official appearance), Wichita State (second appearance), Syracuse (first appearance since their 2003 national championship), and Michigan, returning for the first time since the Fab Five's second appearance in 1993 (later vacated). By winning the West Region, Wichita State became the first #9 seed and first Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) team to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The last #9 seed to reach the Final Four was Penn, and the last MVC team to do so was Indiana State, both in 1979. Louisville defeated Michigan in the championship game by a final score of 82–76, winning their first national title since 1986. On February 20, 2018, the NCAA automatically vacated Louisville's entire tournament run, including its national title, due to a 2015 sex scandal. Although none of the other teams had their runs vacated by NCAA staff, this meant that in effect, the entire tournament was deemed null and void, with no national champion team crowned for the year. This would not happen again until 2020, when the competition, which coincidentally would have seen the Final Four held in Atlanta that year, was cancelled outright due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament featured several notable upsets. For the first time since 1991, at least one team seeded #9 through #15 won at least once in the tournament. The most notable was Florida Gulf Coast University of the Atlantic Sun Conference, who made their tournament debut in only their second year of Division I eligibility. They upset Georgetown and San Diego State in their first two games, becoming the first #15 seed to advance to the regional semifinals (where they were defeated by Florida). For the first time since 2010, a #14 seed won as Harvard defeated New Mexico in the West Region. The same region saw #13 La Salle, who won in the opening round, defeat #4 Kansas State and #12 Mississippi defeat #5 Wisconsin. In addition to that, the region's top seed, Gonzaga, was defeated in the round of 32 by eventual region winner Wichita State, who defeated La Salle in the Sweet Sixteen.

Two other teams also earned their first ever NCAA Tournament victory: Ivy League champion Harvard and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion North Carolina A&T. Another school, Liberty, won the Big South tournament to become the second 20-loss team to make the field, after Coppin State in 2008.

Tournament procedure A total of 68 teams entered the 2013 tournament. A total of 32 automatic bids are awarded to each program that won a conference tournament. The remaining 36 bids are issued "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Selection Committee also seeds the entire field from 1 to 68.

Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the main tournament bracket.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2013 tournament:

First Four March 19 and 20 University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and Second rounds March 21 and 23 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan (Host: Oakland University) Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah) HP Pavilion, San Jose, California (Host: West Coast Conference) March 22 and 24 University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin) Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference) Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Host: Temple University)

Regional semifinals and Finals March 28 and 30 East Regional Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University) West Regional Staples Center, Los Angeles, California (Host: Pepperdine University) March 29 and 31 Midwest Regional Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: IUPUI, Horizon League) South Regional Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 6 and 8 Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology) Atlanta hosted the Final Four for the sixth time, having previously hosted in 2007. As of 2024, this is the most recent Final Four to be held in Atlanta (The 2020 edition, which was to be held in Atlanta, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Qualified teams

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2013 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

ConferenceSchoolAppearanceLast bidAmerica EastAlbany3rd2007Atlantic 10Saint Louis8th2012ACCMiami6th2008Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast1stNeverBig 12Kansas42nd2012Big EastLouisville39th2012Big SkyMontana10th2012Big SouthLiberty3rd2004Big TenOhio State29th2012Big WestPacific9th2006ColonialJames Madison5th1994C-USAMemphis25th2012HorizonValparaiso8th2004Ivy LeagueHarvard3rd2012MAACIona10th2012MACAkron4th2011MEACNorth Carolina A&T10th1995Missouri ValleyCreighton18th2012Mountain WestNew Mexico14th2012NortheastLong Island6th2012Ohio ValleyBelmont6th2012Pac-12Oregon11th2008PatriotBucknell6th2011SECOle Miss7th2002SouthernDavidson12th2012SouthlandNorthwestern State3rd2006SWACSouthern8th2006SummitSouth Dakota State2nd2012Sun BeltWestern Kentucky23rd2012West CoastGonzaga16th2012WACNew Mexico State20th2012

Tournament seeds

South Regional – Arlington, TexasSeedSchoolConferenceRecordCoachBerth typeLast bidOverall rank#1KansasBig 1229–5Bill SelfAutomatic20122#2GeorgetownBig East25–6John Thompson IIIAt-large20127#3FloridaSEC26–7Billy DonovanAt-large201210#4MichiganBig Ten26–7John BeileinAt-large201213#5VCUAtlantic 1026–8Shaka SmartAt-large201220#6UCLAPac-1225–9Ben HowlandAt-large201124#7San Diego StateMountain West22–10Steve FisherAt-large201226#8North CarolinaACC24–10Roy WilliamsAt-large201229#9VillanovaBig East20–13Jay WrightAt-large201138#10OklahomaBig 1220–11Lon KruegerAt-large200940#11MinnesotaBig Ten20–12Tubby SmithAt-large201041#12AkronMAC26–6Keith DambrotAutomatic201151#13South Dakota StateSummit25–9Scott NagyAutomatic201253#14Northwestern StateSouthland23–8Mike McConathyAutomatic200657#15Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun24–10Andy EnfieldAutomaticNever59#16Western KentuckySun Belt20–15Ray HarperAutomatic201263 West Regional – Los Angeles, CaliforniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordCoachBerth typeLast bidOverall rank#1GonzagaWest Coast31–2Mark FewAutomatic20124#2Ohio StateBig Ten26–7Thad MattaAutomatic20128#3New MexicoMountain West29–5Steve AlfordAutomatic20129#4Kansas StateBig 1227–7Bruce WeberAt-large201214#5WisconsinBig Ten23–11Bo RyanAt-large201219#6ArizonaPac-1225–7Sean MillerAt-large201121#7Notre DameBig East25–9Mike BreyAt-large201227#8PittsburghBig East24–8Jamie DixonAt-large201131#9Wichita StateMissouri Valley26–8Gregg MarshallAt-large201235#10Iowa StateBig 1222–11Fred HoibergAt-large201239#11BelmontOhio Valley26–6Rick ByrdAutomatic201244#12Ole MissSEC26–8Andy KennedyAutomatic200247#13*Boise StateMountain West21–10Leon RiceAt-large200845La SalleAtlantic 1021–9Dr. John GianniniAt-large199249#14HarvardIvy19–9Tommy AmakerAutomatic201258#15IonaMAAC20–13Tim CluessAutomatic201261#16SouthernSWAC23–9Roman BanksAutomatic200664 East Regional – Washington, D.C.SeedSchoolConferenceRecordCoachBerth typeLast bidOverall rank#1IndianaBig Ten27–6Tom CreanAt-large20123#2MiamiACC27–6Jim LarranagaAutomatic20085#3MarquetteBig East23–8Buzz WilliamsAt-large201212#4SyracuseBig East26–9Jim BoeheimAt-large201216#5UNLVMountain West25–9Dave RiceAt-large201218#6ButlerAtlantic 1026–8Brad StevensAt-large201122#7IllinoisBig Ten22–12John GroceAt-large201128#8NC StateACC24–10Mark GottfriedAt-large201232#9TempleAtlantic 1023–9Fran DunphyAt-large201234#10ColoradoPac-1221–11Tad BoyleAt-large201236#11BucknellPatriot28–5Dave PaulsenAutomatic201148#12CaliforniaPac-1220–11Mike MontgomeryAt-large201242#13MontanaBig Sky25–7Wayne TinkleAutomatic201254#14DavidsonSouthern26–7Bob McKillopAutomatic201255#15PacificBig West22–12Bob ThomasonAutomatic200660#16*James MadisonCAA20–14Matt BradyAutomatic199466Long IslandNortheast20–13Jack PerriAutomatic201265

Midwest Regional – Indianapolis, IndianaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordCoachBerth typeLast bidOverall rank#1LouisvilleBig East29–5Rick PitinoAutomatic20121#2DukeACC27–5Mike KrzyzewskiAt-large20126#3Michigan StateBig Ten25–8Tom IzzoAt-large201211#4Saint LouisAtlantic 1027–6Jim CrewsAutomatic201215#5Oklahoma StateBig 1224–8Travis FordAt-large201017#6MemphisC-USA30–4Josh PastnerAutomatic201223#7CreightonMissouri Valley27–7Greg McDermottAutomatic201225#8Colorado StateMountain West25–8Larry EustachyAt-large201230#9MissouriSEC23–10Frank HaithAt-large201233#10CincinnatiBig East22–11Mick CroninAt-large201237#11*Middle TennesseeSun Belt28–5Kermit DavisAt-large198950Saint Mary's (CA)West Coast27–6Randy BennettAt-large201246#12OregonPac-1226–8Dana AltmanAutomatic200843#13New Mexico StateWAC24–10Marvin MenziesAutomatic201252#14ValparaisoHorizon26–7Bryce DrewAutomatic200456#15AlbanyAmerica East24–10Will BrownAutomatic200762#16*LibertyBig South15–20Dale LayerAutomatic200468North Carolina A&TMEAC19–16Cy AlexanderAutomatic199567 *See First Four.

Bracket Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−04)

First Four – Dayton, Ohio The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

Midwest Regional – Indianapolis, Indiana

Midwest regional final

Midwest Regional all-tournament team Regional all-tournament team: Seth Curry, Duke; Gorgui Dieng, Louisville; Mason Plumlee, Duke; Peyton Siva, Louisville

Regional most outstanding player: Russ Smith, Louisville

West Regional – Los Angeles, California

West regional final

West Regional all-tournament team Regional all-tournament team: Carl Hall, Wichita State; Mark Lyons, Arizona; LaQuinton Ross, Ohio State; Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State

Regional most outstanding player: Malcolm Armstead, Wichita State

South Regional – Arlington, Texas

South regional final

South Regional all-tournament team Regional all-tournament team: Mitch McGary, Michigan; Ben McLemore, Kansas; Mike Rosario, Florida; Nik Stauskas, Michigan

Regional most outstanding player: Trey Burke, Michigan

East Regional – Washington, D.C.

East regional final

East Regional all-tournament team Regional all-tournament team: Vander Blue, Marquette; C. J. Fair, Syracuse; Davante Gardner, Marquette; James Southerland, Syracuse

Regional most outstanding player: Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse

Final Four – Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia