2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2018–19 season. The 81st annual edition of the tournament began on March 19, 2019, and concluded with the championship game on April 8, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Virginia Cavaliers, with Virginia winning 85–77 in overtime.

Two schools made their first appearances in the tournament: Big South champion Gardner–Webb and Southland champion Abilene Christian.

For the first time since 2001 (also hosted in Minneapolis), no #8 seed survived the first round of the tournament. This was also the first time since the First Four was established in 2011 that no team in the First Four advanced past the first round of the tournament. This was the first Final Four since 2012 that did not include at least one team seeded #7 or lower. This would be the last Final Four until 2025 without any team seeded 8th or higher.

This tournament marked the first time that the Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference and the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference made the Final Four. This also marked the third Final Four appearance for the Virginia Cavaliers of the Atlantic Coast Conference, but their first since 1984.

The championship game was the first time since 1979 to see two first-time participants playing in the championship, and the first since 2006 to have a first-time national champion. As a result of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that started in late 2019 and subsequently forced the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, this would be the last tournament held until 2021, and this would be also the last tournament held across the United States until 2022.

Carsen Edwards of Purdue was the leading scorer, with 139 points in only 4 games—producing an average of 34.8 points per game. Edwards also set the record for most made three-point shots in a tournament, with 28. The previous record holder, Glen Rice of Michigan in 1989, made 27, but did so in 6 games.

In the previous year's tournament, Virginia had infamously become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed. At the conclusion of this year's title game, CBS announcer Jim Nantz dubbed Virginia's win the "all-time turnaround title."

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams entered the 2019 tournament. Thirty-two automatic bids were awarded to each program that won their conference's tournament. The remaining 36 bids were "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

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 draw of the tournament.

The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.

The selections and seedings were completed and revealed on Sunday, March 17.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2019 tournament:

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

First and second rounds (Subregionals) March 21 and 23 XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa (Host: Drake University) VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida (Host: Jacksonville University) Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah) March 22 and 24 Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina) Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University) BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma (Host: University of Tulsa) SAP Center, San Jose, California (Host: West Coast Conference)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 28 and 30 West Regional, Honda Center, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference) South Regional, KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) March 29 and 31 East Regional, Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University) Midwest Regional, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 6 and 8 U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)

U.S. Bank Stadium became the 40th venue to host the Final Four. This was the first hosting of the event at the facility, built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, a two-time host in 1992 and 2001. The tournament returned to Hartford's XL Center for the first time since 1998. For the first time since 1970, the tournament returned to Columbia, South Carolina, with games played at the Colonial Life Arena.

Qualification and selection

Four teams, out of 353 in Division I, were ineligible to participate in the 2019 tournament; Alabama A&M and Florida A&M failed to meet APR requirements, while California Baptist and North Alabama are amidst reclassification from Division II.

Automatic qualifiers ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bidACCDuke29–543rd2018America EastVermont27–67th2017AmericanCincinnati28–633rd2018ASUNLiberty28–64th2013Atlantic 10Saint Louis23–1210th2014Big 12Iowa State23–1120th2017Big EastVillanova25–939th2018Big SkyMontana26–812th2018Big SouthGardner–Webb23–111stNeverBig TenMichigan State28–633rd2018Big WestUC Irvine30–52nd2015ColonialNortheastern23–109th2015C-USAOld Dominion26–812th2011HorizonNorthern Kentucky26–82nd2017Ivy LeagueYale22–75th2016MAACIona17–1514th2018MACBuffalo31–34th2018MEACNorth Carolina Central18–154th2018Missouri ValleyBradley20–149th2006Mountain WestUtah State28–620th2011NECFairleigh Dickinson20–136th2016Ohio ValleyMurray State27–417th2018Pac-12Oregon23–1216th2017PatriotColgate24–103rd1996SECAuburn26–910th2018SouthernWofford29–45th2015SouthlandAbilene Christian27–61stNeverSWACPrairie View A&M22–122nd1998Summit LeagueNorth Dakota State18–154th2015Sun BeltGeorgia State24–95th2018WACNew Mexico State30–425th2018West CoastSaint Mary's22–1110th2017

Tournament seeds

The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process. +East Regional – Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.SeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid1DukeACC29–51Automatic20182Michigan StateBig Ten28–66Automatic20183LSUSEC26–611At-Large20154Virginia TechACC24–816At-Large20185Mississippi StateSEC23–1020At-Large20096MarylandBig Ten22–1022At-Large20177LouisvilleACC20–1325At-Large20178VCUAtlantic 1025–729At-Large20179UCFAmerican23–834At-Large200510MinnesotaBig Ten21–1339At-Large201711*TempleAmerican23–943At-Large2016BelmontOhio Valley26–542At-Large201512LibertyASUN28–650Automatic201313Saint LouisAtlantic 1023–1253Automatic201414YaleIvy22–755Automatic201615BradleyMissouri Valley20–1461Automatic200616*North Carolina CentralMEAC18–1568Automatic2018North Dakota StateSummit18–1567Automatic2015+West Regional – Honda Center, Anaheim, CaliforniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1GonzagaWest Coast30–34At-Large20182MichiganBig Ten28–68At-Large20183Texas TechBig 1226–610At-Large20184Florida StateACC27–714At-Large20185MarquetteBig East24–917At-Large20176BuffaloMAC31–323Automatic20187NevadaMountain West29–426At-Large20188SyracuseACC20–1330At-Large20189BaylorBig 1219–1335At-Large201710FloridaSEC19–1540At-Large201811*Arizona StatePac-1222–1045At-Large2018St. John'sBig East21–1247At-Large201512Murray StateOhio Valley27–446Automatic201813VermontAmerica East27–652Automatic201714Northern KentuckyHorizon26–858Automatic201715MontanaBig Sky26–859Automatic201816*Fairleigh DickinsonNortheast20–1366Automatic2016Prairie View A&MSWAC22–1265Automatic1998+South Regional – KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KentuckySeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1VirginiaACC29–32At-Large20182TennesseeSEC29–55At-Large20183PurdueBig Ten23–912At-Large20184Kansas StateBig 1225–815At-Large20185WisconsinBig Ten23–1019At-Large20176VillanovaBig East25–921Automatic20187CincinnatiAmerican28–627Automatic20188Ole MissSEC20–1231At-Large20159OklahomaBig 1219–1336At-Large201810IowaBig Ten22–1137At-Large201611Saint Mary'sWest Coast22–1144Automatic201712OregonPac-1223–1248Automatic201713UC IrvineBig West30–551Automatic201514Old DominionC-USA26–856Automatic201115ColgatePatriot24–1060Automatic199616Gardner–WebbBig South23–1163AutomaticNever+Midwest Regional – Sprint Center, Kansas City, MissouriSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1North CarolinaACC27–63At-Large20182KentuckySEC27–67At-Large20183HoustonAmerican31–39At-Large20184KansasBig 1225–913At-Large20185AuburnSEC26–918Automatic20186Iowa StateBig 1223–1124Automatic20177WoffordSouthern29–428Automatic20158Utah StateMountain West28–632Automatic20119WashingtonPac-1226–833At-Large201110Seton HallBig East20–1338At-Large201811Ohio StateBig Ten19–1441At-Large201812New Mexico StateWAC30–449Automatic201813NortheasternCAA23–1054Automatic201514Georgia StateSun Belt24–957Automatic201815Abilene ChristianSouthland27–662AutomaticNever16IonaMAAC17–1564Automatic2018 *See First Four

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

East Regional – Washington, D.C.

East Regional Final

East Regional all-tournament team Cassius Winston, Michigan State Xavier Tillman, Michigan State Zion Williamson, Duke RJ Barrett, Duke Kerry Blackshear Jr., Virginia Tech

West Regional – Anaheim, CA

West Regional Final

West Regional all-tournament team Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech Matt Mooney, Texas Tech Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga Trent Forrest, Florida State

South Regional – Louisville, KY

South Regional Final

South Regional all-tournament team Carsen Edwards, Purdue Kyle Guy, Virginia Mamadi Diakite, Virginia Ty Jerome, Virginia Ryan Cline, Purdue

Midwest Regional – Kansas City, MO

Midwest Regional Final

Midwest Regional all-tournament team Jared Harper, Auburn Bryce Brown, Auburn Chuma Okeke, Auburn P. J. Washington, Kentucky Tyler Herro, Kentucky

Final Four – Minneapolis, MN

National semifinals

National Championship

Final Four all-tournament team Kyle Guy (Jr, Virginia) – Final Four Most Outstanding Player Jarrett Culver (So, Texas Tech) Matt Mooney (Gr, Texas Tech) De'Andre Hunter (So, Virginia) Ty Jerome (Jr, Virginia)

Game summaries and tournament notes

Upsets Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated."

There were five upsets during the whole tournament, and all of them were in the first round.

+Upsets in the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournamentRoundEastWestSouthMidwestRound of 64 No. 12 Liberty defeated No. 5 Mississippi State, 80–76 No. 12 Murray State defeated No. 5 Marquette, 83–64 No. 11 Ohio State defeated No. 6 Iowa State, 62–59Round of 32 NoneSweet 16 NoneElite 8 NoneFinal 4 NoneNational Championship None

Record by conference ConferenceBidsRecordWin %R64R32S16E8F4CGNCACC715–67552111Big 1268–6641111Big Ten813–887321SEC712–775421WCC23–22111American43–4321Pac-1234–3321Big East41–431Ohio Valley22–221Atlantic Sun11–111Big West11–111MAC11–111Southern11–111Atlantic 1020–22Mountain West20–22NEC11–11Summit11–11

The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively. The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for the NEC, Ohio Valley, Pac-12, and Summit conferences and losses in the First Four for the American and Big East conference.