The 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1993 and concluded in the 64-team 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, whose finals were held at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Arkansas Razorbacks earned their first national championship by defeating the Duke Blue Devils 76–72 on April 4, 1994. The Razorbacks were coached by Nolan Richardson and the NCAA Division I basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Arkansas's Corliss Williamson.
In championship game of the 32-team 1994 National Invitation Tournament, the Villanova Wildcats defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Following the season, the 1994 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American Consensus First Team included Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Donyell Marshall, Glenn Robinson, and Clifford Rozier.
Season headlines Nolan Richardson led the Arkansas Razorbacks to their first national championship, also his first. The East Coast Conference resumed conference play after a one-season hiatus. However, it disbanded at the end of the season.
Major rule changes Beginning in 1993–94, the following rules changes were implemented: The shot clock was shortened from 45 seconds to 35 seconds per possession The game clock stopped on any made field goal with under one minute remaining in the second half and any overtime period(s)
Pre-season polls The top 25 from the pre-season AP and Coaches Polls.* Associated PressRankingTeam1North Carolina2Kentucky3Arkansas4Duke5Michigan6California7Louisville8Temple9Kansas10Minnesota11Oklahoma State12Indiana13UCLA14Georgia Tech15Georgetown16Virginia17Illinois18Arizona19Cincinnati20Syracuse21Purdue22Massachusetts23Vanderbilt24George Washington25Florida State CoachesRankingTeam1North Carolina2Kentucky3Duke4Arkansas5Michigan6Louisville 7IndianaTemple9Kansas10California11Minnesota12Georgetown13Oklahoma State14UCLA15Georgia Tech16Illinois17Cincinnati18Virginia19Syracuse20Arizona21Massachusetts22Wisconsin23Marquette24Florida State25Purdue
Conference membership changes
These schools joined new conferences for the 1993–94 season.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference NCAA Division I independent East Coast Conference NCAA Division I independent East Coast Conference NCAA Division I independent East Coast Conference Midwestern Collegiate Conference Great Midwest Conference Midwestern Collegiate Conference Atlantic 10 Conference NCAA Division II independent Trans America Athletic Conference NCAA Division I independent East Coast Conference NCAA Division I independent Mid-Continent Conference NCAA Division I independent East Coast Conference NAIA independent NCAA Division I independent NCAA Division II independent East Coast Conference
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments Thirty conferences concluded their seasons with a single-elimination tournament, with only the Big Ten Conference, Ivy League, and Pac-10 Conference choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Conference tournament winners, with the exception of those of the East Coast Conference, Great Midwest Conference, and Midwestern Collegiate Conference, received an automatic bid to the 1994 NCAA tournament.
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic 10 Conference UMass Eddie Jones, Temple 1994 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament Mullins Center(Amherst, Massachusetts) UMassAtlantic Coast Conference Duke Grant Hill, Duke 1994 ACC men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum(Charlotte, North Carolina) North CarolinaBig East Conference Connecticut Donyell Marshall, Connecticut 1994 Big East men's basketball tournament Madison Square Garden(New York City, New York) ProvidenceBig Eight Conference Missouri Melvin Booker, Missouri 1994 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri) NebraskaBig Sky Conference Idaho StateWeber State Ruben Nembhard, Weber State 1994 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament BSU Pavilion(Boise, Idaho) Boise StateBig South Conference Towson State Joe Spinks, Campbell 1994 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament North Charleston Coliseum(North Charleston, South Carolina) LibertyBig Ten Conference Purdue Glenn Robinson, Purdue No TournamentBig West Conference New Mexico State Kebu Stewart, UNLV 1994 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament Thomas & Mack Center(Paradise, Nevada) New Mexico StateColonial Athletic Association James MadisonOld Dominion Odell Hodge, Old Dominion 1994 CAA men's basketball tournament Richmond Coliseum(Richmond, Virginia) James MadisonEast Coast Conference Troy State Reggie Smith, Northeastern Illinois 1994 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Alumni Arena(Amherst, New York) HofstraGreat Midwest Conference Marquette Jim McIlvaine, Marquette 1994 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament Shoemaker Center(Cincinnati, Ohio) CincinnatiIvy League Penn Jerome Allen, Penn No TournamentMetro Conference Louisville Clifford Rozier, Louisville 1994 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Mississippi Coast Coliseum(Biloxi, Mississippi) LouisvilleMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference Canisius Doremus Bennerman, Siena 1994 MAAC men's basketball tournament Knickerbocker Arena(Albany, New York) Loyola (MD)Mid-American Conference Ohio Gary Trent, Ohio 1994 MAC men's basketball tournament Battelle Hall(Columbus, Ohio) OhioMid-Continent Conference Green Bay Kenny Williams, UIC 1994 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament Rosemont Horizon(Rosemont, Illinois) Green BayMid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coppin State Stephen Stewart, Coppin State 1994 MEAC men's basketball tournament Talmadge L. Hill Field House(Baltimore, Maryland) North Carolina A&TMidwestern Collegiate Conference Xavier Brian Grant, Xavier 1994 MCC men's basketball tournament Hinkle Fieldhouse(Indianapolis, Indiana) DetroitMissouri Valley Conference Southern IllinoisTulsa Gary Collier, Tulsa 1994 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament St. Louis Arena(St. Louis, Missouri) Southern IllinoisNorth Atlantic Conference Drexel Scott Drapeau, New Hampshire 1994 North Atlantic Conference men's basketball tournament Daskalakis Athletic Center(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) DrexelNortheast Conference Rider Izett Buchanan, Marist 1994 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament Alumni Gymnasium(Lawrenceville, New Jersey) RiderOhio Valley Conference Murray State Carlos Rogers, Tennessee State 1994 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Nashville Municipal Auditorium(Nashville, Tennessee) Tennessee StatePacific-10 Conference Arizona Jason Kidd, California No TournamentPatriot League ColgateFordhamHoly CrossNavy Tucker Neale, Colgate 1994 Patriot League men's basketball tournament Alumni Hall(Annapolis, Maryland) NavySoutheastern Conference Florida (East)Kentucky (East)Arkansas (West) Corliss Williamson, Arkansas 1994 SEC men's basketball tournament The Pyramid(Memphis, Tennessee) KentuckySouthern Conference Chattanooga Chad Copeland, ChattanoogaFrankie King, Western Carolina 1994 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Asheville Civic Center(Asheville, North Carolina) ChattanoogaSouthland Conference Northeast Louisiana Eric Kubel, Northwestern State 1994 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament Fant–Ewing Coliseum(Monroe, Louisiana) Southwest Texas StateSouthwest Conference Texas B. J. Tyler, Texas 1994 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament Reunion Arena(Dallas, Texas) TexasSouthwestern Athletic Conference Texas Southern Jervaughn Scales, Southern 1994 SWAC men's basketball tournament — Texas SouthernSun Belt Conference Western Kentucky Michael Allen, Southwestern Louisiana 1994 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament E. A. Diddle Arena(Bowling Green, Kentucky) Southwestern LouisianaTrans America Athletic Conference College of Charleston Marion Busby, College of Charleston 1994 TAAC men's basketball tournament UCF Arena(Orlando, Florida) UCFWest Coast Conference Gonzaga Jeff Brown, Gonzaga 1994 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Toso Pavilion(Santa Clara, California) PepperdineWestern Athletic Conference New Mexico Greg Brown, New Mexico 1994 WAC men's basketball tournament Delta Center(Salt Lake City, Utah) Hawaii
Conference standings
Division I independents
Six schools played as independents. They had no postseason play.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Penn & Temple Eddie Jones, Temple For the third consecutive season, the Philadelphia Big 5 did not play a full round-robin schedule in which each team met each other team once, a format it had used from its first season of competition in 1955–56 through the 1990–91 season. Instead, each team played only two games against other Big 5 members, and Penn and Temple both finished with 2–0 records in head-to-head competition among the Big 5. The Big 5 did not revive its full round-robin schedule until the 1999–2000 season.
Statistical leaders Source for additional stats categories Player School PPG Player School RPG Player School APG Player School SPG Glenn Robinson Purdue 30.3 Jerome Lambert Baylor 14.8 Jason Kidd California 9.1 Shawn Griggs LA-Lafayette 4.0 Rob Feaster Holy Cross 28.0 Jervaughn Scales Southern 14.2 David Edwards Texas A&M 8.8 Gerald Walker San Francisco 3.9 Jervaughn Scales Southern 27.1 Eric Kubel Northwestern St. 13.1 Tony Miller Marquette 8.3 Andre Cradle Long Island 3.8 Frankie King W. Carolina 26.9 Kendrick Warren VCU 12.4 Eathan O'Bryant Nevada 8.3 Jason Kidd California 3.1 Tucker Neale Colgate 26.6 Malik Rose Drexel 12.4 Abdul Abdullah Providence 8.0 B. J. Tyler Texas 3.1 Player School BPG Player School FG% Player School 3FG% Player School FT% Grady Livingston Howard 4.4 Mike Atkinson Long Beach St. .695 Howard Eisley Boston College .484 Danny Baisle Marist .944 Jim McIlvaine Marquette 4.3 Lynwood Wade SW Texas St. .671 Brooks Thompson Oklahoma St. .472 Dandrea Evans Troy St. .935 Theo Ratliff Wyoming 4.1 Anthony Miller Michigan St. .651 Scott Neely Campbell .468 Casey Schmidt Valparaiso .926 David Vaughn III Memphis St. 3.8 Deon Thomas Illinois .633 Landon Hackim Miami (OH) .463 Matt Hildebrand Liberty .925 Tim Duncan Wake Forest 3.8 Aaron Swinson Auburn .631 Gary Collier Tulsa .463 Kent Culuko James Madison .921 Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four – Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams NCAA Record Book - DIVISION I CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS p.6
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Grant Hill F Senior Duke Jason Kidd G Sophomore California Donyell Marshall F Junior Connecticut Glenn Robinson F Junior Purdue Clifford Rozier F/C Junior Louisville
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Melvin Booker G Senior Missouri Eric Montross C Senior North Carolina Lamond Murray F Junior California Khalid Reeves G Senior Arizona Jalen Rose G Junior Michigan Corliss Williamson F Sophomore Arkansas
Major player of the year awards Wooden Award: Glenn Robinson, Purdue Naismith Award: Glenn Robinson, Purdue Associated Press Player of the Year: Glenn Robinson, Purdue NABC Player of the Year: Glenn Robinson, Purdue Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Glenn Robinson, Purdue Adolph Rupp Trophy: Glenn Robinson, Purdue Sporting News Player of the Year: Glenn Robinson, Purdue UPI College Basketball Player of the Year: Glenn Robinson, Purdue
Major freshman of the year awards USBWA Freshman of the Year: Joe Smith, Maryland
Major coach of the year awards Associated Press Coach of the Year: Norm Stewart, Missouri Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Charlie Spoonhour, Saint Louis NABC Coach of the Year: Gene Keady, Purdue & Nolan Richardson, Arkansas