The 1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 43rd annual edition of the tournament began on March 12, 1981, and ended with the championship game on March 30, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. A total of 48 games were played, including a national third-place game (the last in the NCAA tournament). It was also the last tournament to be televised on NBC, before CBS took over the following year. Additionally, it was the last season in which the NCAA sponsored championships only in men's sports; the first Division I women's tournament would be played the following year.
Indiana, coached by Bob Knight, won the national title with a 63–50 victory over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Isiah Thomas of Indiana was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
The March 14 upsets
The date of Saturday, March 14, 1981, resulted in three major second round tournament upsets which were decided by last-second baskets.
St. Joseph's trailed No. 1 seed DePaul by seven at about the midway point of the second half, in an early afternoon Mideast Region game from Dayton, Ohio. However, with under a minute left, the Hawks had rallied to within one point, 48–47. Blue Demons guard Skip Dillard was fouled with 12 seconds left. Dillard was known as 'Money' for his superb free throw shooting (85%), but he missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and St. Joseph's guard Bryan Warrick got the rebound and dribbled to the front court without calling a timeout. Then he got the ball to freshman Lonnie McFarlan who was wide open in the right corner. McFarlan began to shoot until forward John Smith yelled "Please!" to him. McFarlan passed to Smith, who was open underneath the basket. Smith's layup with two seconds left enabled the Hawks of coach Jim Lynam to stun the Blue Demons of Ray Meyer, 49–48.YouTube - March 1981 - St Joe's vs DePaul, NCAA Tournament (Final 8+ Minutes)Joe Tolstoy
Later in the afternoon in Austin, Texas, Arkansas coach Eddie Sutton called timeout with 5 seconds left after falling behind Louisville in the Midwest Region, 73–72 on a jumper by guard Derek Smith. Sutton told his team to get the ball to U.S. Reed. The Razorbacks' guard dribbled to near half court, then launched a 49-foot shot that beat the buzzer and swished through the net, as Arkansas dethroned the defending national champion Cardinals of Denny Crum, 74–73. Sutton told the media, "Champions die hard."
Only moments after the Razorbacks' upset, the season ended for another #1 seed in the West Region in Los Angeles. Oregon State led Kansas State by as much as 11 points in the second half. Coach Ralph Miller and center Steve Johnson had led the Beavers to a two-year record of 52–4. Then Rolando Blackman led the Wildcats back with a 16–6 run to tie the game, 48–48 with 3:23 left. Johnson then fouled out, and both teams stalled with the ball until Oregon State missed the front end of a one-and-one from the foul line. K-State then held for the last shot. With two seconds left, Blackman, double-teamed, drilled a fall-away 17 footer from the right baseline for a 50–48 upset by the Wildcats of Jack Hartman.
In another second round Mideast Region upset, UAB defeated Kentucky 69–62. A semifinal in the East Region saw Danny Ainge dribble the length of the court and drive all the way in for a layup and another buzzer-beating winner, lifting BYU over Notre Dame 51–50.
Greg Johnson of NCAA.com, in a March 9, 2011 article, indicated that March 14, 1981 was a date which defined March Madness.
Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1981 tournament:
First and Second rounds March 12 and 14 East Region Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College) Mideast Region University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) Midwest Region Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin) West Region Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: UCLA) March 13 and 15 East Region Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte) Mideast Region Memorial Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Host: University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa) Midwest Region Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas (Host: Wichita State University) West Region Special Events Center, El Paso, Texas (Host: University of Texas at El Paso)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 19 and 21 East Regional, Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech) West Regional, Special Events Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah) March 20 and 22 Mideast Regional, Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University Bloomington) Midwest Regional, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Tulane University)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) March 28 and 30 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: The Philadelphia Big 5 - Villanova University, Temple University, La Salle University, Saint Joseph's University, University of Pennsylvania)
Teams Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East East 1 Virginia Terry Holland ACC Third Place1 LSUW 78–74 East 2 Notre Dame Digger Phelps Independent Sweet Sixteen6 BYUL 51–50 East 3 UCLA Larry Brown Pacific-10 Round of 326 BYUL 78–55 East 4 Tennessee Don DeVoe SEC Sweet Sixteen1 VirginiaL 62–48 East 5 VCU J. D. Barnett Sun Belt Round of 324 TennesseeL 58–56 East 6 BYU Frank Arnold WAC Regional Runner-up1 VirginiaL 74–60 East 7 Georgetown John Thompson Big East Round of 4810 James MadisonL 61–55 East 8 Houston Guy Lewis Southwest Round of 489 VillanovaL 90–72 East 9 Villanova Rollie Massimino Big East Round of 321 VirginiaL 54–50 East 10 James Madison Lou Campanelli ECAC South Round of 322 Notre DameL 54–45 East 11 Princeton Pete Carril Ivy League Round of 486 BYUL 60–51 East 12 Paul Lizzo ECAC Metro Round of 485 VCUL 85–69 Mideast Mideast 1 DePaul Ray Meyer Independent Round of 329 Saint Joseph'sL 49–48 Mideast 2 Kentucky Joe B. Hall SEC Round of 327 UABL 69–62 Mideast 3 Indiana Bob Knight Big Ten Champion2 North CarolinaW 63–50 Mideast 4 Wake Forest Carl Tacy ACC Round of 325 Boston CollegeL 67–64 Mideast 5 Boston College Tom Davis Big East Sweet Sixteen9 Saint Joseph'sL 42–41 Mideast 6 Maryland Lefty Driesell ACC Round of 323 IndianaL 99–64 Mideast 7 UAB Gene Bartow Sun Belt Sweet Sixteen3 IndianaL 87–72 Mideast 8 Creighton Tom Apke Missouri Valley Round of 489 Saint Joseph'sL 59–57 Mideast 9 Saint Joseph's Jim Lynam East Coast Regional Runner-up3 IndianaL 78–46 Mideast 10 Western Kentucky Clem Haskins Ohio Valley Round of 487 UABL 93–68 Mideast 11 Chattanooga Murray Arnold Southern Round of 486 MarylandL 81–69 Mideast 12 Ball State Steve Yoder MAC Round of 485 Boston CollegeL 93–90 Midwest Midwest 1 LSU Dale Brown SEC Fourth Place1 VirginiaL 78–74 Midwest 2 Arizona State Ned Wulk Pacific-10 Round of 327 Kansas L 88–71 Midwest 3 Iowa Lute Olson Big Ten Round of 326 Wichita StateL 60–56 Midwest 4 Louisville Denny Crum Metro Round of 325 Arkansas L 74–73 Midwest 5 Arkansas Eddie Sutton Southwest Sweet Sixteen1 LSUL 72–56 Midwest 6 Wichita State Gene Smithson Missouri Valley Regional Runner-up1 LSUL 96–85 Midwest 7 Kansas Ted Owens Big Eight Sweet Sixteen6 Wichita StateL 66–65 Midwest 8 Lamar Pat Foster Southland Round of 321 LSUL 100–78 Midwest 9 Missouri Norm Stewart Big Eight Round of 488 LamarL 71–67 Midwest 10 Ole Miss Bob Weltlich SEC Round of 487 KansasL 69–66 Midwest 11 Carl Stewart SWAC Round of 486 Wichita StateL 95–70 Midwest 12 Mercer Bill Bibb Trans America Round of 485 ArkansasL 73–67 West West 1 Oregon State Ralph Miller Pacific-10 Round of 328 Kansas State L 50–48 West 2 North Carolina Dean Smith ACC Runner Up3 IndianaL 63–50 West 3 Utah Jerry Pimm WAC Sweet Sixteen2 North CarolinaL 61–56 West 4 Illinois Lou Henson Big Ten Sweet Sixteen8 Kansas StateL 57–52 West 5 Wyoming Jim Brandenburg WAC Round of 324 IllinoisL 67–65 West 6 Fresno State Boyd Grant Pacific Coast Round of 4811 NortheasternL 55–53 West 7 Idaho Don Monson Big Sky Round of 4810 PittsburghL 70–69 West 8 Kansas State Jack Hartman Big Eight Regional Runner-up2 North CarolinaL 82–68 West 9 San Francisco Peter Barry West Coast Round of 488 Kansas StateL 64–60 West 10 Pittsburgh Roy Chipman Eastern Round of 322 North CarolinaL 74–57 West 11 Northeastern Jim Calhoun ECAC North Round of 323 UtahL 94–69 West 12 Howard A.B. Williamson MEAC Round of 485 WyomingL 78–43
Bracket * – Denotes overtime period
East region
West region
Mideast region
Midwest region
Final Four
Notes This was the last tournament that a third-place game was staged prior to the national championship; every prior championship since 1946 had featured the game. The 1981 tournament holds the record for the most first-time participants. Twelve teams – UAB, Ball State, Chattanooga, Fresno State, Howard, Idaho, James Madison, LIU, Mercer, Mississippi, Northeastern, and Southern – appeared in their first tournament. UAB, coached by Gene Bartow, made it the furthest, reaching the Sweet Sixteen before falling to eventual champion Indiana. The twelve teams beat the previous record of eleven set in 1955. Half of the first time teams would return in 1982, with the longest drought before their second appearance being sixteen years for the Ole Miss Rebels. As of 2026, this is the only time all three Division I schools from Kansas—Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State—have advanced to the Sweet 16. As of 2023, all forty-eight teams in the 1981 tournament have returned to the tournament at least once. This would happen five more times in the 1980s, but has not happened again since 1989.
Announcers (NBC and NCAA Productions) Dick Enberg, Billy Packer and Al McGuire – Second round at Providence, Rhode Island (UCLA–Brigham Young, Notre Dame–James Madison); Second round at Charlotte, North Carolina (Virginia–Villanova, Tennessee–VCU); East Regional Final at Atlanta, Georgia; Midwest Regional Final at New Orleans, Louisiana; Final Four at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Marv Albert and Steve Grote – Mideast Regional Final at Bloomington, Indiana Don Criqui and Gary Thompson – Second round at Dayton, Ohio (DePaul–St. Joseph's, Indiana–Maryland); West Regional Final at Salt Lake City, Utah (Kansas State-North Carolina) Bill O'Donnell and Jeff Mullins – East Regional semifinals at Atlanta, Georgia Jim Thacker and Steve Grote – Mideast Regional semifinals at Bloomington, Indiana Fred White and Larry Conley – Midwest Regional semifinals at New Orleans, Louisiana Bob Costas and Gary Thompson – Second round at Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Kentucky–UAB, Wake Forest–Boston College) Marv Albert and Bucky Waters – Second round at Austin, Texas (LSU–Lamar, Louisville–Arkansas) Charlie Jones and Lynn Shackelford – Second round at Wichita, Kansas (Iowa–Wichita State, Arizona State–Kansas) Jay Randolph and Steve Grote – Second round at Los Angeles, California (Oregon State–Kansas State, Illinois–Wyoming) Merle Harmon and Matt Guokas – Second round at El Paso, Texas (Utah–Northeastern, North Carolina–Pittsburgh) Tom Hammond and Larry Conley – First round at Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Boston College–Ball State, UAB–Western Kentucky) Tom Hammond and Gary Thompson-West Regional Semifinals at Salt Lake City, Utah
See also 1981 NCAA Division II basketball tournament 1981 NCAA Division III basketball tournament 1981 National Invitation Tournament 1981 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1981 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament 1981 National Women's Invitation Tournament
References
External links
1981 NCAA Tournament Summary at Sports-Reference.com