1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 61st annual edition of the tournament began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. A total of 63 games were played. This Final Four was the first—and so far, only—to be held in a baseball-specific facility, as Tropicana Field is home to the Tampa Bay Rays (then known as the Devil Rays).

The Final Four consisted of Connecticut, making its first Final Four appearance; Ohio State, in its ninth Final Four appearance and first since 1968; Michigan State, its third Final Four appearance and first since the 1979 national championship season; and Duke, the overall number one seed in its first Final Four appearance since losing the national championship game in 1994.

In the national championship game, Connecticut defeated Duke 77–74 to win its first national championship, snapping Duke's 32-game winning streak, and scoring the biggest point-spread upset in championship game history. Duke nonetheless tied the record for most games won during a single season, with 37, which they co-held until Kentucky's 38-win seasons in 2011–12 and 2014–15. The 2007–08 Memphis team actually broke this record first, but the team was forced to vacate the entire season due to eligibility issues surrounding the team.

Richard "Rip" Hamilton of Connecticut was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was a significant victory for the program, as it cemented Connecticut's reputation as a true basketball power after a decade of barely missing the Final Four.

This tournament is also historically notable as the coming-out party for Gonzaga as a rising mid-major power. Gonzaga has made every NCAA tournament since then and is now generally considered to be a high-major program despite its mid-major conference affiliation. Gonzaga is expected to join the newly revamped Pac-12 Conference in the 2025–26 academic year.

Due to violations committed by Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien, the Buckeyes were forced to vacate their appearance in the 1999 Final Four.Jim O'Brien Firing controversy (references included)

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1999 tournament:

First and Second Rounds March 11 and 13 South Region RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University, Midwestern Collegiate Conference) Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida (Host: Stetson University) West Region McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado (Hosts: Western Athletic Conference, Colorado State University) KeyArena, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington) March 12 and 14 East Region FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts (Host: Boston College) Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte) Midwest Region Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University) Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Tulane University) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 18 and 20 South Regional, Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee) West Regional, America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University) March 19 and 21 East Regional, Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference) Midwest Regional, Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) March 27 and 29 Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida (Hosts: University of South Florida, Conference USA)

Teams There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 28 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while two were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Ivy League and Pac-10).

Five conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Arkansas State (Sun Belt), Florida A&M (MEAC), Kent State (MAC), Samford (TAAC), and Winthrop (Big South).

Automatic qualifiers +Automatic qualifiersConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidACCDuke23rd1998America EastDelaware4th1998Atlantic 10Rhode Island8th1998Big 12Kansas28th1998Big EastConnecticut20th1998Big SkyWeber State12th1995Big SouthWinthrop1stBig TenMichigan State13th1998Big West15th1994CAAGeorge Mason2nd1989Conference USAUNC Charlotte7th1998Ivy LeaguePenn17th1995MAACSiena2nd1989MACKent State1stMCCDetroit5th1998MEACFlorida A&M1stMid-ContinentValparaiso4th1998Missouri ValleyCreighton10th1991NECMount St. Mary's2nd1995Ohio ValleyMurray State10th1998Pac-10Stanford8th1998PatriotLafayette2nd1957SECKentucky40th1998SouthernCollege of Charleston4th1998SouthlandUTSA2nd1988SWACAlcorn State5th1984Sun BeltArkansas State1stTAACSamford1stWACUtah21st1998West CoastGonzaga2nd1995

Listed by region and seeding

+East Regional – Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New JerseySeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1DukeACC32–1Automatic2Miami (FL)Big East22–6At-Large3CincinnatiConference USA26–5At-Large4TennesseeSEC20–8At-Large5WisconsinBig Ten22–9At-Large6TempleAtlantic 1021–10At-Large7TexasBig 1219–12At-Large8College of CharlestonSouthern28–2Automatic9TulsaWAC22–9At-Large10PurdueBig Ten19–12At-Large11Kent StateMAC23–6Automatic12Southwest Missouri StateMissouri Valley20–10At-Large13DelawareAmerica East25–5Automatic14George MasonCAA19–10Automatic15LafayettePatriot22–7Automatic16Florida A&MMEAC12–18Automatic+South Regional – Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, TennesseeSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1AuburnSEC27–3At-Large2MarylandACC26–5At-Large3St. John'sBig East25–8At-Large4Ohio State (vacated)Big Ten23–8At-Large5UCLA (vacated)Pac-1022–8At-Large6IndianaBig Ten22–10At-Large7LouisvilleConference USA19–10At-Large8SyracuseBig East21–11At-Large9Oklahoma StateBig 1222–10At-Large10CreightonMissouri Valley21–8Automatic11George WashingtonAtlantic 1020–8At-Large12DetroitMCC24–5Automatic13Murray StateOhio Valley27–5Automatic14SamfordTAAC24–5Automatic15ValparaisoMid-Continent23–8Automatic16WinthropBig South17–13Automatic+Midwest Regional – Trans World Dome, St. Louis, MissouriSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1Michigan StateBig Ten29–4Automatic2UtahWAC27–4Automatic3KentuckySEC25–8Automatic4Arizona (vacated)Pac-1022–6At-Large5UNC CharlotteConference USA22–10Automatic6KansasBig 1222–9Automatic7WashingtonPac-1017–11At-Large8VillanovaBig East21–10At-Large9Ole MissSEC19–13At-Large10Miami (OH)MAC22–7At-Large11EvansvilleMissouri Valley23–9At-Large12Rhode IslandAtlantic 1020–10Automatic13OklahomaBig 1220–10At-Large14Big West23–9Automatic15Arkansas StateSun Belt18–11Automatic16Mount St. Mary'sNEC15–14Automatic+West Regional – America West Arena, Phoenix, ArizonaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1ConnecticutBig East28–2Automatic2StanfordPac-1025–6Automatic3North CarolinaACC24–9At-Large4ArkansasSEC22–10At-Large5IowaBig Ten18–9At-Large6FloridaSEC20–8At-Large7MinnesotaBig Ten17–10At-Large8MissouriBig 1220–8At-Large9New MexicoWAC24–8At-Large10GonzagaWest Coast25–6Automatic11PennIvy League21–5Automatic12UABConference USA20–11At-Large13SienaMAAC25–5Automatic14Weber StateBig Sky24–7Automatic15Alcorn StateSWAC23–6Automatic16UTSASouthland18–10Automatic

Bids by conference Bids by ConferenceBidsConference(s) 7 Big Ten 6 SEC 5 Big 12, Big East 4 C-USA, Pac-10 3 Atlantic 10, ACC, Missouri Valley, WAC 2 Mid-American 1 19 others

Bracket East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Regional Final summary

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

Regional Final summary

South Regional – Knoxville, Tennessee

Regional Final summary

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

Game summaries First Round

Second Round

Regional Semifinals

Regional Final

Final Four

St. Petersburg, Florida

Ohio State vacated 34 games, including all NCAA Tournament wins from the 1998–99 season due to the Jim O’Brien scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Ohio State removing the wins from its own record.

Game summaries

Final four

National Championship

Media coverage

Television CBS Sports Greg Gumbel served as the studio host, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg.

Commentary teams Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Bonnie Bernstein First & Second Round at New Orleans, Louisiana; Midwest Regional at St. Louis; Final Four at St. Petersburg, Florida Sean McDonough/Bill Raftery/Michele Tafoya First & Second Round at Indianapolis, Indiana; South Regional at Knoxville, Tennessee Verne Lundquist/Al McGuire/Armen Keteyian First & Second Round at Charlotte, North Carolina; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey Gus Johnson/Dan Bonner/Barry Booker First & Second Round at Orlando, Florida; West Regional at Phoenix, Arizona Tim Brando/James Worthy/Beth Mowins First & Second Round at Milwaukee, Wisconsin Kevin Harlan/Jon Sundvold/Mike Harris First & Second Round at Seattle, Washington Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Mike Mayock First & Second Round at Denver, Colorado Craig Bolerjack/Rolando Blackman/Jimmy Dykes First & Second Round at Boston, Massachusetts

Radio Westwood One

First and Second Rounds – East Region First and Second Rounds at Charlotte, North Carolina – East Region First and Second Rounds at Boston, Massachusetts – Midwest Region First and Second Rounds at Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Midwest Region First and Second Rounds at New Orleans, Louisiana – South Region First and Second Rounds at Indianapolis, Indiana – South Region First and Second Rounds at Orlando, Florida – West Region First and Second Rounds at Denver, Colorado – West Region First and Second Rounds at Seattle, Washington

Regionals – East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey – Midwest Regional at St. Louis, Missouri – South Regional at Knoxville, Tennessee – West Regional at Phoenix, Arizona

Final Four and National Championship Marty Brennaman and Ron Franklin – (Connecticut–Ohio State) Final Four at St. Petersburg, Florida John Rooney and Bill Raftery – (Duke–Michigan State) Final Four and National Championship Game at St. Petersburg, Florida

Local Radio

+East Regional – East RutherfordSeedSchoolRadioPlay-by-playColor commentatorStudio host1 +Midwest Regional – St. LouisSeedSchoolRadioPlay-by-playColor commentatorStudio host1+South Regional – KnoxvilleSeedSchoolRadioPlay-by-playColor commentatorStudio host1+West Regional – PhoenixSeedSchoolRadioPlay-by-playColor commentatorStudio host1ConnecticutWTIC–AM 1080 (Connecticut)Joe D'AmbrosioWayne Norman

Additional notes Despite their loss in the finals to Connecticut, the 1998–1999 Duke team won 37 games. This tied them with Duke's 1985–86 team, UNLV's 1986–87 squad, and later, Illinois' 2004–05 team and Kansas's 2007–08 team, for the most wins in a season, until their record was broken by the 38-win Memphis team in 2007–08. However, as the NCAA vacated Memphis' 2007–2008 season due to the ineligibility of Derrick Rose, they reclaimed the 37-win record. The mark would once again be raised to 38 wins after Kentucky's dominant title run in 2012, which then tied with Kentucky's 2014–15 team. Only one of the first 5 teams to be the winningest single-season teams won a national championship; UNLV's squad lost in the national semifinal to Indiana, and the other teams lost in the finals, to Louisville, UConn, and North Carolina, while Kansas defeated Memphis in the 2008 national championship game. Kentucky's 2014–15 squad suffered their only loss that season in the national semifinal to Wisconsin.