1978 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1978 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1978, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third place game.

1978 NCAA Division I
Basketball Tournament
NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979
Season197778
Teams32
Finals siteThe Checkerdome
St. Louis, Missouri
ChampionsKentucky Wildcats (5th title, 7th title game,
8th Final Four)
Runner-upDuke Blue Devils (2nd title game,
4th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJoe B. Hall (1st title)
MOPJack Givens (Kentucky)
Attendance227,149
Top scorerMike Gminski Duke
(109 points)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
«1977 1979»

The process of seeding the bracket was first used in this tournament. Sixteen conference winners with automatic bids were seeded 1 through 4 in each region. At-large teams were seeded 1 through 4 in each region separately. There were in fact only eleven true at-large teams in the field, as the remaining five were conference winners with automatic bids and seeded as "at-large."[1] The practice of distinguishing between automatic and at-large teams ended with this edition; the expanded field of forty in the 1979 tournament was simply seeded from one to ten in each of the four regions.

Led by head coach Joe B. Hall, Kentucky won its fifth national title with a 94–88 victory over Duke, coached by Bill Foster. Wildcat forward Jack Givens scored 41 points in the finale and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.[2][3][4][5]

The bracket's biggest upset came in the first round, when little-heralded Miami (Ohio) defeated defending champion Marquette 84-81 in overtime. The victory was even sweeter for Miami Redskins (now RedHawks) fans as former Marquette coach Al McGuire had earlier strongly criticized the NCAA for potentially matching Marquette against Kentucky in the second round, with Marquette being given a first-round opponent in Miami that was supposedly not even worthy of providing an adequate tune-up game.

Unranked Cal State Fullerton (CSUF) pulled off two upsets, first over 4th ranked New Mexico (coached by Norm Ellenberger and led by Michael Cooper) and then over top-10 San Francisco (featuring Bill Cartwright). The loss was especially painful for New Mexico as the regional semifinals and finals were held on the Lobos' home court in Albuquerque. CSUF then almost upset Arkansas in the West Regional final, losing by 3 points. In each of the three games, the Titans overcame second-half double-digit deficits. In the Arkansas game, they cut a big deficit to 1 and had the ball with 14 seconds left. But Arkansas' Jim Counce stole the ball from Keith Anderson (many observers felt Anderson was fouled) and drove down to hit a clinching layup.

In the Mideast regional final, Kentucky knocked off top-seeded Michigan State, led by freshman Earvin "Magic" Johnson. This was the only time in a 4-year period (that included his senior year in high school, 2 years of college, and his rookie NBA season) that Magic's team did not win its final game of the playoffs and hence the championship.

The Final Four games (semifinals, third-place, and championship) at St. Louis Arena (a.k.a. The Checkerdome) were not played on the arena's official floor. Water damage to it forced the NCAA to borrow the floor from Indiana University's Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

This was the fourth and last year for a 32-team bracket; the field expanded to forty teams in 1979 and 48 in 1980, all seeded. The 64-team field debuted in 1985, eliminating byes for the top seeds (1979–1984). The third-place game at the Final Four was last played in 1981.

Locations

Charlotte
Philadelphia
Tulsa
Knoxville
Wichita
Indianapolis
Eugene
Tempe
1978 sites for first round games
Providence
Dayton
Lawrence
Albuquerque
St. Louis
1978 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)
RoundRegionSiteVenueHost
First Round East Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum UNC Charlotte
East Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Palestra Pennsylvania/Temple
Mideast Indianapolis, Indiana Market Square Arena Butler/IUPUI
Mideast Knoxville, Tennessee Stokely Athletic Center Tennessee
Midwest Tulsa, Oklahoma Mabee Center Oral Roberts/Tulsa
Midwest Wichita, Kansas Levitt Arena Wichita State
West Eugene, Oregon McArthur Court Oregon
West Tempe, Arizona ASU Activity Center Arizona State
Regionals East Providence, Rhode Island Providence Civic Center Providence College
Mideast Dayton, Ohio University of Dayton Arena Dayton
Midwest Lawrence, Kansas Allen Fieldhouse Kansas
West Albuquerque, New Mexico University Arena ("The Pit") New Mexico
Final Four St. Louis, Missouri The Checkerdome Missouri Valley Conference/St. Louis University

For the second time in six years, St. Louis was chosen as the host city for the Final Four, the eighth city to host multiple times. There were no new host cities for the first time since 1950, but one new venue, Market Square Arena, marking the first time since 1940 that the tournament returned to Indianapolis, now a common site of Final Fours. The tournament did mark the last time it would be held at McArthur Court, as it has not returned to Eugene since. It was also the last time the regionals would be held in historic Allen Fieldhouse, something it did eight times.

Teams

RegionSeedTeamCoachFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East1QDukeBill E. FosterRunner UpKentuckyL 94–88
East3QFurmanJoe WilliamsRound of 32IndianaL 63–62
East1LIndianaBob KnightSweet SixteenVillanovaL 61–60
East4LLa SallePaul WestheadRound of 32VillanovaL 103–97
East4QPennBob WeinhauerSweet SixteenDukeL 84–80
East3LRhode IslandJack KraftRound of 32DukeL 63–62
East2LSt. BonaventureJim SatalinRound of 32PennL 92–83
East2QVillanovaRollie MassiminoRegional Runner-upDukeL 90–72
Mideast
Mideast4LFlorida StateHugh DurhamRound of 32KentuckyL 85–76
Mideast2QKentuckyJoe B. HallChampionDukeW 94–88
Mideast1LMarquetteHank RaymondsRound of 32Miami (OH)L 84–81
Mideast3QMiami (OH)Darrell HedricSweet SixteenKentuckyL 91–69
Mideast1QMichigan StateJud HeathcoteRegional Runner-upKentuckyL 52–49
Mideast3LProvidenceDave GavittRound of 32Michigan StateL 77–63
Mideast2LSyracuseJim BoeheimRound of 32Western KentuckyL 87–86
Mideast4QWestern KentuckyJim RichardsSweet SixteenMichigan StateL 90–69
Midwest
Midwest3QCreightonTom ApkeRound of 32DePaulL 80–78
Midwest1LDePaulRay MeyerRegional Runner-upNotre DameL 84–64
Midwest4QHoustonGuy LewisRound of 32Notre DameL 100–77
Midwest2QLouisvilleDenny CrumSweet SixteenDePaulL 90–89
Midwest1QMissouriNorm StewartRound of 32UtahL 86–79
Midwest2LNotre DameDigger PhelpsFourth PlaceArkansasL 71–69
Midwest4LSt. John'sLou CarneseccaRound of 32LouisvilleL 76–68
Midwest3LUtahJerry PimmSweet SixteenNotre DameL 69–56
West
West2LArkansasEddie SuttonThird PlaceNotre DameW 71–69
West4LCal State FullertonBobby DyeRegional Runner-upArkansasL 61–58
West3LKansasTed OwensRound of 32UCLAL 83–76
West2QNew MexicoNorm EllenbergerRound of 32Cal State FullertonL 90–85
West1LNorth CarolinaDean SmithRound of 32San FranciscoL 68–64
West3QSan FranciscoBob GaillardSweet SixteenCal State FullertonL 75–72
West1QUCLAGary CunninghamSweet SixteenArkansasL 74–70
West4QWeber StateNeil McCarthyRound of 32ArkansasL 73–52

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1Q Duke 63
3L Rhode Island 62
1Q Duke 84
4Q Penn 80
4Q Penn 92
2L St. Bonaventure 83
1Q Duke 90
2Q Villanova 72
1L Indiana 63
3Q Furman 62
1L Indiana 60
2Q Villanova 61
2Q Villanova 103
4L La Salle 97

Midwest region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
3L Utah 86
1Q Missouri 79**
3L Utah 56
2L Notre Dame 69
2L Notre Dame 100
4Q Houston 77
2L Notre Dame 84
1L DePaul 64
1L DePaul 80
3Q Creighton 78
1L DePaul 90
2Q Louisville 89**
2Q Louisville 76
4L St. John's 68

Mideast region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1Q Michigan State 77
3L Providence 63
1Q Michigan State 90
4Q Western Kentucky 69
4Q Western Kentucky 87
2L Syracuse 86*
1Q Michigan State 49
2Q Kentucky 52
3Q Miami (OH) 84
1L Marquette 81*
3Q Miami (OH) 69
2Q Kentucky 91
2Q Kentucky 85
4L Florida State 76

West region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1Q UCLA 83
3L Kansas 76
1Q UCLA 70
2L Arkansas 74
2L Arkansas 73
4Q Weber State 52
2L Arkansas 61
4L Cal State Fullerton 58
3Q San Francisco 68
1L North Carolina 64
3Q San Francisco 72
4L Cal State Fullerton 75
4L Cal State Fullerton 90
2Q New Mexico 85

Final Four

  National Semifinals
Saturday, March 25
    National Championship Game
Monday, March 27
                 
  E1Q Duke 90  
  MW2L Notre Dame 86    
      E1Q Duke 88
      ME2Q Kentucky 94
  ME2Q Kentucky 64    
  W2L Arkansas 59   National Third Place Game
 
MW2L Notre Dame 69
  W2L Arkansas 71

Q = automatic qualifier bid L = at-large bid (including 5 automatic bids seeded with at-large teams)

Final Four

March 25
Arkansas 59, Kentucky 64
Scoring by half: 30–32, 29–32
Pts: Brewer 16
Rebs: Delph 8
Asts: Counce 2
Pts: Givens 23
Rebs: Givens 9
Asts: Shidler 4

Attendance: 18,721
March 25
Duke 90, Notre Dame 86
Scoring by half: 43–29, 47–57
Pts: Gminski 29
Rebs: Banks 12
Asts: Spanarkel/Bender 5
Pts: Williams 16
Rebs: Laimbeer 10
Asts: Branning 5

Attendance: 18,721

Championship

March 27
Duke 88, Kentucky 94
Scoring by half: 38-45, 50-49
Pts: Banks 22
Rebs: Gminski 12
Pts: Givens 41
Rebs: Robey 11

Attendance: 18,721

Announcers

See also

References

  1. Washington Post – March 6, 1978
  2. "Kentucky finally gets to celebrate". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. March 28, 1978. p. 4B.
  3. "Kentucky can finally celebrate". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 28, 1978. p. 1C.
  4. Keith, Larry (April 3, 1978). "The Cats go wild". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  5. "Givens heads team". Kentucky New Era. (Hopkinsville). Associated Press. March 28, 1978. p. 12.
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