1991 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1991 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. It began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana. A total of 63 games were played.
Season | 1990–91 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teams | 64 | ||||
Finals site | Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||
Champions | Duke Blue Devils (1st title, 5th title game, 9th Final Four) | ||||
Runner-up | Kansas Jayhawks (6th title game, 9th Final Four) | ||||
Semifinalists |
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Winning coach | Mike Krzyzewski (1st title) | ||||
MOP | Christian Laettner (Duke) | ||||
Attendance | 665,707 | ||||
Top scorer | Christian Laettner Duke (125 points) | ||||
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Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski, won a rematch of the previous year's national final matchup against undefeated UNLV 79–77 in the semifinal,[1] then won the national title with a 72–65 victory in the final game over Kansas, coached by Roy Williams.[2] This was the first National Championship game for Williams as a head coach. Kansas defeated Williams' mentor Dean Smith and North Carolina (where Williams now coaches) in the semifinal. Kansas made its second trip to the National Championship game in four seasons, the prior appearance being 1988 when they defeated Oklahoma. Christian Laettner of Duke was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
This tournament adopted the NBA's 10ths-second timer during the final minute of each period in all arenas.
Locations
First & Second Rounds
Regional Sites and Final Four
Region | Site | Venue | Host(s) |
---|---|---|---|
East | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Brendan Byrne Arena | Seton Hall |
Midwest | Pontiac, Michigan | Pontiac Silverdome | Detroit-Mercy/Oakland |
Southeast | Charlotte, North Carolina | Charlotte Coliseum | UNC Charlotte |
West | Seattle, Washington | The Kingdome | Seattle/Washington |
Final Four | Indianapolis, Indiana | Hoosier Dome | Butler/IUPUI |
For the second time, Indianapolis was the host of the Final Four, this time at the Hoosier Dome, which would host the Final Four three more times. The tournament also returned to Charlotte in 1991, this time to the new Charlotte Coliseum, then the off-campus home of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team. This year also saw the final appearance of the Pontiac Silverdome and two former Final Four venues, in Cole Field House and Freedom Hall. Games played in Detroit since have either been at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Ford Field or, starting in 2018, Little Caesars Arena. While both Cole Field House and Freedom Hall have both been replaced, only Freedom Hall's replacement, the KFC Yum! Center, has hosted games since. Games in the Washington area have since been played at either Baltimore, Landover or in Washington itself at Capital One Arena. All subsequent tournament games played in Atlanta are now played at either the Georgia Dome (since demolished) or Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Any future tournament games played in Charlotte would be played at Spectrum Center (although the Coliseum did host the Final Four in 1994).
Teams
Region | Seed | Team | Coach | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East | ||||||
East | 1 | North Carolina | Dean Smith | National Semifinals | 3 Kansas | L 79–73 |
East | 2 | Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | Round of 64 | 15 Richmond | L 73–69 |
East | 3 | Oklahoma State | Eddie Sutton | Sweet Sixteen | 10 Temple | L 72–63 |
East | 4 | UCLA | Jim Harrick | Round of 64 | 13 Penn State | L 74–69 |
East | 5 | Mississippi State | Richard Williams | Round of 64 | 12 Eastern Michigan | L 76–56 |
East | 6 | NC State | Les Robinson | Round of 32 | 3 Oklahoma State | L 73–64 |
East | 7 | Purdue | Gene Keady | Round of 64 | 10 Temple | L 80–63 |
East | 8 | Princeton | Pete Carril | Round of 64 | 9 Villanova | L 50–48 |
East | 9 | Villanova | Rollie Massimino | Round of 32 | 1 North Carolina | L 84–69 |
East | 10 | Temple | John Chaney | Regional Runner-up | 1 North Carolina | L 75–72 |
East | 11 | Southern Miss | M.K. Turk | Round of 64 | 6 NC State | L 114–85 |
East | 12 | Eastern Michigan | Ben Braun | Sweet Sixteen | 1 North Carolina | L 93–67 |
East | 13 | Penn State | Bruce Parkhill | Round of 32 | 12 Eastern Michigan | L 71–68 |
East | 14 | New Mexico | Dave Bliss | Round of 64 | 3 Oklahoma State | L 67–54 |
East | 15 | Richmond | Dick Tarrant | Round of 32 | 10 Temple | L 77–64 |
East | 16 | Northeastern | Karl Fogel | Round of 64 | 1 North Carolina | L 101–66 |
Midwest | ||||||
Midwest | 1 | Ohio State | Randy Ayers | Sweet Sixteen | 4 St. John's | L 91–74 |
Midwest | 2 | Duke | Mike Krzyzewski | Champion | 3 Kansas | W 72–65 |
Midwest | 3 | Nebraska | Danny Nee | Round of 64 | 14 Xavier | L 89–84 |
Midwest | 4 | St. John's | Lou Carnesecca | Regional Runner-up | 2 Duke | L 78–61 |
Midwest | 5 | Texas | Tom Penders | Round of 32 | 4 St. John's | L 84–76 |
Midwest | 6 | LSU | Dale Brown | Round of 64 | 11 Connecticut | L 79–62 |
Midwest | 7 | Iowa | Tom Davis | Round of 32 | 2 Duke | L 85–70 |
Midwest | 8 | Georgia Tech | Bobby Cremins | Round of 32 | 1 Ohio State | L 65–61 |
Midwest | 9 | DePaul | Joey Meyer | Round of 64 | 8 Georgia Tech | L 87–70 |
Midwest | 10 | East Tennessee State | Alan LeForce | Round of 64 | 7 Iowa | L 76–73 |
Midwest | 11 | Connecticut | Jim Calhoun | Sweet Sixteen | 2 Duke | L 81–67 |
Midwest | 12 | Saint Peter's | Ted Fiore | Round of 64 | 5 Texas | L 73–65 |
Midwest | 13 | Northern Illinois | Jim Molinari | Round of 64 | 4 St. John's | L 75–68 |
Midwest | 14 | Xavier | Pete Gillen | Round of 32 | 11 Connecticut | L 66–50 |
Midwest | 15 | Northeast Louisiana | Mike Vining | Round of 64 | 2 Duke | L 102–73 |
Midwest | 16 | Towson State | Terry Truax | Round of 64 | 1 Ohio State | L 97–86 |
Southeast | ||||||
Southeast | 1 | Arkansas | Nolan Richardson | Regional Runner-up | 3 Kansas | L 93–81 |
Southeast | 2 | Indiana | Bob Knight | Sweet Sixteen | 3 Kansas | L 83–65 |
Southeast | 3 | Kansas | Roy Williams | Runner Up | 2 Duke | L 72–65 |
Southeast | 4 | Alabama | Wimp Sanderson | Sweet Sixteen | 1 Arkansas | L 93–70 |
Southeast | 5 | Wake Forest | Dave Odom | Round of 32 | 4 Alabama | L 96–88 |
Southeast | 6 | Pittsburgh | Paul Evans | Round of 32 | 3 Kansas | L 77–66 |
Southeast | 7 | Florida State | Pat Kennedy | Round of 32 | 2 Indiana | L 82–60 |
Southeast | 8 | Arizona State | Bill Frieder | Round of 32 | 1 Arkansas | L 97–90 |
Southeast | 9 | Rutgers | Bob Wenzel | Round of 64 | 8 Arizona State | L 79–76 |
Southeast | 10 | USC | George Raveling | Round of 64 | 7 Florida State | L 75–72 |
Southeast | 11 | Georgia | Hugh Durham | Round of 64 | 6 Pittsburgh | L 76–68 |
Southeast | 12 | Louisiana Tech | Jerry Loyd | Round of 64 | 5 Wake Forest | L 71–65 |
Southeast | 13 | Murray State | Steve Newton | Round of 64 | 4 Alabama | L 89–79 |
Southeast | 14 | New Orleans | Tim Floyd | Round of 64 | 3 Kansas | L 55–49 |
Southeast | 15 | Coastal Carolina | Russ Bergman | Round of 64 | 2 Indiana | L 79–69 |
Southeast | 16 | Georgia State | Bob Reinhart | Round of 64 | 1 Arkansas | L 117–76 |
West | ||||||
West | 1 | UNLV | Jerry Tarkanian | National Semifinals | 2 Duke | L 79–77 |
West | 2 | Arizona | Lute Olson | Sweet Sixteen | 3 Seton Hall | L 81–77 |
West | 3 | Seton Hall | P.J. Carlesimo | Regional Runner-up | 1 UNLV | L 77–65 |
West | 4 | Utah | Rick Majerus | Sweet Sixteen | 1 UNLV | L 83–66 |
West | 5 | Michigan State | Jud Heathcote | Round of 32 | 4 Utah | L 85–84 |
West | 6 | New Mexico State | Neil McCarthy | Round of 64 | 11 Creighton | L 64–56 |
West | 7 | Virginia | Jeff Jones | Round of 64 | 10 BYU | L 61–48 |
West | 8 | Georgetown | John Thompson | Round of 32 | 1 UNLV | L 62–54 |
West | 9 | Vanderbilt | Eddie Fogler | Round of 64 | 8 Georgetown | L 70–60 |
West | 10 | BYU | Roger Reid | Round of 32 | 2 Arizona | L 76–61 |
West | 11 | Creighton | Tony Barone | Round of 32 | 3 Seton Hall | L 81–69 |
West | 12 | Green Bay | Dick Bennett | Round of 64 | 5 Michigan State | L 60–58 |
West | 13 | South Alabama | Ronnie Arrow | Round of 64 | 4 Utah | L 82–72 |
West | 14 | Pepperdine | Tom Asbury | Round of 64 | 3 Seton Hall | L 71–51 |
West | 15 | Saint Francis (PA) | Jim Baron | Round of 64 | 2 Arizona | L 93–80 |
West | 16 | Montana | Stew Morrill | Round of 64 | 1 UNLV | L 99–65 |
Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period
East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey
First round | Second round | Regional Semifinals | Regional Finals | ||||||||||||||||
1 | North Carolina | 101 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Northeastern | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | North Carolina | 84 | |||||||||||||||||
Syracuse | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | Villanova | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Princeton | 48 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Villanova | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | North Carolina | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Eastern Michigan | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Mississippi State | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Eastern Michigan | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Eastern Michigan | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
Syracuse | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | Penn State | 68* | |||||||||||||||||
4 | UCLA | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
13 | Penn State | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | North Carolina | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Temple | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | NC State | 114 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Southern Miss | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | NC State | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
College Park | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | Oklahoma State | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Oklahoma State | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
14 | New Mexico | 54 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Oklahoma State | 63* | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Temple | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Purdue | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Temple | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Temple | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
College Park | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | Richmond | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Syracuse | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Richmond | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
Southeast Regional – Charlotte, North Carolina
First round | Second round | Regional Semifinals | Regional Finals | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Arkansas | 117 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Georgia State | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Arkansas | 97 | |||||||||||||||||
Atlanta | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | Arizona State | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Arizona State | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Rutgers | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Arkansas | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Alabama | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Wake Forest | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Louisiana Tech | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Wake Forest | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
Atlanta | |||||||||||||||||||
4 | Alabama | 96 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Alabama | 89 | |||||||||||||||||
13 | Murray State | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Arkansas | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Kansas | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Pittsburgh | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Georgia | 68* | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Pittsburgh | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
Louisville | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | Kansas | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Kansas | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
14 | New Orleans | 49 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Kansas | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Indiana | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Florida State | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Southern California | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Florida State | 60 | |||||||||||||||||
Louisville | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Indiana | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Indiana | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Coastal Carolina | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
Midwest Regional – Pontiac, Michigan
First round | Second round | Regional Semifinals | Regional Finals | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Ohio State | 97 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Towson State | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Ohio State | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
Dayton | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | Georgia Tech | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Georgia Tech | 87 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | DePaul | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Ohio State | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | St. John's | 91 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Texas | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Saint Peters | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Texas | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
Dayton | |||||||||||||||||||
4 | St. John's | 84 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | St. John's | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
13 | Northern Illinois | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | St. John's | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Duke | 78 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | LSU | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Connecticut | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Connecticut | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
Minneapolis | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | Xavier | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Nebraska | 84 | |||||||||||||||||
14 | Xavier | 89 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Connecticut | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Duke | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Iowa | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | East Tennessee State | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Iowa | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
Minneapolis | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Duke | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Duke | 102 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Northeast Louisiana | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
West Regional – Seattle, Washington
First round | Second round | Regional Semifinals | Regional Finals | ||||||||||||||||
1 | UNLV | 99 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Montana | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | UNLV | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
Tucson | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | Georgetown | 54 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Georgetown | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Vanderbilt | 60 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | UNLV | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Utah | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Michigan State | 60 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Wisconsin–Green Bay | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Michigan State | 84** | |||||||||||||||||
Tucson | |||||||||||||||||||
4 | Utah | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
4 | Utah | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
13 | South Alabama | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | UNLV | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Seton Hall | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | New Mexico State | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Creighton | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Creighton | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
Salt Lake City | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | Seton Hall | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Seton Hall | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
14 | Pepperdine | 51 | |||||||||||||||||
3 | Seton Hall | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Arizona | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Virginia | 48 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | BYU | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | BYU | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
Salt Lake City | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Arizona | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Arizona | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Saint Francis (PA) | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
Final Four – Indianapolis, Indiana
National Semifinals | National Championship Game | ||||||||
E1 | North Carolina | 73 | |||||||
S3 | Kansas | 79 | |||||||
S3 | Kansas | 65 | |||||||
M2 | Duke | 72 | |||||||
M2 | Duke | 79 | |||||||
W1 | UNLV | 77 | |||||||
Broadcast information
For the first time, CBS Sports showed all 63 tournament games. In the first three rounds, games were shown on a regional basis, except for one game each on Saturday and Sunday in the second round. Usual start times were noon and 7:30 or 8 p.m. Eastern time on each of the Thursdays and Fridays. During the weekend of the second round, the national telecast began at noon, with the regional windows (three on Saturday, two on Sunday) following. Although the times would be adjusted, the same basic format was in place until 2010. As of 2011, the regional broadcasts have been replaced by simulcast feeds on non-broadcast networks owned by Turner Sports.
Announcers
- Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – Midwest Regional at Pontiac, Michigan; Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana
- Dick Stockton and Billy Cunningham – First and Second Rounds at Minneapolis, Minnesota; West Regional at Seattle, Washington
- James Brown and Bill Raftery – First and Second Rounds at Dayton, Ohio; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Greg Gumbel and Quinn Buckner – First and Second Rounds at Tucson, Arizona; Southeast Regional at Charlotte, North Carolina
- Verne Lundquist and Len Elmore – First and Second Rounds at College Park, Maryland
- Brad Nessler and Mimi Griffin – First and Second Rounds at Atlanta, Georgia
- Tim Ryan and Dan Bonner – First and Second Rounds at Syracuse, New York
- Sean McDonough and Bill Walton – First and Second Rounds at Louisville, Kentucky
- Mel Proctor and Jack Givens – First and Second Rounds at Salt Lake City, Utah
Miscellaneous
- Duke's 79-77 win over UNLV in the Final Four became one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Duke was an 8-point underdog in the game. UNLV's juggernaut 1990–91 squad ranked #2 on ESPN Classic's Who's #1? for Best Teams Not To Win a Title. UNLV was undefeated entering the 1991 tournament, which was unmatched until Wichita State in 2014 and Kentucky in 2015. (Saint Joseph's went unbeaten in the 2004 regular season, finishing 27–0, but lost in their conference tournament before the NCAAs. Alcorn State went unbeaten in the 1979 regular season, but got invited to the NIT since the Southwestern Athletic Conference did not have an automatic bid to the NCAAs, and lost to eventual winner Indiana in the 2nd round. Indiana is the last team to win the championship undefeated in 1976).
- This was Duke's fourth consecutive Final Four trip, the first team to achieve such a feat since UCLA. Since freshmen were not eligible at the time of UCLA's run, Duke's Greg Koubek became the first player to play in four Final Fours, a record matched by Duke teammates Christian Laettner and Brian Davis the next year when the team repeated as national champions.
- For the first time in tournament history a 15-seed defeated a 2-seed. Richmond defeated Syracuse 73–69. Since then this has happened seven additional times: in 1993, Santa Clara defeated Arizona 64–61; in 1997, Coppin State defeated South Carolina 78–65; in 2001, Hampton defeated Iowa State 58–57, on the same day in 2012 Norfolk State defeated Missouri 86–84 and Lehigh defeated Duke 75–70, in 2013 Florida Gulf Coast defeated Georgetown 78–68,[3] and in 2016, Middle Tennessee defeated Michigan State 90–81.
- In the Final Four against Kansas, legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith was ejected from the game for leaving the coach's box.[4]
- For bracketologists, this tournament is notable for several reasons. The first is the upset-heavy opening round, which led to every seed number except 16 being represented by at least one team in the second round. The East region, in particular, featured first round victories by seeds 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15. Two 11's and a 14-seed advanced in the other regions. The second round is equally remarkable because there were no upsets in this round whatsoever. The combination of these two anomalies led to an unprecedented occurrence in which a 10 (Temple), an 11 (Connecticut), and a 12-seed (Eastern Michigan) advanced to the Sweet Sixteen without any of the teams pulling off consecutive upsets. The reason for this was that the first round successes of 15-seed Richmond, 14-seed Xavier, and 13-seed Penn State led to Temple, Connecticut, and Eastern Michigan (respectively) being considered favorites for their second round matchups.
- This was the first NCAA Tournament to feature all four North Carolina-based Atlantic Coast Conference teams: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, and Wake Forest.
- The Final Four was the first to include both halves of the North Carolina–Duke rivalry. Had both teams won, they would have faced each other for the national championship, but to this day, the teams have only faced each other once in the NCAA Tournament or NIT – the 1971 NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden, which North Carolina won 73–67.
- This tournament featured three play-in games before the tournament field was announced, featuring the champions of the six conferences with the lowest computer ratings the previous season.[5] The results were: Saint Francis, Pennsylvania (NEC) defeated Fordham (Patriot) 70-64,[6] Coastal Carolina (Big South) over Jackson State (SWAC) 78-59,[7] and NE Louisiana (Southland) over Florida A&M (MEAC) 87-63.[7] These are not opening round games and the losers are not credited with an NCAA tournament appearance.
See also
- 1991 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
- 1991 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
- 1991 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
- 1991 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
- 1991 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
- 1991 National Invitation Tournament
- 1991 National Women's Invitation Tournament
- 1991 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
- 1991 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
References
- 1991 1991 NCAA Basketball Semifinal Game on YouTube
- 1991 NCAA Basketball National Championship Game on YouTube
- http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=330810046
- https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/31/sports/college-basketball-smith-ejected-on-2-technicals.html
- Moran, Malcolm (March 6, 1991). "Fordham takes aim at an NCAA berth". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
- Moran, Malcolm (March 7, 1991). "Fordham's road to NCAA blocked by St. Francis, 70-64". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
- "Northeast Louisiana wins NCAA bid". The New York Times. March 7, 1991. Retrieved March 4, 2016.