2001 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

For the second time, the Metrodome in Minneapolis hosted the Final Four; it was its last time hosting the event, as the building has been replaced by U.S. Bank Stadium, which will host the Final Four in 2019. The Metrodome was the last of four MLB stadiums to host Final Fours, including the Astrodome, the Kingdome and Tropicana Field. Three of the four regional cities were former Final Four host cities; Anaheim is within the Los Angeles metropolitan area but has not hosted itself. There were two new venues in cities that had previously hosted tournament games. The First Union Center (now Wells Fargo Center) hosted games for the first time, replacing its neighbor, The Spectrum. Cox Arena, located within the shell of the old Aztec Bowl at San Diego State University, was also a new venue, hosting games in San Diego for the first time since the 1975 Final Four. This also marked the second straight year that a new on-campus venue was used for the tournament. The 2001 tournament marked the last time hosting for Nassau Coliseum and the Memphis Pyramid. The Pyramid has since been converted into a Bass Pro Shops destination store, and the Nassau Coliseum was recently renovated into a smaller arena, lessening the chances that it will return to the tournament. Any future tournament games to be held on Long Island or in Memphis would be played at Barclays Center, UBS Arena, or FedEx Forum, respectively.

• March 31, 2001
  • Duke (E1) 95, Maryland (W3) 84

  The fourth meeting of the year between ACC teams Duke and Maryland turned into a classic. Maryland jumped out of the gate to an early 39–17 lead. It appeared the Terps would eliminate Duke, led by senior Shane Battier. However, Duke was able to cut the lead at halftime to 49–38. Duke would take its first lead when Jason Williams drained a three to give Duke the lead 73–72 with 6:48 to play. Duke closed the game with a 23–12 run to stun Gary Williams' Maryland squad.[1] Referees: David Libbey, Mark Reischling, and Ted Hillary.[2]

  • Arizona (M2) 80, Michigan State (S1) 61

  In an emotional season in which coach Lute Olson suffered the loss of his wife, he would be just 40 minutes away from a second National Championship after his Wildcats destroyed the defending national champion Michigan State Spartans. The game was close at halftime with Arizona leading by just 2. However, Arizona outscored Michigan State 48–31 in the second half en route to the 19-point victory.[3]

• April 2, 2001
  • Duke (E1) 82, Arizona (M2) 72

  The second-ranked team coming into the NCAA Tournament would leave giving coach Mike Krzyzewski his third National Championship at Duke. Arizona cut Duke's lead to 39–37 early in the second half, but Mike Dunleavy Jr. connected on three three-pointers during an 11–2 Duke run. Dunleavy Jr. led the Duke Blue Devils with 21 points. The Arizona Wildcats would cut the gap to 3 four times, twice inside the four-minute TV timeout. However, Shane Battier proved himself too much for the Wildcats to handle as he hit two critical shots to put the Blue Devils comfortably ahead. Jason Williams, despite a poor shooting night, iced the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key with under 2 minutes to play to give Duke an eight-point lead. The final score was Duke 82 – Arizona 72.