The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is held each spring featuring 65 of the top college basketball teams in the United States. The 20-day tournament, colloquially known as "March Madness" or the Big Dance, has become one of the country's most prominent sports events.
The tournament, whose field includes regional conference champions and other top teams, is staged in a single elimination format. Since its 1939 inception, it has built a legacy that includes dynasty teams and dramatic underdog stories. In recent years, friendly wagering on the event has become something of a national pastime, spawning countless "office pools" that attract expert fans and novices alike.
The tournament bracket is made up of champions from each Division I conference, which receive automatic bids. The remaining slots are at-large berths, with teams chosen by an NCAA selection committee. The selection process and tournament seedings are based on several factors, including team rankings, win-loss records and RPI data.
The two lowest-seeded teams (usually the teams below .500 & the SWAC champion) play a pre-tournament game to determine which will advance into the first round of the tournament. This play-in game was added in 2001 and has been played in Dayton, Ohio each subsequent year.
A Most Outstanding Player honor is awarded by the Associated Press at the end of each tournament.
See also: Division II, Division III
Winners of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
| Year
| Winner
| Score
| Opponent
| Venue
|
| 1939
| Oregon
| 46-33
| Ohio State
| Patten Gymnasium Evanston, Illinois
|
| 1940
| Indiana
| 60-42
| Kansas
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1941
| Wisconsin
| 39-34
| Washington State
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1942
| Stanford
| 53-38
| Dartmouth
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1943
| Wyoming
| 46-34
| Georgetown
| Madison Square Garden New York, New York
|
| 1944
| Utah
| 42-40 (OT)
| Dartmouth
| Madison Square Garden New York, New York
|
| 1945
| Oklahoma A&M
| 49-45
| NYU
| Madison Square Garden New York, New York
|
| 1946
| Oklahoma A&M
| 43-40
| North Carolina
| Madison Square Garden New York, New York
|
| 1947
| Holy Cross
| 58-47
| Oklahoma
| Madison Square Garden New York, New York
|
| 1948
| Kentucky
| 58-42
| Baylor
| Madison Square Garden New York, New York
|
| 1949
| Kentucky
| 46-36
| Oklahoma A&M
| Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington
|
| 1950
| CCNY
| 71-68
| Bradley
| Madison Square Garden New York, New York
|
| 1951
| Kentucky
| 68-58
| Kansas State
| Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota
|
| 1952
| Kansas
| 80-63
| St. John's
| Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington
|
| 1953
| Indiana
| 69-68
| Kansas
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1954
| La Salle
| 92-76
| Bradley
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1955
| San Francisco
| 76-73
| La Salle
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1956
| San Francisco
| 83-71
| Iowa
| Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois
|
| 1957
| North Carolina
| 54-53 (3 OT)
| Kansas
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1958
| Kentucky
| 84-72
| Seattle
| Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
|
| 1959
| California
| 71-70
| West Virginia
| Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
|
| 1960
| Ohio State
| 75-55
| California
| Cow Palace San Francisco, California
|
| 1961
| Cincinnati
| 70-65 (OT)
| Ohio State
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1962
| Cincinnati
| 71-59
| Ohio State
| Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
|
| 1963
| Loyola (Chicago)
| 60-58 (OT)
| Cincinnati
| Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
|
| 1964
| UCLA
| 98-83
| Duke
| Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1965
| UCLA
| 91-80
| Michigan
| Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon
|
| 1966
| Texas Western
| 72-65
| Kentucky
| Cole Field House College Park, Maryland
|
| 1967
| UCLA
| 79-64
| Dayton
| Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
|
| 1968
| UCLA
| 78-55
| North Carolina
| Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, California
|
| 1969
| UCLA
| 92-72
| Purdue
| Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
|
| 1970
| UCLA
| 80-69
| Jacksonville
| Cole Field House College Park, Maryland
|
| 1971
| UCLA
| 68-62
| Villanova
| Astrodome Houston, Texas
|
| 1972
| UCLA
| 81-76
| Florida State
| Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, California
|
| 1973
| UCLA
| 87-66
| Memphis State
| St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri
|
| 1974
| NC State
| 76-64
| Marquette
| Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
|
| 1975
| UCLA
| 92-85
| Kentucky
| San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California
|
| 1976
| Indiana
| 86-68
| Michigan
| Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
| 1977
| Marquette
| 67-59
| North Carolina
| The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
|
| 1978
| Kentucky
| 94-88
| Duke
| St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri
|
| 1979
| Michigan State
| 75-64
| Indiana State
| Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
|
| 1980
| Louisville
| 59-54
| UCLA
| Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana
|
| 1981
| Indiana
| 63-50
| North Carolina
| Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
| 1982
| North Carolina
| 63-62
| Georgetown
| Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
|
| 1983
| N.C. State
| 54-52
| Houston
| University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico
|
| 1984
| Georgetown
| 84-75
| Houston
| Kingdome Seattle, Washington
|
| 1985
| Villanova
| 66-64
| Georgetown
| Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
|
| 1986
| Louisville
| 72-69
| Duke
| Reunion Arena Dallas, Texas
|
| 1987
| Indiana
| 74-73
| Syracuse
| Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
|
| 1988
| Kansas
| 83-79
| Oklahoma
| Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
|
| 1989
| Michigan
| 80-79 (OT)
| Seton Hall
| Kingdome Seattle, Washington
|
| 1990
| UNLV
| 103-73
| Duke
| McNichols Sports Arena Denver, Colorado
|
| 1991
| Duke
| 72-65
| Kansas
| RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana
|
| 1992
| Duke
| 71-51
| Michigan
| Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota
|
| 1993
| North Carolina
| 77-71
| Michigan
| Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
|
| 1994
| Arkansas
| 76-72
| Duke
| Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
|
| 1995
| UCLA
| 89-78
| Arkansas
| Kingdome Seattle, Washington
|
| 1996
| Kentucky
| 76-67
| Syracuse
| Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey
|
| 1997
| Arizona
| 84-79 (OT)
| Kentucky
| RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana
|
| 1998
| Kentucky
| 78-69
| Utah
| Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
|
| 1999
| Connecticut
| 77-74
| Duke
| Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida
|
| 2000
| Michigan State
| 89-76
| Florida
| RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana
|
| 2001
| Duke
| 82-72
| Arizona
| Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota
|
| 2002
| Maryland
| 64-52
| Indiana
| Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia
|
| 2003
| Syracuse
| 81-78
| Kansas
| Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
|
| 2004
| Connecticut
| 82-73
| Georgia Tech
| Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
|
| 2005
| North Carolina
| 75-70
| Illinois
| Edward Jones Dome St. Louis, Missouri
|
Upcoming Final Four championship locations and dates
- 2006 - Indianapolis, RCA Dome, April 1 and 3
- 2007 - Atlanta, Georgia Dome, March 31 and April 2
- 2008 - San Antonio, Alamodome, April 5 and 7
- 2009 - Detroit, Ford Field, April 4 and 6
- 2010 - Indianapolis, RCA Dome, April 3 and 5
- 2011 - Houston, Reliant Stadium, April 2 and 4
Number of championships by school
- UCLA 11
- Kentucky 7
- Indiana 5
- North Carolina 4
- Duke 3
- Cincinnati 2
- Connecticut 2
- Kansas 2
- Louisville 2
- Michigan State 2
- North Carolina State 2
- Oklahoma State 2 (both times as Oklahoma A&M)
- San Francisco 2
- Arizona 1
- Arkansas 1
- California 1
- CCNY 1
- Georgetown 1
- Holy Cross 1
- La Salle 1
- Loyola (Chicago) 1
- Marquette 1
- Maryland 1
- Michigan 1
- Ohio State 1
- Oregon 1
- Stanford 1
- Syracuse 1
- UNLV 1
- Utah 1
- UTEP 1 (as Texas Western)
- Villanova 1
- Wisconsin 1
- Wyoming 1
See also
External links
