1976 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1976 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 13, 1976, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in Philadelphia. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third place game.

1976 NCAA Division I
Basketball Tournament
NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979
Season1975–76
Teams32
Finals siteThe Spectrum
Philadelphia, PA
ChampionsIndiana Hoosiers (3rd title, 3rd title game,
4th Final Four)
Runner-upMichigan Wolverines (2nd title game,
3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachBob Knight (1st title)
MOPKent Benson (Indiana)
Attendance202,502
Top scorerScott May Indiana
(113 points)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
«1975 1977»

Indiana, coached by Bob Knight, won the national title with an 86–68 victory in the final game over Michigan, coached by Johnny Orr. Kent Benson of Indiana was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Notably, this was the first time that two teams from the same conference (the Big Ten) played in the title game. Also, this was the last men's Division I tournament to date to feature two unbeaten teams, as both Indiana and Rutgers entered the tournament unbeaten. To date, Indiana is the last team to go the entire season undefeated at 32–0. Both advanced to the Final Four, with Indiana winning the title and Rutgers losing to Michigan in the semifinals and UCLA in the third-place game. This had been the last tournament both Duke and Kentucky missed in the same year until 2021.[1]

This tournament was also the first since the creation of the NCAA men's tournament in 1939 in which no regional third-place games were played. In the first two NCAA tournaments (1939 and 1940), the West Regional held a third-place game, but the East (the only other regional of that day) did not. The East began holding its own third-place game in 1941, and from that point through 1975 each regional held a third-place game. This was the second year of the 32-team field, and the NCAA announced the selections several days prior to the end of the regular season.[2][3]

As site of the Continental Congress and signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia also served as host for the 1976 NBA All-Star Game, the 1976 National Hockey League All-Star Game, and the 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at which President Ford threw out the first pitch.[4] The 1976 Pro Bowl was an exception and was played in New Orleans, likely due to weather concerns.

Schedule and venues
Charlotte
Providence
Dayton
South Bend
Denton
Lawrence
Eugene
Tempe
1976 first round
Greensboro
Baton Rouge
Louisville
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
1976 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1976 tournament:

First Round

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National Semifinals, 3rd Place Game, and Championship (Final Four and Championship)

Philadelphia became the 15th city, and the Spectrum the 16th venue, to host a Final Four. It was just the third active NBA arena to host a Final Four, after the old Madison Square Garden and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Like the majority of previous Final Four venues, this was the Spectrum's first time hosting tournament games of any kind, a practice which mostly died shortly after; the NCAA made it a practice to have Final Four venues have at least a "test run" hosting earlier games the year before by the 1980s. Other than the Spectrum, only one other arena made its debut in 1976. The LSU Assembly Center made its debut in the 1976 tournament, the first time the city of Baton Rouge hosted games, and the first time since 1942 that the state of Louisiana hosted. All the venues in the tournament saw action since this tournament, although this would mark the final time for the Charlotte Coliseum to host a regional round; it would only host sub-regionals afterwards.

Baton Rouge hosted the Mideast Regional even though it is west of Louisville, the Midwest Regional host. This was because LSU was (and still is) a member of the Southeastern Conference, whose champion was automatically assigned to the Mideast, and Louisville was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference when it was named to host this regional (the Cardinals moved to the brand-new Metro Conference for the 1975-76 season, and remained until it disbanded in 1995); the champions of the MVC and Metro were automatically assigned to the Midwest. Beginning in 1980, the NCAA no longer automatically assigned conference champions to their natural geographic region in order to have the flexibility to balance the four regional brackets.

Teams
RegionTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal opponentScore
East
EastConnecticutDee RoweYankeeSweet SixteenRutgersL 93–79
EastDePaulRay MeyerIndependentSweet SixteenVMIL 71–66
EastHofstraRoger GaecklerEast CoastRound of 32ConnecticutL 80–78
EastPrincetonPete CarrilIvy LeagueRound of 32RutgersL 54–53
EastRutgersTom YoungIndependentFourth PlaceUCLAL 106–92
EastTennesseeRay MearsSoutheasternRound of 32VMIL 81–75
EastVirginiaTerry HollandAtlantic CoastRound of 32DePaulL 69–60
EastVMIBill BlairSouthernRegional Runner-upRutgersL 91–75
Mideast
MideastAlabamaC. M. NewtonSoutheasternSweet SixteenIndianaL 74–69
MideastIndianaBob KnightBig TenChampionMichiganW 86–68
MideastMarquetteAl McGuireIndependentRegional Runner-upIndianaL 65–56
MideastNorth CarolinaDean SmithAtlantic CoastRound of 32AlabamaL 79–64
MideastSt. John'sLou CarneseccaIndependentRound of 32IndianaL 90–70
MideastVirginia TechDon DeVoeIndependentRound of 32Western MichiganL 77–67
MideastWestern KentuckyJim RichardsOhio ValleyRound of 32MarquetteL 79–60
MideastWestern MichiganEldon MillerMid-AmericanSweet SixteenMarquetteL 62–57
Midwest
MidwestCincinnatiGale CatlettMetropolitanRound of 32Notre DameL 79–78
MidwestMichiganJohnny OrrBig TenRunner UpIndianaL 86–68
MidwestMissouriNorm StewartBig EightRegional Runner-upMichiganL 95–88
MidwestNotre DameDigger PhelpsIndependentSweet SixteenMichiganL 80–76
MidwestSyracuseRoy DanforthIndependentRound of 32Texas TechL 69–56
MidwestTexas TechGerald MyersSouthwestSweet SixteenMissouriL 86–75
MidwestWashingtonMarv HarshmanPacific-8Round of 32MissouriL 69–67
MidwestWichita StateHarry MillerMissouri ValleyRound of 32MichiganL 74–73
West
WestArizonaFred SnowdenWestern AthleticRegional Runner-upUCLAL 82–66
WestBoise StateBus ConnorBig SkyRound of 32UNLVL 103–78
WestGeorgetownJohn ThompsonIndependentRound of 32ArizonaL 83–76
WestMemphis StateWayne YatesMetropolitanRound of 32PepperdineL 87–77
WestUNLVJerry TarkanianIndependentSweet SixteenArizonaL 114–109
WestPepperdineGary ColsonWest CoastSweet SixteenUCLAL 70–61
WestSan Diego StateTim VeziePacific CoastRound of 32UCLAL 74–64
WestUCLAGene BartowPacific-8Third PlaceRutgersW 106–92

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region – Greensboro, North Carolina
Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
         
DePaul 69
Virginia 60
DePaul 66*
Charlotte
VMI 71
VMI 82
Tennessee 75
VMI 75
Rutgers 91
Rutgers 54
Princeton 53
Rutgers 93
Providence
Connecticut 79
Connecticut 80
Hofstra 78*

Midwest region – Louisville, Kentucky
Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
         
Michigan 74
Wichita State 73
Michigan 80
Lawrence
Notre Dame 76
Notre Dame 79
Cincinnati 78
Michigan 95
Missouri 88
Missouri 69
Washington 67
Missouri 86
Denton
Texas Tech 75
Texas Tech 69
Syracuse 56

Mideast region – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
         
Alabama 79
North Carolina 64
Alabama 69
Notre Dame
Indiana 74
Indiana 90
St. John's 70
Indiana 65
Marquette 56
Marquette 79
Western Kentucky 60
Marquette 62
Dayton
Western Michigan 57
Western Michigan 77
Virginia Tech 67*

West region – Los Angeles
Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
         
Pepperdine 87
Memphis State 77
Pepperdine 61
Eugene
UCLA 70
UCLA 74
San Diego State 64
UCLA 82
Arizona 66
UNLV 103
Boise State 78
UNLV 109*
Tempe
Arizona 114
Arizona 83
Georgetown 76

Final Four – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  National Semifinals     National Championship Game
                 
  E Rutgers 70  
  MW Michigan 86    
      MW Michigan 68
      ME Indiana 86
  ME Indiana 65    
  W UCLA 51   National Third Place Game
 
E Rutgers 92
  W UCLA 106

See also

References
  1. @TribSports (15 March 2021). "It is the first time since 1976 all..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Huskies get NCAA berth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 5, 1976. p. 28.
  3. "NCAA picture". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 5, 1976. p. 2D.
  4. Lyon, Bill (17 March 2009). "Sports helped Philly celebrate Bicentennial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
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