| Year: | 1976 |
| Teams: | 32 |
| Finalfourarena: | The Spectrum |
| Finalfourcity: | Philadelphia, PA |
| Champions: | Indiana Hoosiers |
| Titlecount: | 3rd |
| Champgamecount: | 3rd |
| Champffcount: | 4th |
| Runnerup: | Michigan Wolverines |
| Gamecount: | 2nd |
| Runnerffcount: | 3rd |
| Semifinal1: | Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
| Finalfourcount: | 1st |
| Semifinal2: | UCLA Bruins |
| Finalfourcount2: | 13th |
| Coach: | Bob Knight |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mop: | Kent Benson |
| Mopteam: | Indiana |
| Attendance: | 202,502 |
| Topscorer: | Scott May |
| Topscorerteam: | Indiana |
| Points: | 113 |
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.
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. (As of 2024, all four of the 1976 Final Four participants will be members of the Big Ten.) 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 theNCAA announced the selections several days prior to the end of the regular
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.[2] The 1976 Pro Bowl was an exception and was played in New Orleans, likely due to weather concerns.
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)
| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | |||||||
| East | Yankee | Sweet Sixteen | L 93–79 | ||||
| East | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | L 71–66 | ||||
| East | East Coast | Round of 32 | L 80–78 | ||||
| East | Ivy League | Round of 32 | L 54–53 | ||||
| East | Independent | Fourth Place | L 106–92 | ||||
| East | Southeastern | Round of 32 | L 81–75 | ||||
| East | Atlantic Coast | Round of 32 | L 69–60 | ||||
| East | Southern | Regional Runner-up | L 91–75 | ||||
| Mideast | |||||||
| Mideast | Southeastern | Sweet Sixteen | L 74–69 | ||||
| Mideast | Big Ten | Champion | W 86–68 | ||||
| Mideast | Independent | Regional Runner-up | L 65–56 | ||||
| Mideast | Atlantic Coast | Round of 32 | L 79–64 | ||||
| Mideast | Independent | Round of 32 | L 90–70 | ||||
| Mideast | Independent | Round of 32 | L 77–67 | ||||
| Mideast | Ohio Valley | Round of 32 | L 79–60 | ||||
| Mideast | Mid-American | Sweet Sixteen | L 62–57 | ||||
| Midwest | |||||||
| Midwest | Metropolitan | Round of 32 | L 79–78 | ||||
| Midwest | Big Ten | Runner Up | L 86–68 | ||||
| Midwest | Big Eight | Regional Runner-up | L 95–88 | ||||
| Midwest | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | L 80–76 | ||||
| Midwest | Independent | Round of 32 | L 69–56 | ||||
| Midwest | Southwest | Sweet Sixteen | L 86–75 | ||||
| Midwest | Pacific-8 | Round of 32 | L 69–67 | ||||
| Midwest | Missouri Valley | Round of 32 | L 74–73 | ||||
| West | |||||||
| West | Western Athletic | Regional Runner-up | L 82–66 | ||||
| West | Big Sky | Round of 32 | L 103–78 | ||||
| West | Independent | Round of 32 | L 83–76 | ||||
| West | Metropolitan | Round of 32 | L 87–77 | ||||
| West | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | L 114–109 | ||||
| West | West Coast | Sweet Sixteen | L 70–61 | ||||
| West | Pacific Coast | Round of 32 | L 74–64 | ||||
| West | Pacific-8 | Third Place | W 106–92 | ||||
* – Denotes overtime period
Curt Gowdy, Dick Enberg, and Billy Packer - Final Four at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dick Enberg and Billy Packer called the first game while Packer teamed with Curt Gowdy for the second game. For the Championship Game, Dick Enberg and Curt Gowdy called it while NBC used Billy Packer as a studio analyst.