| Year: | 1984 |
| Teams: | 53 |
| Finalfourarena: | Kingdome |
| Finalfourcity: | Seattle |
| Champions: | Georgetown Hoyas |
| Titlecount: | 1st |
| Champgamecount: | 3rd |
| Champffcount: | 4th |
| Runnerup: | Houston Cougars |
| Gamecount: | 2nd |
| Runnerffcount: | 5th |
| Semifinal1: | Kentucky Wildcats |
| Finalfourcount: | 9th |
| Semifinal2: | Virginia Cavaliers |
| Finalfourcount2: | 2nd |
| Coach: | John Thompson |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mop: | Patrick Ewing |
| Mopteam: | Georgetown |
| Attendance: | 397,481 |
| Topscorer: | Roosevelt Chapman |
| Topscorerteam: | Dayton |
| Points: | 105 |
The 1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 53 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1984, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Seattle. A total of 52 games were played. This was the last tournament in which some teams earned first-round byes as the field expanded to 64 teams beginning in the 1985 tournament when each team played in the first round. It was also the second year with a preliminary round; preliminary games would not be played again until 2001.
Georgetown, coached by John Thompson, won the national title with an 84–75 victory in the final game over Houston, coached by Guy Lewis. Patrick Ewing of Georgetown was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Thompson became the first African-American head coach to lead his team to any NCAA Division I title.
Georgetown reached the Final Four for the third time in school history and second time in three years to face Kentucky, a team that had never lost a national semifinal game and was led by the "Twin Towers", Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin. Bowie and Turpin managed to get Ewing into foul trouble early, and with him on the bench and Reggie Williams shooting only 1-for-7 (14.3%) from the field during the game, the Wildcats raced out to a 27–15 lead with 3:06 left in the first half. After that, however, the Hoyas made a defensive stand still unequalled in college basketball: Kentucky scored only two more points in the first half; the Wildcats also did not score in the first 9 minutes 55 seconds of the second half, missing their first 12 shots and after that shooting 3-for-21 (14.3%) during the remainder of the game. Overall, Kentucky shot 3-for-33 (9.1 percent) from the field during the second half. Although he played for only 17 minutes and suffered a season-ending foot injury in the second half, Gene Smith had one of the best defensive games of his career. Bowie and Turpin finished the game a combined 5-for-21, Wingate scored 12 points and held Kentucky's Jim Master to 2-for-7 (28.6%) shooting from the field, Michael Jackson scored 12 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds, and Georgetown won 53–40 to advance to the national final for the third time in school history and second time in three years.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
In the first national semifinal, Houston, playing in its third consecutive Final Four, edged Virginia, which reached the Final Four as a No. 7 seed in the East region, 49–47. The Cavaliers reached the national semifinals despite the graduation of four-time All-American Ralph Sampson the previous season. Coincidentally, Houston's All-America center, Akeem Olajuwon, would soon become Sampson's teammate with the Houston Rockets.
In the NCAA final, Georgetown faced Houston on April 2. Reggie Williams demonstrated his true potential for the first time, putting in a strong defensive performance and shooting 9-for-18 (50.0%) from the field with 19 points and seven rebounds in the game, while David Wingate scored 16 points and Ewing managed 10 points and nine rebounds. Jackson scored 11 points and had six assists, two of which set up Ewing and Michael Graham for decisive baskets late in the game. The game was decided well before the final whistle, and the Hoyas won the school's first national championship 84–75. Late in the game, with Georgetown enjoying a comfortable lead, Thompson began to pull starters out and give bench players some time on the court; the game's enduring image came when senior guard Fred Brown came out of the game. Two years earlier, Brown had mistakenly passed the ball to North Carolina's James Worthy in the last seconds of the 1982 championship game, ruining Georgetown's chances for a final game-winning shot and allowing North Carolina to take the national championship, and cameras had captured Thompson consoling a devastated Brown with a hug as the Tar Heels celebrated. As Brown left the 1984 championship game, cameras caught Brown and Thompson again embracing on the sideline, this time to celebrate a victory.[1] [2] [3] [4] [6] [7]
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1984 tournament, and their host(s):
Opening Round
First/Second Rounds
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
| Region | Seed | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | |||||||
| East | 1 | Sweet Sixteen | 4 Indiana | L 72–68 | |||
| East | 2 | Southwest | Round of 32 | 7 Virginia | L 53–51 | ||
| East | 3 | Big East | Sweet Sixteen | 7 Virginia | L 63–55 | ||
| East | 4 | Big Ten | Regional Runner-up | 7 Virginia | L 50–48 | ||
| East | 5 | Round of 48 | 12 Richmond | L 72–71 | |||
| East | 6 | Sun Belt | Round of 32 | 3 Syracuse | L 78–63 | ||
| East | 7 | National semifinals | 2 Houston | L 49–47 | |||
| East | 8 | Atlantic 10 | Round of 32 | 1 North Carolina | L 77–66 | ||
| East | 9 | Big East | Round of 48 | 8 Temple | L 65–63 | ||
| East | 10 | Round of 48 | 7 Virginia | L 58–57 | |||
| East | 11 | Preliminary Round | 11 Northeastern | L 90–87 | |||
| East | 11 | Round of 48 | 6 VCU | L 70–69 | |||
| East | 12 | Round of 32 | 4 Indiana | L 75–67 | |||
| East | 12 | East Coast | Preliminary Round | 12 Richmond | L 89–65 | ||
| Mideast | |||||||
| Mideast | 1 | National semifinals | 1 Georgetown | L 53–40 | |||
| Mideast | 2 | Big Ten | Regional Runner-up | 1 Kentucky | L 54–51 | ||
| Mideast | 3 | Sweet Sixteen | 2 Illinois | L 72–70 | |||
| Mideast | 4 | Missouri Valley | Round of 32 | 5 Louisville | L 69–67 | ||
| Mideast | 5 | Metro | Sweet Sixteen | 1 Kentucky | L 72–67 | ||
| Mideast | 6 | Pacific-10 | Round of 48 | 11 West Virginia | L 64–62 | ||
| Mideast | 7 | Big East | Round of 32 | 2 Illinois | L 64–56 | ||
| Mideast | 8 | Round of 32 | 1 Kentucky | L 93–68 | |||
| Mideast | 9 | Sun Belt | Round of 48 | 8 BYU | L 84–68 | ||
| Mideast | 10 | Southern | Round of 48 | 7 Villanova | L 84–72 | ||
| Mideast | 11 | Atlantic 10 | Round of 32 | 3 Maryland | L 102–77 | ||
| Mideast | 12 | Ohio Valley | Round of 48 | 5 Louisville | L 72–59 | ||
| Mideast | 12 | Preliminary Round | 12 Morehead State | L 70–69 | |||
| Midwest | |||||||
| Midwest | 1 | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | 4 Wake Forest | L 73–71 | ||
| Midwest | 2 | Southwest | Runner Up | 1 Georgetown | L 84–75 | ||
| Midwest | 3 | Big Ten | Round of 32 | 6 Memphis State | L 66–48 | ||
| Midwest | 4 | Regional Runner-up | 2 Houston | L 68–63 | |||
| Midwest | 5 | Big Eight | Round of 32 | 4 Wake Forest | L 69–59 | ||
| Midwest | 6 | Memphis State (Vacated) | Metro | Sweet Sixteen | 2 Houston | L 78–71 | |
| Midwest | 7 | Round of 48 | 10 Louisiana Tech | L 66–56 | |||
| Midwest | 8 | Missouri Valley | Round of 32 | 1 DePaul | L 75–61 | ||
| Midwest | 9 | Round of 48 | 8 Illinois State | L 49–48 | |||
| Midwest | 10 | Southland | Round of 32 | 2 Houston | L 77–69 | ||
| Midwest | 11 | Round of 48 | 6 Memphis State | L 92–83 | |||
| Midwest | 12 | Round of 48 | 5 Kansas | L 57–56 | |||
| Midwest | 12 | Preliminary Round | 12 Alcorn State | L 79–60 | |||
| West | |||||||
| West | 1 | Big East | Champion | 2 Houston | W 84–75 | ||
| West | 2 | Big Eight | Round of 32 | 10 Dayton | L 89–85 | ||
| West | 3 | Round of 32 | 6 Washington | L 80–78 | |||
| West | 4 | Round of 32 | 5 UNLV | L 73–60 | |||
| West | 5 | Sweet Sixteen | 1 Georgetown | L 62–48 | |||
| West | 6 | Pacific-10 | Sweet Sixteen | 10 Dayton | L 64–58 | ||
| West | 7 | Round of 48 | 10 Dayton | L 74–66 | |||
| West | 8 | Round of 48 | 9 SMU | L 83–69 | |||
| West | 9 | Southwest | Round of 32 | 1 Georgetown | L 37–36 | ||
| West | 10 | Independent | Regional Runner-up | 1 Georgetown | L 61–49 | ||
| West | 11 | Big Sky | Round of 48 | 6 Washington | L 64–54 | ||
| West | 12 | Ivy League | Round of 48 | 5 UNLV | L 68–56 | ||
| West | 12 | West Coast | Preliminary Round | 12 Princeton | L 65–56 | ||
* – Denotes overtime period
See main article: 1984 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.
ESPN/NCAA Productions
| Teams | Flagship station | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown | WWDC (Georgetown) | Rich Chvotkin | John Blake | |
| Kansas | KLWN-AM (Lawrence) | Max Falkenstein | Bob Davis | |
| Kentucky | WHAS-AM (Louisville) | Cawood Ledford | ||
| LSU | WWL-AM (New Orleans) | Jim Hawthorne |