1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament explained

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]

Schedule and venues

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)

Teams

Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East 1Sweet Sixteen4 IndianaL 72–68
East 2Southwest Round of 327 VirginiaL 53–51
East 3Big East Sweet Sixteen7 VirginiaL 63–55
East 4Big Ten Regional Runner-up7 VirginiaL 50–48
East 5Round of 4812 RichmondL 72–71
East 6Sun Belt Round of 323 SyracuseL 78–63
East 7National semifinals2 HoustonL 49–47
East 8Atlantic 10 Round of 321 North CarolinaL 77–66
East 9Big East Round of 488 TempleL 65–63
East 10Round of 487 VirginiaL 58–57
East 11Preliminary Round11 NortheasternL 90–87
East 11Round of 486 VCUL 70–69
East 12Round of 324 IndianaL 75–67
East 12East Coast Preliminary Round12 RichmondL 89–65
Mideast
Mideast 1National semifinals1 GeorgetownL 53–40
Mideast 2Big Ten Regional Runner-up1 KentuckyL 54–51
Mideast 3Sweet Sixteen2 IllinoisL 72–70
Mideast 4Missouri Valley Round of 325 LouisvilleL 69–67
Mideast 5Metro Sweet Sixteen1 KentuckyL 72–67
Mideast 6Pacific-10 Round of 4811 West VirginiaL 64–62
Mideast 7Big East Round of 322 IllinoisL 64–56
Mideast 8Round of 321 KentuckyL 93–68
Mideast 9Sun Belt Round of 488 BYUL 84–68
Mideast 10Southern Round of 487 VillanovaL 84–72
Mideast 11Atlantic 10 Round of 323 MarylandL 102–77
Mideast 12Ohio Valley Round of 485 LouisvilleL 72–59
Mideast 12Preliminary Round12 Morehead StateL 70–69
Midwest
Midwest 1Independent Sweet Sixteen4 Wake ForestL 73–71
Midwest 2Southwest Runner Up1 GeorgetownL 84–75
Midwest 3Big Ten Round of 326 Memphis StateL 66–48
Midwest 4Regional Runner-up2 HoustonL 68–63
Midwest 5Big Eight Round of 324 Wake ForestL 69–59
Midwest 6Memphis State (Vacated) Metro Sweet Sixteen2 HoustonL 78–71
Midwest 7Round of 4810 Louisiana TechL 66–56
Midwest 8Missouri Valley Round of 321 DePaulL 75–61
Midwest 9Round of 488 Illinois StateL 49–48
Midwest 10Southland Round of 322 HoustonL 77–69
Midwest 11Round of 486 Memphis StateL 92–83
Midwest 12Round of 485 KansasL 57–56
Midwest 12Preliminary Round12 Alcorn StateL 79–60
West
West 1Big East Champion2 HoustonW 84–75
West 2Big Eight Round of 3210 DaytonL 89–85
West 3Round of 326 WashingtonL 80–78
West 4Round of 325 UNLVL 73–60
West 5Sweet Sixteen1 GeorgetownL 62–48
West 6Pacific-10 Sweet Sixteen10 DaytonL 64–58
West 7Round of 4810 DaytonL 74–66
West 8Round of 489 SMUL 83–69
West 9Southwest Round of 321 GeorgetownL 37–36
West 10Independent Regional Runner-up1 GeorgetownL 61–49
West 11Big Sky Round of 486 WashingtonL 64–54
West 12Ivy League Round of 485 UNLVL 68–56
West 12West Coast Preliminary Round12 PrincetonL 65–56

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

  1. - Memphis State was forced to vacate its NCAA tournament appearance after a massive gambling scandal and criminal investigation into head coach Dana Kirk. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Memphis removing the wins from its own record.[8] [9]

Final Four

Championship game

See main article: 1984 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.

Broadcast information

Television

CBS Sports

ESPN/NCAA Productions

Local radio

TeamsFlagship stationPlay-by-play announcerColor analyst(s)
GeorgetownWWDC (Georgetown)Rich ChvotkinJohn Blake
KansasKLWN-AM (Lawrence)Max FalkensteinBob Davis
KentuckyWHAS-AM (Louisville)Cawood Ledford
LSUWWL-AM (New Orleans)Jim Hawthorne

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 1. Patrick Ewing . 2017-03-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161006201357/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/p_ewing.htm . 2016-10-06 . dead .
  2. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 3. Reggie Williams . 2017-03-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003232/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/r_williams.htm . 2016-03-04 . dead .
  3. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 11. David Wingate . 2017-03-31 . 2015-03-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329170847/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/d_wingate.htm . dead .
  4. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 14. Michael Jackson . 2017-03-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120213071619/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/m_jackson.htm . 2012-02-13 . dead .
  5. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 68. Gene Smith . 2017-03-31 . 2015-03-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329171301/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/g_smith.htm . dead .
  6. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Classic Games . 2017-03-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041705/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/history/classic.htm . 2015-09-24 . dead .
  7. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: the Top 100: 48. Fred Brown . 2017-03-31 . 2015-09-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031510/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/f_brown.htm . dead .
  8. Web site: TROUBLED TIMES AT MEMPHIS STATE. Sports Illustrated. June 24, 1985. May 15, 2024.
  9. Web site: The NCAA's Toothless Punishment Of Memphis. Mauro, Patrick. Bleacher Report. August 22, 2009. May 15, 2024.