1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament explained

Year:1988
Teams:64
Finalfourarena:Kemper Arena
Finalfourcity:Kansas City, Missouri
Champions:Kansas Jayhawks
Titlecount:2nd
Champgamecount:5th
Champffcount:8th
Runnerup:Oklahoma Sooners
Gamecount:2nd
Runnerffcount:3rd
Semifinal1:Arizona Wildcats
Finalfourcount:1st
Semifinal2:Duke Blue Devils
Finalfourcount2:6th
Coach:Larry Brown
Coachcount:1st
Mop:Danny Manning
Mopteam:Kansas
Attendance:558,998
Topscorer:Danny Manning
Topscorerteam:Kansas
Points:163

The 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 50th annual edition of the tournament began on March 17, 1988, and ended with the championship game on April 4 returning to Kansas City for the 10th time. A total of 63 games were played.

Kansas, coached by Larry Brown, won the national title with an 83–79 victory in the final game over Big Eight Conference rival Oklahoma, coached by Billy Tubbs. As of 2023, this was the last national championship game to feature two schools from the same conference. Danny Manning of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Even though the Final Four was contested 40miles from its campus in Lawrence, Kansas, Kansas was considered a long shot against the top rated Sooners because Oklahoma had previously defeated the Jayhawks twice by 8 points that season—at home in Norman, Oklahoma and on the road in Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas's upset was the third biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. After this upset, the 1988 Kansas team was remembered as "Danny and the Miracles."

This was the first NCAA Tournament which barred teams from playing on their home courts, or in any facility in which it played four or more regular season games. The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee made this change after each of the previous two Final Fours featured a team which played its first and second-round games at home: LSU in 1986 (as a No. 11 seed) and Syracuse in 1987.

The team which was arguably hurt the most by the change was North Carolina, whose Dean Smith Center hosted for the first (and as of 2023, only) time. The Tar Heels were a No. 2 seed, but with the hosting ban now in effect, they were shipped to the West, where they were routed in the regional final by top seed Arizona. Archrival Duke was the No. 2 seed in the East and won its first two games at Chapel Hill on its way to the Final Four.

Arizona, now known as a prominent basketball powerhouse, made their debut in this year's Final Four, marking the 80th different school (including official NCAA vacations; 78th otherwise) to do so. This is notable because Arizona's Final Four appearance was the first by a new school since the 1983 tournament, the longest gap at that point.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1988 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final opponent Score
East
East 1Atlantic 10 Regional Runner-up2 DukeL 63–53
East 2Atlantic Coast National semifinals6 KansasL 66–59
East 3Big East Round of 3211 Rhode IslandL 97–94
East 4Big Ten Round of 6413 RichmondL 72–69
East 5Atlantic Coast Round of 3213 RichmondL 59–55
East 6Big Eight Round of 6411 Rhode IslandL 87–80
East 7Southwest Round of 322 DukeL 94–79
East 8Big East Round of 321 TempleL 74–53
East 9Southeastern Round of 648 GeorgetownL 66–63
East 10Independent Round of 647 SMUL 83–75
East 11Atlantic 10 Sweet Sixteen2 DukeL 73–72
East 12Big Eight Round of 645 Georgia TechL 90–78
East 13Colonial Sweet Sixteen1 TempleL 69–47
East 14Mid-Eastern Round of 643 SyracuseL 69–55
East 15ECAC North Round of 642 DukeL 85–69
East 16East Coast Round of 641 TempleL 87–73
Midwest
Midwest 1Big Ten Sweet Sixteen4 Kansas StateL 73–70
Midwest 2Big East Round of 327 VanderbiltL 80–74
Midwest 3Atlantic Coast Round of 6414 Murray StateL 78–75
Midwest 4Big Eight Regional Runner-up6 KansasL 71–58
Midwest 5Independent Round of 324 Kansas StateL 66–58
Midwest 6Big Eight Champion1 OklahomaW 83–79
Midwest 7Southeastern Sweet Sixteen6 KansasL 77–64
Midwest 8Southwest Round of 649 Memphis StateL 75–60
Midwest 9Metro Round of 321 PurdueL 100–73
Midwest 10Pacific Coast Round of 647 VanderbiltL 80–77
Midwest 11Midwestern Round of 646 KansasL 85–72
Midwest 12Missouri Valley Round of 645 DePaulL 83–62
Midwest 13Metro Atlantic Round of 644 Kansas StateL 66–53
Midwest 14Ohio Valley Round of 326 KansasL 61–58
Midwest 15Mid-American Round of 642 PittsburghL 108–90
Midwest 16ECAC Metro Round of 641 PurdueL 94–79
Southeast
Southeast 1Big Eight Runner Up6 KansasL 83–79
Southeast 2Kentucky (Vacated) Southeastern Sweet Sixteen#6 VillanovaL 80–74
Southeast 3Big Ten Round of 326 VillanovaL 66–63
Southeast 4Western Athletic Round of 325 LouisvilleL 97–76
Southeast 5Metro Sweet Sixteen1 OklahomaL 108–98
Southeast 6Big East Regional Runner-up1 OklahomaL 78–59
Southeast 7Atlantic Coast Round of 322 KentuckyL 90–81
Southeast 8Southeastern Round of 321 OklahomaL 107–87
Southeast 9Missouri Valley Round of 648 AuburnL 90–86
Southeast 10Pacific Coast Round of 647 MarylandL 92–82
Southeast 11Southwest Round of 646 VillanovaL 82–74
Southeast 12Pacific-10 Round of 645 LouisvilleL 70–61
Southeast 13Sun Belt Round of 644 BYUL 98–92
Southeast 14Trans America Round of 643 IllinoisL 81–72
Southeast 15Southwest Athletic Round of 642 KentuckyL 99–84
Southeast 16Southern Round of 641 OklahomaL 94–66
West
West 1Pacific-10 National semifinals1 OklahomaL 86–78
West 2Atlantic Coast Regional Runner-up1 ArizonaL 70–52
West 3Big Ten Sweet Sixteen2 North CarolinaL 78–69
West 4Pacific Coast Round of 325 IowaL 104–86
West 5Big Ten Sweet Sixteen1 ArizonaL 99–79
West 6Southeastern Round of 323 MichiganL 108–85
West 7Western Athletic Round of 6410 Loyola MarymountL 119–115
West 8Big East Round of 321 ArizonaL 84–55
West 9Western Athletic Round of 648 Seton HallL 80–64
West 10West Coast Round of 322 North CarolinaL 123–97
West 11Big East Round of 646 FloridaL 62–59
West 12Metro Round of 645 IowaL 102–98
West 13Mid-Continent Round of 644 UNLVL 54–50
West 14Big Sky Round of 643 MichiganL 63–58
West 15Southland Round of 642 North CarolinaL 83–65
West 16Ivy League Round of 641 ArizonaL 90–50
(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

  1. - Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player. Maryland also vacated its appearance in the 1988 tournament due to usage of ineligible players.[1] [2] Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Maryland and Kentucky removing the wins from their own records.

Final Four – Kansas City, Missouri

Game summaries

See main article: 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.

Announcers

Television

CBS Sports

ESPN and NCAA Productions

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Forfeits and Vacated Games. Sports-Reference.com. May 24, 2024.
  2. Web site: Maryland Gets 3-Year Penalty : College basketball: NCAA cites university for 18 violations and orders it to return money earned from 1988 tournament.. Associated Press. Los Angeles Times. March 6, 1990. May 24, 2024.

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