Reunion Arena entrance, Duke Chronicle 1986-04-02

The 1986

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

involved 64 schools playing in

single-elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

play to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

on March 31 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. A total of 63 games were played.

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, coached by

Denny Crum Denzel Edwin "Denny" Crum (born March 2, 1937) is an American former men's college basketball coach at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2001, compiling a record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships ( 1980, 1986) and six Fin ...

, won the national title with a 72–69 victory in the final game over

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

, coached by

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five natio ...

Pervis Ellison Pervis Ellison (born April 3, 1967) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his clutch play with the University of Louisville, after leading Louisville to a national championship, El ...

was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Louisville became the first team from outside a power conference to win the championship since the expansion to 64 teams, and remains one of only two teams to do so (the other team was UNLV in 1990). The 1986 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament was the first tournament to use a

shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...

limiting the amount of time for any one offensive possession by a team prior to taking a shot at the basket. Beginning with the 1986 tournament, the

was set at 45 seconds, which it would remain until being shortened to 35 seconds beginning in the

1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1994 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. It began on March 17, 1994, and ended with the championsh ...

, and further shortened to 30 seconds (the same as NCAA women's basketball) starting with the

2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 20 ...

. The 1986 tournament was also the last to not feature the

three-point shot A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

's 1985–86 team is tied for the lowest-seeded team (#11) to ever make the Final Four with the 2005–06 George Mason Patriots, the 2010–11 VCU Rams, the 2017–18 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, and the 2020–21 UCLA Bruins. As of 2018, they are the only team in tournament history to beat the top 3 seeds from their region. LSU began its run to the Final Four by winning two games on its home court, the

LSU Assembly Center The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,215-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The arena opened in 1972. It is home to the Louisiana State University Tigers and Lady Tigers basketball teams, the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics ...

, leading to a change two years later which prohibited teams from playing NCAA tournament games on a court which they have played four or more games in the regular season.

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...

became the first #14 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen, losing to their fellow underdog, Navy, by a single point. This was also the first year in which two #14 seeds reached the second round in the same year, as Arkansas-Little Rock beat #3-seed Notre Dame; however, they lost their second-round game in overtime. Both feats have only occurred one other time.

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

reached the Sweet Sixteen as a 14-seed in 1997, and

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

and

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

both reached the second round as 14-seeds in 1995. Every regional final featured a #1 or #2 seed playing a team seeded #6 or lower. The lone #1 seed to not reach the Elite Eight, St. John's (West), was knocked out in the second round by #8 Auburn, which lost to #2 Louisville in the regional final. It can be argued that these upsets by the 14-seeds launched the NCAA tournament's reputation for having unknown teams surprise well-known basketball powers, and both happened on the same day. Indiana's stunning loss to Cleveland State would be part of the climax in the best-selling book ''

A Season On The Brink ''A Season on the Brink'' is a 1986 book by John Feinstein which detailed the 1985-86 season of Indiana University's men's basketball team, led by the controversial coach Bob Knight. Granted almost unprecedented access to the Indiana University ...

''. Another story of the tournament was when

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

reached the Elite 8 thanks to stunning performances by

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

. This tournament had no Pac 10 teams advance beyond the round of 64. This did not occur again until 2018.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1986 tournament: First and Second Rounds *March 13 and 15 **East Region ***

Greensboro Coliseum The Greensboro Coliseum Complex, commonly referred to as Greensboro Coliseum (the first and biggest building on the site), is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight ven ...

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

**Midwest Region ***

University of Dayton Arena University of Dayton Arena (commonly known as UD Arena) is a 13,409-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dayton, Ohio. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. From 2001 to 2010, the facility host ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

**Southeast Region ***

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

**West Region ***

Dee Events Center Dee Events Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the western United States, located on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. The circular, 11,592-seat domed arena, similar in design to many of the era, opened in 1977 and was na ...

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

*March 14 and 16 **East Region *** Carrier Dome,

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

**Midwest Region ***

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

**Southeast Region ***

Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles' Coliseum (which was called Charlott ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

**West Region ***

Long Beach Arena The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 20 and 22 **Southeast Regional, Omni Coliseum,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

**West Regional, The Summit,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

*March 21 and 23 **East Regional,

Brendan Byrne Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

**Midwest Regional,

Kemper Arena The Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) *March 29 and 31 **

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The venu ...

Dallas became the 22nd host city, and Reunion Arena the 24th host venue, for the Final Four. While the city itself has not hosted another Final Four, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex would host again in 2014 at

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable roof, retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. I ...

. Three of the four venues used for regional sites, and all four host cities, were Final Four host cities; only The Summit did not host a Final Four (all Final Fours in Houston have been at either the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

NRG Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

). This also marked the first time that domed stadiums were used in the opening rounds, with Syracuse's Carrier Dome and the Metrodome in Minneapolis hosting games. The Metrodome and the Long Beach Arena were the only new venues this year. While the city of Long Beach itself had not hosted games before, it is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area which has hosted multiple times. Since 1986, every tournament has included at least one domed stadium, something that had only happened five times beforehand (1971 and 1981–84). LSU's Assembly Center, renamed for NCAA career scoring leader and LSU legend

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised in ...

in 1988, hosted for the third and final time, having previously hosted the Mideast regional semifinals and finals in 1976 and the Mideast regional quarterfinals in 1977.

Teams

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Midwest Regional – Kansas City, Missouri

Southeast Regional – Atlanta, Georgia

West Regional – Houston, Texas

Final Four – Dallas, Texas

Final Four Officials

* Joe Forte (LSU-Louisville) * Dick Paparo (LSU-Louisville) * Lenny Wirtz (LSU-Louisville) * Paul Galvan (Kansas-Duke) * John Clougherty (Kansas-Duke) * Tom Fincken (Kansas-Duke) * Hank Nichols (Louisville-Duke) * Pete Pavia (Louisville-Duke) * Don Rutledge (Louisville-Duke) The 1986 Final Four was the first in which the NCAA assigned a separate three-man crew for the championship game. Previously, three of the six officials from the semifinals were melded into a crew for the championship. The championship game was the last for future

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

inductee Hank Nichols, who became the NCAA's national supervisor of officials. The Louisville-Duke matchup was Nichols' sixth championship game assignment.

Announcers

* Brent Musburger and

Billy Packer Anthony William Packer (born Anthony William Paczkowski,
Retr ...

– West Regional semifinal (Louisville–North Carolina) and Regional Final at Houston, Texas; Final Four at Dallas, Texas *

Gary Bender Gary Nedrow Bender (born September 1, 1940) is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona after 18 years calling the NBA's Phoenix Su ...

and Doug Collins – Second Round at Syracuse, New York and Dayton, Ohio; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey *

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV ...

and

Larry Conley George Larry Conley (born January 22, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard, Conley played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under coach Adolph Rupp. During the 1965–66 season, Conley was a st ...

– Southeast Regional at Atlanta, Georgia *

Verne Lundquist Merton Laverne Lundquist Jr. (born July 17, 1940) is an American sportscaster. Biography Early life and career Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas, before attending Texas Lutheran U ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

– Midwest Regional semifinal (Kansas–Michigan State) and Regional Final at Kansas City, Missouri * Fred White and Gary Thompson – Midwest Regional semifinal (N.C. State–Iowa State) at Kansas City, Missouri *

Tom Hammond Thomas Taylor Hammond (born May 10, 1944) is an American sportscaster. Hammond is primarily known for his work with NBC Sports from 1984 to the present. Hammond is one of the network's staple on-air presenters, along with Bob Costas and Dan Hic ...

and

Irv Brown Irv Brown (March 30, 1935 – February 3, 2019) was an American sportscaster, and basketball and baseball player, coach, executive, and official. Early life Brown earned seven letters at North High School in Denver, where he starred in footba ...

– West Regional semifinal (UNLV–Auburn) at Houston, Texas *

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has anchor ...

and

Bill Raftery William Joseph Raftery (born April 19, 1943) is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach. High school and college years Raftery attended Saint Cecilia High School in Kearny, New Jersey, where he starred in basketball an ...

– Second Round at Greensboro, North Carolina *

Mike Patrick Michael Patrick (born September 9, 1944) is a retired American sportscaster, known for his long tenure with ESPN. Early career Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was ...

and

– Second Round at Charlotte, North Carolina *

and

Billy Packer Anthony William Packer (born Anthony William Paczkowski,
Retr ...

– First round (North Carolina–Utah) at Ogden, Utah; Second Round at Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Minneapolis, Minnesota * Tim Ryan and

Lynn Shackleford Lynn Shackelford (born August 27, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. A graduate of John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California, Shackelford earned 7 varsity letters in 3 years in basketball, baseball and golf. He ...

– Second Round at Ogden, Utah *

and

– First round (Auburn–Arizona) and Second Round (St. John's–Auburn) at Long Beach, California * Mike Walden and

– First round (Maryland–Pepperdine) and Second Round (UNLV–Maryland) at Long Beach, California *

Bob Rathbun Robert Courtland Rathbun (born November 25, 1954) is an American sportscaster, motivational speaker, and author. He has been the television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Hawks basketball games on Bally Sports South since 1996. He is th ...

and

Bucky Waters Raymond Chevalier "Bucky" Waters (born December 17, 1935) is an American basketball broadcaster with ESPN and Madison Square Garden Network and a retired basketball coach. He served as head basketball coach at West Virginia University from 1965 to ...

– First round (Oklahoma–Northeastern) at Greensboro, North Carolina *

Ralph Hacker Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and

Dan Bonner Dan Bonner is an analyst and color commentator covering NCAA men's basketball and the NBA. He previously played basketball at the University of Virginia and coached the UVa women's team for two seasons. He also coached girls' basketball and soccer ...

– First round (Indiana–Cleveland State, Navy–Tulsa) at Syracuse, New York *

and

– First round (Illinois–Fairfield, Kentucky–Davidson) at Charlotte, North Carolina * Jim Thacker and

Dave Gavitt David Roy Gavitt (October 26, 1937 – September 16, 2011) was an American college basketball coach and athletic director at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He was also well known as the first commissioner of the Big East Conference ...

– First round (Western Kentucky–Nebraska) at Charlotte, North Carolina *

and

Billy Cunningham William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the ''Kangaroo Kid'' for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the ...

– First round (Georgetown–Texas Tech) at Dayton, Ohio *

Frank Herzog Frank Herzog is a former American sportscaster known for his role as a play-by-play announcer for Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Comma ...

and Gary Thompson – First round (N.C. State–Iowa) at Minneapolis, Minnesota * Frank Fallon and Bob Ortegel – First round (Bradley–UTEP) at Ogden, Utah * Bob Carpenter and

Joe Dean Joe Dean (April 26, 1930 − November 17, 2013) is known as "Mr. String Music" and was the voice of Southeastern Conference basketball for most of the 1970-80s. In 2012, he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, as a contri ...

– First round (LSU-Purdue) at Baton Rouge, Louisiana

References

{{1986 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Ncaa The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Basketball in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Basketball in Houston