The 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 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 intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

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 ...

. The 50th annual edition of the tournament began on March 17, 1988, 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 April 4 returning to Kansas City, Missouri for the 10th time. A total of 63 games were played.

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, 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 Billy Duane Tubbs (March 5, 1935 – November 1, 2020) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native was the head coach of his alma mater Lamar University (1976–1980, 2003–2006), the University of Oklahoma (1980– ...

. As of 2022, this was the last national championship game to feature two schools from the same conference.

Danny Manning Daniel Ricardo Manning (born May 17, 1966) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the Associate Head Mens Basketball Coach at the University of Louisville. Manning played high school basketball at Walter Hin ...

of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Even though the Final Four was contested 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 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 ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

(as a No. 11 seed) and Syracuse in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

. The team which was arguably hurt the most by the change was

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, whose

Dean Smith Center The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center (commonly known as the Dean Smith Center, Smith Center, or the Dean Dome) is a multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, used primarily as the home for the University of North Carolina at Ch ...

hosted for the first (and as of 2022, 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 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 rank ...

was the No. 2 seed in the East and won its first two games at

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

on its way to the Final Four.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1988 tournament: First and Second Rounds *March 17 and 19 **East Region ***

, Chapel Hill, North Carolina **Midwest Region *** Edmund P. Joyce Center,

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

**Southeast Region *** 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 498,7 ...

**West Region *** Jon M. Huntsman Center,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

*March 18 and 20 **East Region ***

Hartford Civic Center Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, Hartford, Connecticut **Midwest Region ***

Bob Devaney Sports Center The Bob Devaney Sports Center (commonly referred to as the Devaney Center, formerly the NU Sports Complex) is a sports complex on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. The 7,909-seat arena opened in 1976 and serve ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

**Southeast Region ***

Riverfront Coliseum Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the fa ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

**West Region ***

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 24 and 26 **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 **Southeast Regional,

BJCC Coliseum Legacy Arena (formerly known as the BJCC Coliseum and the BJCC Arena) is an arena located at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama. The arena seats 17,654 for sporting events, 19,000 for concerts and 8,000 in a thea ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

*March 25 and 27 **Midwest Regional,

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...

, Pontiac, Michigan **West Regional, Kingdome,

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) *April 2 and 4 **

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 returned as Final Four host for the first time since 1964, with Kemper Arena becoming the 25th arena to host it. 1988 saw two new host locations, in Chapel Hill, part of the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area, and Pontiac, in suburban Detroit, which had never hosted games beforehand. The Silverdome became the seventh domed stadium to host tournament games. This would be the only appearance in the tournament for the Dean Smith Center, and would also be the last year hosting for Pauley Pavilion, the Joyce Center and Bob Devaney Sports Center (all tournament games in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

since 1988 have been played at

CHI Health Center Omaha CHI Health Center Omaha is an arena and convention center in the central United States, located in the North Downtown neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Operated by the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), the facility has a ...

; if the tournament ever returns to Lincoln, games would be played at

Pinnacle Bank Arena Pinnacle Bank Arena is a 15,500-seat indoor arena in the West Haymarket District of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was completed in 2013 and replaced the Bob Devaney Sports Center as the home of the University of Nebraska's men's and women's basketball ...

Teams

1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament - National Semifinals (ticket)

(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Midwest Regional – Pontiac, Michigan

Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.

West Regional – Seattle, Washington

Final Four – Kansas City, Missouri

Game summaries

Announcers

Television

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

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 ancho ...

& James Brown served as studio hosts. * Brent Musburger and

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

– First round (Florida–St. John's) at Salt Lake City, Utah; Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut and Chapel Hill, North Carolina; West Regional at Seattle, Washington; Final Four at Kansas City, Missouri * Tim Brant 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 ...

– First (UNLV–SW Missouri State) and Second Rounds at Los Angeles, California; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey * Dick Stockton 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 ...

– Second Round at Lincoln, Nebraska and Salt Lake City, Utah; Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Alabama *

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

Tom Heinsohn Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...

– Second Round at Cincinnati, Ohio and South Bend, Indiana; Midwest Regional at Pontiac, Michigan * Tim Ryan and Curry Kirkpatrick – Second Round at Atlanta, Georgia

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

and NCAA Productions * John Saunders (NCAA Tournament Today) and Bob Ley (NCAA Tournament Tonight) served as studio hosts and

Dick Vitale Richard John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster f ...

served as studio analyst. *

Mike Gorman Michael Gorman (born November 24, 1945) is an American television play-by-play commentator for the Boston Celtics on NBC Sports Boston. Gorman also did play-by-play, alongside Fran Fraschilla, for NBC for basketball games during the 2016 Summ ...

and Ron Perry – First round (Temple–Lehigh, Georgia Tech–Iowa State) at Hartford, Connecticut * Bob Carpenter and Dan Belluomini – First round (Indiana–Richmond, Georgetown–LSU) at Hartford, Connecticut *Ralph Hacker 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 t ...

– First round (Duke–Boston University, Missouri–Rhode Island) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina *

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

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 (Syracuse–North Carolina A&T, SMU–Notre Dame) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina * Fred White 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 ...

– First round (Oklahoma–Chattanooga, Louisville–Oregon State) at Atlanta, Georgia *

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 Bob Ortegel – First round (Brigham Young–Charlotte, Auburn–Bradley) at Atlanta, Georgia *

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 Mike Pratt – First round (Kentucky–Southern, Illinois–UTSA) at Cincinnati, Ohio * Mick Hubert and

Jack Givens Jack "Goose" Givens (born September 21, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus second-team All-American honors. He led the team to the 1978 NCAA Men' ...

– First round (Villanova–Arkansas, Maryland–UC Santa Barbara) at Cincinnati, Ohio *

Eddie Doucette Eddie Doucette (born June 15, 1940) is a former television and radio sportscaster and currently the president of Doucette Promotions Inc. Doucette was the original radio play-by-play voice of the Milwaukee Bucks, where he broadcast games for 16 ye ...

and

John Laskowski John Laskowski (born June 7, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. He played two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career A 6'6" guard born in South Bend, Indiana, Laskowski played basketball f ...

– First round (Purdue–Fairleigh Dickinson, Kansas State–La Salle) at South Bend, Indiana *

Wayne Larrivee Wayne Larrivee is an American sportscaster. Larrivee is currently the radio play-by-play voice of the Green Bay Packers on the Packers Radio Network alongside color commentator Larry McCarren and calls college football and basketball for the Bi ...

and Jim Gibbons – First round (DePaul–Wichita State, Baylor–Memphis State) at South Bend, Indiana *

Ron Franklin Ronald Franklin (February 2, 1942January 18, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was employed by ESPN from 1987 to 2011. He was fired by ESPN on January 4, 2011, after making sexist comments to a colleague.Quinn Buckner William Quinn Buckner (born August 20, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiate basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, and won a national championship in 1976. He was a captain of both ...

– First round (Pittsburgh–Eastern Michigan, N.C. State–Murray State) at Lincoln, Nebraska * John Sanders and Gary Thompson – First round (Kansas–Xavier, Vanderbilt–Utah State) at Lincoln, Nebraska *Pete Solomon and Derrek Dickey – First round (Arizona–Cornell) at Los Angeles, California *Phil Stone and

Lynn Shackelford 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 w ...

– First round (Iowa–Florida State, Seton Hall–UTEP) at Los Angeles, California *

Ted Robinson Ted Robinson may refer to: *Ted Robinson (golf course architect) (1923–2008), American golf course architect *Ted Robinson (sportscaster) (born 1957), American sportscaster *Ted Robinson (TV director) Ted Robinson (born 1944) is an Australian ...

and Bruce Larson – First round (North Carolina–North Texas) at Salt Lake City, Utah *Frank Fallon and Bruce Larson – First round (Michigan–Boise State) at Salt Lake City, Utah *Frank Fallon 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 ...

– First round (Wyoming–Loyola Marymount) at Salt Lake City, Utah