The 1985

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 fro ...

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 mat ...

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 athleti ...

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 ...

. This was the first year the field was expanded to 64 teams, from 53 in the previous year's tournament. It began on March 14, 1985, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

. A total of 63 games were played. Eighth-seed Villanova, coached by

Rollie Massimino Roland Vincent Massimino (November 13, 1934 – August 30, 2017) was an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Stony Brook University (1969–1971), Villanova University (1973–1992), the University of Nevada, L ...

, won their first national title with a 66–64 victory in the final game over Georgetown, coached by John Thompson.

Ed Pinckney Edward Lewis Pinckney (born March 27, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. College career He attended Villanova University and was a part of the Villanova Wildcats' 1981 heralded recruiting class that included Gary McL ...

of Villanova was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The game, often cited as "The Perfect Game", is widely considered among the greatest upsets in college basketball history, and is the second biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history.USA Today
/ref> This Villanova team remains the lowest-seeded team to win the tournament. The Wildcats are also notable as the last Division I men's national champion to date to represent a school that did not sponsor varsity

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

at the time of its title (Villanova had dropped

after the 1980 season and did not reinstate the sport until the 1985 season, the first after the championship game). The game is also notable as the last played without 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, wa ...

. This year's Final Four saw an unprecedented and unmatched three teams from the same conference, with

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

members Villanova and Georgetown joined by St. John's. The only "interloper" in the Big East party was

Memphis State } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

, then of the

Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did ...

. (Memphis State's 1985 Final Four appearance was vacated due to using ineligible players, as were all of its tournament appearances from 1982–1986.) This was also the first year that one of the regionals was named "Southeast", replacing "Mideast." This name was used until

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, when the regional was renamed "South." This was also the last tournament until 2010 to feature two private schools in the title game. This tournament was also the last until 2012 to feature no teams in the Sweet 16 from the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones. This tournament's East Region is the only one in NCAA Tournament history in which the higher-seeded team won every game.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1985 tournament: First and Second Rounds *March 14 and 16 **East Region *** Hartford Civic Center,

Hartford, Connecticut 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 t ...

**Midwest Region *** Mabee Center,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

**Southeast Region ***

Athletic & Convocation Center The Joyce Center, formerly the Athletic & Convocation Center, is a 9,149-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend. The arena opened its doors in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish basket ...

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 ...

**West Region *** Special Events Center,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...

*March 15 and 17 **East Region ***

Omni Coliseum Omni Coliseum (often called The Omni) was an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for hockey. It was part of the Omni Complex, now known as the CNN Center. It ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

**Midwest Region *** Hofheinz Pavilion,

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 i ...

**Southeast 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 hos ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

**West Region *** University Arena ("The Pit"),

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 21 and 23 **East Regional, Providence Civic Center,

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

**Midwest Regional,

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 ...

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 ...

*March 22 and 24 **Southeast Regional, BJCC Coliseum,

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% f ...

**West Regional,

McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sports use It was ...

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) *March 30 and April 1 ** Rupp Arena,

Lexington became the 21st host city, and Rupp Arena the 23rd host venue, for the Final Four. Lexington is the smallest metropolitan area to host a Final Four, and due to the use of domed football stadiums, it is unlikely to host a Final Four again despite the size of Rupp Arena. The 1985 tournament was the last time an off-campus arena (or, for that matter, any arena) whose primary tenant was a college team was used for a tournament. (The

Continental Airlines 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 ...

(in 1996) was the main arena for Seton Hall, but they were not the primary tenants.) This tournament also marks the last time a domed stadium was not used for any tournament games; before 1985, the four previous tournaments and the 1971 tournament were the only tournaments to include them. The other implication of this is that it was the only tournament between 1984 and 1993 to not feature an NFL stadium. Denver was the only new city or venue host games in 1985. At the time, the city did not host an NCAA Division I institution, making it just one of a handful of host cities all-time to do so. 1985 would be the last time the Providence Civic Center would host the regional rounds; all subsequent tournaments would be early rounds. The tournament would also mark the last time the University of Tulsa's Mabee Center would host games; the tournament would not return to the city until 2011, when the

BOK Center The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,199-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar ev ...

hosted.

Teams

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – Providence, Rhode Island

Regional Final Summary

West Regional – Denver, Colorado

First round Summary

Second Round Summary

Regional semifinal Summary

Regional Final Summary

Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

Regional Final Summary

Midwest Regional – Dallas, Texas

Regional Final Summary

Final Four – Lexington, Kentucky

Game Summaries

National Championship

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 ...

Brent Musburger Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original members ...

First round (Kentucky–Washington), (Arizona–Alabama), second round &

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. ...

Regional, Final Four served as studio hosts 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 ...

Regional, Final Four served as studio analyst. *

and

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

– Stockton/Packer, first round (Kentucky–Washington), second round at Salt Lake City, Utah & Houston, Texas; Musburger/Packer, East Regionals at Providence, Rhode Island, Southeast Regional Finals at Birmingham, Alabama, Final Four at Lexington, Kentucky *

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 Sun ...

and Doug Collins – Second Round at South Bend, Indiana & Dayton, Ohio, West Regionals at Denver, Colorado *

Frank Glieber Frank John Glieber (April 5, 1934 – May 1, 1985) was an American sportscaster. Early life and career Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Glieber was the oldest child of immigrants—John, a native of Austria, and Mary, a native of Ger ...

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 hono ...

– Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut, Midwest Regionals at Dallas, Texas *

Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall ann ...

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 Larry Conley – Summerall/Conley, second round at Atlanta, Georgia; Lundquist/Conley, Southeast Regional semifinals (Auburn–North Carolina) at Birmingham, Alabama *

and

Steve Grote ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

– First round (Arizona–Alabama) & Second Round at Albuquerque, New Mexico * Tim Ryan and

– Second Round at Tulsa, Oklahoma

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%). The ...

and NCAA Productions *

Bob Ley Robert A. Ley ( ; born March 16, 1955) is an American sports anchor and reporter, best known for his work at ESPN. A multiple Emmy Award-winner, he was the longest-tenured on-air employee of the network, having joined ESPN just three days after ...

(NCAA Tournament Today/NCAA Tournament Tonight) served as studio host 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. * – First round (Lehigh–Georgetown) & (Old Dominion–SMU) at Hartford, Connecticut * – First round (Virginia Tech–Temple) & (Iona–Loyola-Chicago) at Hartford, Connecticut * Mike Patrick and Larry Conley – First round (Northeastern–Illinois) & (Mercer–Georgia Tech) at Atlanta, Georgia * – First round (Wichita State–Georgia) & (DePaul–Syracuse) at Atlanta, Georgia * – First round (Iowa State–Ohio State) & (Illinois State–Southern California) at Tulsa, Oklahoma * – First round (Pittsburgh–Louisiana Tech) & (North Carolina A&T–Oklahoma) at Tulsa, Oklahoma * – First round (Penn–Memphis State) & (Pepperdine–Duke) at Houston, Texas * – First round (Michigan State–UAB) & (Boston College–Texas Tech) at Houston, Texas * – First round (Navy–Louisiana State) & (Dayton–Villanova) 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 radio broadcasts from 1979 to 2004, where he teamed with Sam Huff and Sonny Jurgensen. In addition to his Redskins work, Herzog ...

/ Ralph Hacker and Joe Dean– First round (Miami (OH)–Maryland) & (Fairleigh Dickinson–Michigan) at Dayton, Ohio * – First round (Ohio–Kansas) & (Oregon State–Notre Dame) at South Bend, Indiana *

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

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 (Auburn–Purdue) & (Middle Tennessee–North Carolina) at South Bend, Indiana * – First round (Southern–St. John's) at Salt Lake City, Utah * – First round (Arkansas–Iowa) & (San Diego State–UNLV) at Salt Lake City, Utah * Larry Zimmer and Ted Owens – First round (Nevada–NC State) at Albuquerque, New Mexico * – First round (UTEP–Tulsa) & (Marshall–VCU) at Albuquerque, New Mexico * Frank Fallon and Gary Thompson- Midwest Regional semifinals (Louisiana Tech–Oklahoma) at Dallas, Texas *

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 Larry Conley – Southeast Regional semifinals (Villanova–Maryland) at Birmingham, Alabama

Radio

Regionals

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

* – East Regionals at Providence, Rhode Island * – Midwest Regionals at Dallas, Texas * – Southeast Regionals at Birmingham, Alabama * – West Regionals at Denver, Colorado

Final Four

* – at Lexington, Kentucky

References

{{1985 Villanova Wildcats 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 ...

Basketball in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Basketball in Houston

Schedule and venues

Teams

Bracket

East Regional – Providence, Rhode Island

Regional Final Summary

West Regional – Denver, Colorado

First round Summary

Second Round Summary

Regional semifinal Summary

Regional Final Summary

Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

Regional Final Summary

Midwest Regional – Dallas, Texas

Regional Final Summary

Final Four – Lexington, Kentucky

Game Summaries

National Championship

Announcers

Television

Radio

Regionals

Final Four

Further reading

See also

References