The 1983
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...
involved 52 schools playing in
single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division 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 athlet ...
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
. It began on March 17, 1983, and ended with the
championship game on April 4 at
The Pit, then officially known as University Arena, on the campus of the
University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque. A total of 51 games were played.
North Carolina State, coached by
Jim Valvano, won the national title with a 54–52 victory in the final game over
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, coached by
Guy Lewis. The ending of the final game is one of the most famous in college basketball history, with a buzzer-beating dunk by
Lorenzo Charles off a desperation shot from 30 feet out by
Dereck Whittenburg. This would also be NC State's last appearance in the Final Four until 2024.
Both Charles's dunk and Valvano's running around the court in celebration immediately after the game have been staples of NCAA tournament coverage ever since. North Carolina State's victory has often been considered one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history, and is the fourth biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history.
Akeem Olajuwon of Houston was named the tournament's
Most Outstanding Player, becoming the last player to date to earn this award while playing for a team that failed to win the national title.
National championship game
In the final game, played in
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
, NC State led at halftime by a score of 33–25. Houston was hampered by foul trouble that plagued star
Clyde Drexler, who picked up four first half fouls. In the second half, the Cougars came out with a second wind and established control of the game, eventually taking a seven-point lead.
However, things were not all good for Houston. Since the game was played in Albuquerque, players had to deal with the city's mile-high altitude. The Cougars' star center,
Akeem Olajuwon, had problems adjusting to the environment and tired quickly, needing to check out of the game multiple times so he could put on an oxygen mask and recover. With Olajuwon on the bench, Houston head coach
Guy Lewis decided that in order to protect the lead and the health of his big man at the same time, the Cougars needed to start slowing the game down.
Once again, this enabled the Wolfpack to return to their standby strategy of extending the game. Houston's free throw shooting was very suspect entering the game, which worked greatly in NC State's favor as they were able to rally back and even the score at 52 in the final two minutes. On what would be the last Houston possession, Valvano called for his players to back off and let freshman guard Alvin Franklin bring the ball up the court. The Wolfpack defenders would let the Cougars employ their slowdown strategy of passing it around. Once the ball got back to Franklin he was to be fouled immediately. With 1:05 left, the freshman was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one. The idea to foul Franklin sprung from the enormity of the moment; NC State believed that the relatively inexperienced Franklin could not withstand the pressure of going to the line with the championship at stake and knowing that fifty million viewers were tuned in to watch the game. The theory proved correct as Franklin failed to convert and the Wolfpack grabbed the rebound. Valvano called timeout with 44 seconds left and drew up a play for senior guard
Dereck Whittenburg during the timeout, which called for the team to pass him the ball with ten seconds left on the clock so he could take the final shot.
Houston needed a defensive stop so they could get another chance to close out the game. Lewis decided to move from the man-to-man defense his team had been running the whole game to a half court zone trap defense. The Wolfpack, who were not expecting the defensive adjustment, were forced to deviate and began passing the ball around just to keep the Cougars from stealing it. Houston nearly got the turnover it was looking for when Whittenburg made an errant pass to Gannon that Drexler nearly came away with before the sophomore regained control of the ball. The ball eventually wound up in the hands of guard
Sidney Lowe, who gave it to forward and fellow senior
Thurl Bailey in the corner.
Trying to keep the ball moving, as he had been double teamed as soon as he received the pass, Bailey looked back toward Whittenburg, who was approximately thirty feet away from the hoop near midcourt. Bailey threw what Whittenburg would later call a "poor fundamental" overhanded pass which Houston's
Benny Anders, guarding Whittenburg on the play, was in position to steal. At this point, Whittenburg hearkened back to his high school days with
Morgan Wootten at
DeMatha Catholic High School, where he was taught to always catch the basketball with both hands. If Whittenburg had not attempted to do so in this case, Anders may have gotten the steal and a game-winning breakaway layup. In college basketball at the time, the game clock continued to run after a made field goal, and the Wolfpack likely would not have had time even to inbound the ball. As it was, Anders knocked the ball out of Whittenburg's hands, but Whittenburg quickly regained control.
The clock, meanwhile, had ticked down to five seconds and Whittenburg was still standing a significant distance from the goal. Once he regained control, Whittenburg turned and launched a desperation shot, later claimed by Whittenburg to be a pass, to try and win the game for NC State. The shot's trajectory took it to the front of the basket where Olajuwon was covering Wolfpack center
Lorenzo Charles. As he watched the shot, Olajuwon said he knew the shot was going to come up short but he also did not want to go for the ball too early because of the potential for goaltending. Charles took advantage of the indecision by Olajuwon and went up for the air ball, and, in one motion, he scored the go-ahead points with a two-handed dunk. The final second ticked off the clock before Houston could inbound the ball (the rule which stops the clock on a made basket in the last minute of the second half and any overtime period(s) was not adopted until the 1993–94 season), and with that, the game ended, and the Wolfpack were the national champions.
Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1983 tournament:
Opening Round
* March 15
** East & West Regions
***
Palestra,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
(Hosts:
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
,
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
)
** Mideast & Midwest Regions
***
University of Dayton Arena,
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
(Host:
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...
)
First and Second Rounds
* March 17 and 19
** East Region
***
Greensboro Coliseum,
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...
(Host:
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
)
** Mideast Region
***
USF Sun Dome,
Tampa, Florida
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
(Host:
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
)
** Midwest Region
***
The Summit,
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
(Hosts:
University of Houston
The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...
,
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres.
Rice University comp ...
,
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...
)
** West Region
***
BSU Pavilion,
Boise, Idaho
Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...
(Host:
Boise State University)
* March 18 and 20
** East Region
***
Hartford Civic Center,
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
(Host:
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
)
** Mideast Region
***
Roberts Municipal Stadium,
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...
(Hosts:
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Carnegie Hall of Moores Hill College, Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton Manor, Harlaxton College ...
,
Midwestern City Conference)
** Midwest Region
***
Freedom Hall,
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
(Host:
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
)
** West Region
***
Gill Coliseum,
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...
(Host:
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...
)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
* March 24 and 26
** Mideast Regional,
Stokely Athletic Center,
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
(Host:
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
)
** West Regional,
Dee Events Center
Dee Events Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Western United States, western United States, located on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, Ogden, Utah. The circular, 11,592-seat domed arena, similar in design to many of ...
,
Ogden, Utah
Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, 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 United States Census ...
(Host:
Weber State University
Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991.
As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...
)
* March 25 and 27
** East Regional,
Carrier Dome,
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
(Host:
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
)
** Midwest Regional,
Kemper Arena
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. It ...
,
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
(Host:
Big 8 Conference)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
* April 2 and 4
**
University Arena ("The Pit"),
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
(Host:
University of New Mexico)
Teams
Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period
Preliminary round
East region
West region
Mideast region
Midwest region
# - Memphis State was forced to vacate its NCAA tournament appearance after a massive gambling scandal and a 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.
Final Four
Tournament notes
The Louisville vs. Houston semi-final was a matchup of the #1 vs. #2 team.
[
][Drexler, Clyde., Eggers, Kerry. Clyde the Glide: My Life in Basketball. United States: Sports Publishing, 2011.] The #1 ranked Houston Cougars (nicknamed
Phi Slama Jama) vs. #2 the Louisville Cardinals (nicknamed "The Doctors of Dunk") was considered likely to produce the national champion. It featured two strong offensive teams that specialized in the
slam dunk
A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...
.
[Weintraub, Robert �]
Jamfest for the Ages
E-Ticket – ESPN.COM the magazine, March 29, 2007 Both teams put on a show of offense, with Houston winning out over Louisville 94–81. This would have been the biggest game of the tournament had it not been eclipsed by the North Carolina State win over Houston in the championship game.
Another historically significant game in this tournament was the Mideast Regional final between
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
and
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
, in-state rivals that had not played one another in basketball since
the 1959 NCAA tournament, and had not played in the regular season since 1922. After regulation time ended with Kentucky tying the game at the buzzer, Louisville dominated the overtime to advance to the Final Four. This result directly led to the start of the
Battle for the Bluegrass annual basketball series between the two schools that November.
A historically significant run in the tournament was that of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, who became the last team to date to advance to the Final Four in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. But the
N.C. State team led by
Jim Valvano became the archetype of the "Cinderella team", the underdog that many fans look to as a possible spoiler over top-ranked teams. This label has, since then, been applied to many programs, including
Villanova in 1985,
Gonzaga in 1999,
George Mason in 2006,
Butler in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
,
VCU in 2011,
Wichita State in 2013,
Loyola Chicago in 2018,
UCLA in 2021,
Saint Peter's in 2022,
Florida Atlantic in 2023, and
N.C. State in 2024. Not only did N.C. State beat Houston to win the championship, but they also beat #1 seeded
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
on their way to the Final Four. The Wolfpack did not assure themselves of a tournament bid until they upset Virginia in the championship game of the
ACC tournament. North Carolina State became the first team in tournament history to win six games en route to the title (the tournament being 32 teams or fewer prior to 1979, and all champions from 1979 to 1982 had first-round byes).
Christopher Cross' "
All Right" accompanied the highlight montage at the end of CBS' broadcast of the championship game.
Announcers
*
Gary Bender and
Billy Packer – First (Illinois–Utah) and Second (Virginia–Washington State, UCLA–Utah) Rounds at Boise, Idaho; Second Round at Evansville, Indiana (Indiana–Oklahoma, Louisville–Tennessee); Midwest Regional semifinal (Houston–Memphis State) at Kansas City, Missouri; Mideast Regional Final at Knoxville, Tennessee; Midwest Regional Final at Kansas City, Missouri; Final Four at Albuquerque, New Mexico
*
Frank Glieber and
Larry Conley – East Regional Final at Syracuse, New York
*
Tom Hammond and
Larry Conley – Preliminary Round at Dayton, Ohio; Mideast Regional semifinals at Knoxville, Tennessee
*
Dick Stockton and
Steve Grote – First (N.C. State–Pepperdine) and Second (UNLV–N.C. State, Boston College–Princeton) Rounds at Corvallis, Oregon; West Regional Final at Ogden, Utah
*
Jim Thacker and
Bill Raftery – East Regional semifinals at Syracuse, New York
*
Fred White and
Gary Thompson – Midwest Regional semifinal (Villanova–Iowa) at Kansas City, Missouri
*
Dick Stockton and
Billy Packer – West Regional semifinal (Virginia–Boston College) at Ogden, Utah
* Larry Zimmer and
Irv Brown – West Regional semifinal (N.C. State–Utah) at Ogden, Utah
*
Jim Thacker and
Larry Conley – Second Round at Greensboro, North Carolina (North Carolina–James Madison, Georgia–VCU)
*
Verne Lundquist and
Bill Raftery – First (Syracuse–Morehead State, Southwestern Louisiana–Rutgers) and Second (Ohio State–Syracuse, St. John's–Rutgers) Rounds at Hartford, Connecticut
*
Frank Herzog and
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
– Second Round at Tampa, Florida (Kentucky–Ohio, Arkansas–Purdue)
*
Tim Ryan and
Lynn Shackelford – Second Round at Houston, Texas (Villanova–Lamar, Houston–Maryland)
*
Frank Glieber and
Irv Brown – Second Round at Louisville, Kentucky (Memphis State–Georgetown, Missouri–Iowa)
* Jim Thacker and
Jeff Mullins – First round at Greensboro, North Carolina (West Virginia–James Madison, VCU–La Salle)
*
Tom Hammond and
Irv Brown - First round at Louisville, Kentucky (Georgetown–Alcorn State, Iowa–Utah State)
See also
*
1983 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
*
1983 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
*
1983 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
*
1983 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
*
1983 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
*
1983 National Invitation Tournament
*
1983 National Women's Invitation Tournament
*
1983 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
*
1983 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Ncaa
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Basketball in Houston
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...