The 2008

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 65 teams playing in a

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

that determined the

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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. ...

(NCAA) Division I men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

national champion for the 2007–08 season. The 70th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2008, and concluded with the

championship game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

on April 7, at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. For the first time (and the only time until the 2025 tournament) since seeding began in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, all four of the top seeds advanced to the Final Four. These were

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, the winner of the South region,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, the winner of the West region making their third consecutive Final Four appearance,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, the winner of the Midwest region, and overall number one seed and East region winner

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, back in the Final Four for the first time since their 2005 national championship. Memphis and Kansas advanced to the national championship game, with Memphis's victory in the semifinals giving them a record-setting 38 for the season, beating the mark set by

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

in 1999 (

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 ...

later matched this record in 2012 and 2015). Kansas, however, spoiled their national championship hopes by handing the Tigers their second loss of the season, winning the game in overtime, 75–68. Memphis's entire season was later vacated by the NCAA due to eligibility concerns surrounding freshman guard

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted first overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA ...

. Entering the tournament on March 18, the top ranked team was

in both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Polls, followed by

and

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

(Patriot), UMBC (America East), Texas–Arlington (Southland), and

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

(Big Sky) all entered the tournament for the first time in their school's history. Another school,

Coppin State Coppin State University (Coppin) is a public historically black university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Coppin State Universi ...

, won the MEAC Tournament to become the first 20-loss school to make the field.

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 ...

, a team that otherwise would not have advanced to the tournament, won the SEC tournament to qualify, and were awarded a #14 seed, the lowest by a major conference team in the tournament. Whereas the 2007 tournament did not see many upsets, the 2008 tournament was full of them. The sub-regional pod played at the St. Pete Times Forum in

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 ...

, featured four games where a double digit seed won. #5 seeds

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

and Clemson fell to #12 seeds

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

and Villanova while the #4 seeds in that same pod, Vanderbilt and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, were defeated by #13 seeds

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Western Kentucky advanced to the West regional in Phoenix, where they lost to UCLA while Villanova was one of two double digit seeds to advance to the Midwest regional. The other was #10 seed Davidson, who rode the hot shooting of

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

to defeat

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

, Georgetown, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

before nearly upsetting Kansas in the regional final. The Midwest region alone saw four of its double digit seeds advance, as in addition to Villanova, Siena, and Davidson, #11 seed

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

knocked off #6 seed

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. The total tournament attendance of 763,607 set a record for highest total tournament attendance, breaking the record set during the 1999 tournament.

Tournament procedure

The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship is an annual single-elimination tournament featuring 65 teams representing all Division I Conferences in the nation. A "play-in" game determined which of the two lowest seeds would play in the first round of 64 against a top seed team. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65 within four regionals of 16 teams; Mount St. Mary's, as the winner of the play-in game, automatically received a 16 seed.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2008 tournament: Opening round *March 18 **

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 hoste ...

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 20 and 22 **

Honda Center Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it w ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

(Host:

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

) **

Pepsi Center Ball Arena (formerly known as the Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Int ...

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

(Hosts:

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

) **

Qwest 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 ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

(Hosts:

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

) ** Verizon Center,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(Host:

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

) *March 21 and 23 **

BJCC Arena 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, up to 16,250 for concerts and 6,000 i ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

(Host:

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

) **

Alltel Arena Alltel was a landline, wireless service provider, wireless and general Telephone company, telecommunications services provider, primarily based in the United States. Before its wireless division was acquired by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Alltel pr ...

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

(Hosts:

University of Arkansas at Little Rock The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock, UALR) is a Public university, public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the ...

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

) **

RBC Center RBC may refer to: Media and arts * Radio Beijing Corporation, a family of municipal radio stations in Beijing, China * RBC Ministries, now Our Daily Bread Ministries, a Christian media outlet in Grand Rapids, Michigan * RBC Radio, the former na ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

(Host:

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

) ** St. Pete Times Forum,

(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, ...

) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 27 and 29 **East Regional,

Charlotte Bobcats Arena The Spectrum Center is an indoor arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Located in Uptown, it is owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by its main tenant, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Th ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

(Host:

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte, or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs thr ...

) **West Regional,

US Airways Center The PHX Arena (formerly America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix Suns Arena and Footprint Center) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It opened under the name America West Arena on June 6, 1992, at ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

(Host:

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

) *March 28 and 30 **Midwest Regional,

Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

(Hosts:

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Cath ...

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

) **South Regional,

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium (previously known as 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 h ...

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 ...

) National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship) *April 5 and 7 **

(Host:

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,

Qualifying teams

Automatic bids

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2008 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

Listed by region and seeding

A total of 31 teams received automatic bids for winning their conference tournament championship. Since the Ivy League does not hold a tournament, its regular season champion received the automatic bid. This left 34 at-large bids to be decided from the rest of the field by the NCAA Selection Committee. The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, March 16. Coppin State was the first team to make the tournament with 20 losses. Maryland-Baltimore County, American, Texas–Arlington, and Portland State all received their first tournament bids in school history. Four teams returned after absences from the NCAA Tournament of 20 years or more—Drake (last appearing in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

), Cal State Fullerton (

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

), Cornell (

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

), and Baylor (1988). Both USC and Memphis later vacated all wins from the season, leaving their official records at 0–11 and 0–1, respectively.

Bracket

Opening Round game – Dayton, Ohio

Winner advances to 16th seed in East Regional vs. (1)

East Regional – Charlotte, North Carolina

Midwest Regional – Detroit, Michigan

USC vacated all 21 of its wins and its appearance in the 2008 NCAA tournament due to sanctions from the

University of Southern California athletics scandal In the University of Southern California athletics scandal, the University of Southern California (USC) was investigated and punished for NCAA rules violations in the Trojan football, men's basketball and women's tennis programs.

. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with USC removing the wins from its own record.

South Regional – Houston, Texas

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Bracket Source
Memphis' entire 2007–08 schedule results were vacated due to NCAA sanctions involving the eligibility of

. 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.

Game summaries

East Region

First round

Top seed North Carolina defeated the play-in game winner Mount St. Mary's 113–74. Their high scoring tied the mark for second most in North Carolina tournament history, aided by

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well as internationally. In college, Hansbrough was a star with t ...

and

Ty Lawson Tywon Ronell Lawson (born November 3, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels where he won the 2009 national championship his junior year. ...

's 21 points each. They met Arkansas in the second round, a ninth seed who defeated eighth-seed Indiana 86–72. Indiana had struggled with several tough losses late in the season after a coaching scandal.

Sonny Weems Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Shenzhen Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Ar ...

had a career-high 31 points despite Indiana having two AP All-Americans, D.J. White and

Eric Gordon Eric Ambrose Gordon Jr. (born December 25, 1988) is a Bahamian-American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball during his senio ...

. Fifth seed Notre Dame advanced to the second round with a 68–50 win over 12th seed George Mason. George Mason had two starters from the 2006 final four team, but were unable to come back after a surge by the Irish early in the first half. In the same pod, fourth seeded Washington State defeated 13th-seed Winthrop 71–40, holding them to 11 points in the second half and leaving them far behind after a 25–1 run. In

, the sixth seed Oklahoma defeated 11-th seeded St. Joseph's 72–64, led by David Godbold, a senior not normally known as a team leader who surprised many with his 25 points. Later in the evening, third seeded Louisville defeated WAC champion and 14th seed Boise State 79–61, sending the Broncos home for the second straight time. They had defeated Boise St. in the 1994 tournament as well, the last time the WAC team came to the tournament. In the afternoon session at Birmingham, seventh seeded Butler defeated tenth seed South Alabama in an 81–61 blowout, setting a school record for 30 wins in one season, and number two seed Tennessee survived a brief scare at the hands of 15th-seeded American, 72–57. American's star player, Garrison Carr, led his team with 26 points, tying the game at 40 with 11 minutes to go before Tennessee went on a 10–0 run to score the win.

Second round

Washington State, the region's fourth seed, was first to earn a spot in the

East Regional by handily beating fifth-seeded Notre Dame, 61–41 in

. The rout came as a shock to many sportscasters, who expected Notre Dame's offense, which was averaging about 80 points a game, to outdo the Cougars. Instead, Notre Dame shot 24% from the field, their worst offensive effort since 1983 and the fifth-worst in the history of the NCAA tournament's opening rounds. Washington State's win brought them to their first-ever trip to the Sweet 16. Top-seeded North Carolina will challenge the Cougars after defeating Arkansas, the ninth seed, 108–77. The win marked only the third time the Tar Heels had won their first two tournament games by more than 20 points. The other two UNC teams to do this, in 1993 and 2005, went on to win the championship. With the win, North Carolina also set a school record for wins in a season, with 34. Second-seeded Tennessee survived an upset bid from number seven seed Butler, winning in overtime 76–71. Butler was behind throughout regulation, but managed to keep the game close and bring it to overtime, where they gained their first lead, 68–66, about 2 minutes into overtime. Some key defensive stands and free throws by the Volunteers, however, pulled them ahead. They will play third seed Louisville, who beat sixth seed Oklahoma, 78–48. Sooner star

Blake Griffin Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. Griffin primarily played with the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and played college basketball for the Oklahoma ...

had trouble scoring against Louisville's double-teams, and Louisville's 30-point win was the school's best tournament win since 1968.

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Top-seeded North Carolina defeated fourth seeded Washington State 68–47. Washington State was held to 47 points, the least allowed by a Tar Heel team in the tournament since 1946. Tyler Hansbrough struggled in the first half, but North Carolina's other players stepped to give the team a 14-point lead at halftime. In the second half, he led the team with 16 points, contributing to what was at one point in the half a 26-point lead. Third-seeded Louisville went on to face the Tar Heels in the East finals after defeating the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, 79–60.

Earl Clark Earl Rashad Clark (born January 17, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball for the University of Loui ...

scored 17 points, 13 of them coming in the second half, and had 12 rebounds to lead the Cardinals. The Volunteers were held to 34% shooting and Louisville coach Rick Pitino improved to 8–0 in Regional semifinal games.

Regional final (Elite Eight)

In the East Regional finals in their home state, against third-seed Louisville,

of the top-seeded Tar Heels carried the team with a 28-point performance, including five straight points after the Cardinals tied UNC midway through the second half to lead UNC to an 83–73 win. The Cardinals came close as the game neared its end, but a Ty Lawson 3 broke a 59–59 tie. Defensive stands combined with 8 for 8 free throw shooting down the stretch gave the Tar Heels the victory. Hansbrough was named the East Region's Tournament MVP.

Midwest Region

First round

The Midwest Region featured upsets knocking off the fourth through seventh seeds. Among these was the first upset of the tournament with 11th seed Kansas State's win over the sixth seeded Southern California Trojans 80–67 in

. The media had focused a lot of attention on the freshman stars of both teams, the Wildcats'

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State University for one ...

and the Trojans'

O. J. Mayo Ovinton J'Anthony "O.J." Mayo (born November 5, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Zamalek SC of the Egyptian Basketball Super League and Egyptian Basketball Federation. He played a single season of colleg ...

. In reality, while Beasley and Mayo did well, it was the other K-State players who made the difference, applying a strong defense to the Men of Troy's attack and coming up with the school's first tournament win since 1988. Also in the Midwest Region, #10 seed Davidson defeated seventh seeded Gonzaga 82–76 in

led the Wildcats with 40 points, 30 of them in the second half. His 40 points are the fifth most in NCAA tournament history, and gave Davidson their first tournament win since 1969. In the same region, 13th seed Siena upset fourth seed Vanderbilt 83–62 in

. Future

Harlem Globetrotter The Harlem Globetrotters is an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and ter ...

Tay Fisher made all six of his 3-point attempts, the Saints never trailed and became the first MAAC team to advance since 2004. The Midwest's first-round play ended with 12th seed Villanova's upset of fifth seed Clemson, 75–69, also in Tampa. Behind by eighteen late in the first half, the Wildcats came back, taking the lead at about the twelve-minute mark and holding it for the win. The Wildcats have won more games as an underdog in the tournament since seedings began in 1979 than any other team. With Villanova's win, the Forum saw a tournament record four upsets in one day. Earlier in the day, WKU, San Diego, and Siena defeated Drake, UConn, and Vanderbilt, to set the record. Earlier that day in Omaha, ninth seed Kent State tied an NCAA Tournament record for scoring lows with their 10 points in one half against UNLV. Eighth-seed UNLV won the game 71–58. Top seed Kansas defeated 16th seed Portland State 85–61, thoroughly dominating both inside and outside with the win. Second-seed Georgetown defeated fifteenth seed Maryland-Baltimore County 66–47 in their first-round game, holding them to 31% shooting as compared to their 51%, and third seed Wisconsin stopped an upset threat from 14th seed Cal State Fullerton. The Titans'

Josh Akognon Joshua Emmanuel Akognon (born February 10, 1986) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars and Cal State Fullerton Titans. Standing at , he played at the point guar ...

scored 31 points, tying a career high, and Fullerton held the lead early in the second half, but were unable hold the lead under the Badgers' offensive pressure.

Second round

The third-seeded Badgers from the University of Wisconsin defeated Kansas State, 72–55 to become the first school to advance to

, and the Midwest Regional. KSU freshman star Michael Beasley was again dominant with 23 points and 14 rebounds, though he struggled in the second half with only six points due to the Badger defense. Top-seeded Kansas also advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating eighth-seed UNLV 75–56. Four Jayhawks scored in double figures and the team shot 58% from the field while holding the Rebels to 26.7%. The following afternoon, the 12th-seeded Villanova Wildcats defeated the 13th-seeded Siena Saints in a 12-seed versus 13-seed

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

match-up by a score of 84–72 to reach their third Sweet 16 in four years. The Wildcats took an early lead and never trailed the entire game. Tenth-seeded Davidson became the second double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen hours after Villanova's victory, ousting second-seeded Georgetown 74–70, to play Wisconsin in the other regional semifinal. Davidson won on the back of another tour-de-force performance in the second half by

. Curry singlehandedly outscored the Hoyas over the final 14:24, putting up 25 points to Georgetown's 22.

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Stephen Curry scored 33 points to lead Davidson to a 73–56 victory over Wisconsin. Davidson, the 10-seed, advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since the 1969 tournament. Curry became only the fourth player in history to score 30 or more points in his first three tournament games. The Wisconsin defense, best in the nation at points allowed with 53.9, remained close until early in the second half, when some key steals and Davidson threes pulled the Wildcats far ahead. In the night game, top-seeded Kansas defeated # 12 Villanova, 72–57. The Jayhawks went on a 14–2 run early and never faltered—Villanova never getting within six. Brandon Rush, Russell Robinson, and Mario Chalmers each scored 16, 15, and 14 points, respectively.

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Kansas completed the first all top-seeded Final Four in NCAA Tournament history as they defeated tenth seeded Davidson 59–57. The outcome remained in doubt down to the final seconds. Kansas' Sherron Collins missed a shot with 21 seconds left, giving Davidson the final shot. Sophomore star Stephen Curry was double teamed, couldn't find a shot, and passed to Jason Richards, whose three-point shot missed. It was head coach

Bill Self Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Self has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level an ...

's first regional final win. The Wildcats' 25-game winning streak, the longest in the nation, was broken with the loss. Davidson's Stephen Curry scored 25 points and was chosen as the Midwest Region's Most Outstanding Player.ESPN – Davidson vs. Kansas – Recap – March 30, 2008

South Region

First round

Top seed Memphis took on Texas–Arlington, the region's 16th seed, and went on to win their opening-round contest, 87–63, in

. Memphis went on to meet Mississippi State, an eight seed which came back from 13-down early in the second half against Oregon to rally for the win, 76–69. Fifth-seed Michigan State handily defeated # 12 Temple, 72–61, and fourth-seed Pittsburgh defeated 13th seed Oral Roberts 82–63, leaving the Golden Eagles behind after an 18–0 run in the first half. Sixth-seeded Marquette won its first tournament game since 2003 with a 74–66 win over #11 Kentucky in Anaheim. Kentucky got to within two points with 22 seconds remaining, but two Marquette free throws and a late steal handed the Wildcats an early tournament loss. They met third seed Stanford in the next round, who handily defeated 14th-seeded Cornell 77–53, never trailing the entire game, and never allowing the Big Red to get closer than 18 points in the second half. Miami (Florida), the seventh seed, defeated tenth seed Saint Mary's (California) 78–64, led by

Jack McClinton Jack Paul McClinton (born January 19, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. McClinton played shooting guard for the University of Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team. He was selected in the second round by the San Anto ...

and his 38 points. Their next opponent was second seed Texas, who never trailed in their 74–54 win over 15th seed Austin Peay, a game with four Longhorns scoring in double-figures.

Second round

Third-seeded Stanford saw

Brook Lopez Brook Robert Lopez (born April 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Splash Mountain", he was named an NBA All-Star as a member of the Brooklyn Net ...

make the difference in overtime with a basket with 1.3 seconds left to beat Marquette 82–81 and advance to

. Stanford coach

Trent Johnson Trent Aubrey Johnson (born September 12, 1956) is a former American college basketball coach. Johnson had previously been the head coach at Cal State University Northridge, Texas Christian University, Louisiana State University, Stanford Univers ...

was ejected in the first half, and Stanford had to fight a six-point deficit at halftime to come back for the win. Michigan State became the first lower seed to win in the region, with a 65–54 victory over Pittsburgh. The game was extremely physical and hard-fought, with the Panther coming back from 10 down to take the lead in the middle of the second half, only to see it vanish in the final minutes with help from eight straight points from the Spartan's

Drew Neitzel Drew Neitzel (born May 7, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Basketball career High school Neitzel attended Wyoming Park High School in Wyoming, Michigan. He holds the school career records for points (2,462) and assi ...

. The Spartans would go on to play Memphis, the region's top seed after the Tigers beat eighth seed Mississippi State, 77–74. In their game, Memphis had four players scoring in double figures in what was a physical, defensive game—unlike what the games the Tigers were used to playing. Mississippi State gave them a late scare by coming to within two with four seconds left, but a free throw by

Chris Douglas-Roberts Chris Douglas Roberts (born January 8, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis. High school career Douglas-Roberts played high school basketball at Cass Technical Hig ...

of Memphis followed by a missed three on Mississippi's end gave the Tigers the win. Texas, the second seed, played the Cardinal in their home state after a 75–72 victory over seventh-seed Miami (Florida). Leading 66–50 with 4:15 left in the game, the Longhorns saw their lead melt in the face of a strong Hurricane rally and a hostile Arkansas crowd. Two key free throws by A. J. Abrams with 9.5 seconds left carried them to a three-point lead which held to the end of regulation.

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Tens of thousands of Texas fans turned out to Reliant Stadium in Houston and saw the second seeded Longhorns defeat the number three seeded Stanford Cardinal, 82–62. The unlikely defensive star of the game was Texas'

Dexter Pittman Dexter Jerome Pittman (born March 2, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Texas. High school career Pittman was a three-year starter at B. F. Terry High School, where he ...

. Normally not even a starter, Pittman was effective on the court, throwing his size against the tall Lopez twins, high-scorers at Stanford. On the offensive end, D. J. Augustin scored twenty-three points to combine with

Damion James Damion Marquez Williams James (born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Vaqueros de Bayamón of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for Texas. High school ca ...

' 18 for the win. Stanford made things close at about the 13 minute mark of the second half, bringing it to within one at 52–51, but Texas went on a 16–2 run and turned the game into a rout. Later in the day, top-seeded Memphis defeated fifth seed Michigan State, 92–74. Memphis entered the game as the favorite but with several commentators pointing to them as the top seed most likely to lose. Instead, the Tigers went into halftime with a 30-point lead. Derrick Rose led his team with 27 points, and

followed with 25, while Spartan star

was held to just six.

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Top seeded Memphis defeated Texas to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1985 with a convincing 85–67 win. Memphis spread the floor and used every man on the field to win. Texas star D J Augustin scored 16 points, but struggled with four turnovers in the second half. Derrick Rose won the Region's Most Outstanding Player award.

West Region

First round

In the West Region, with a pod in Tampa as well, WKU entering as the 12th seed, defeated fifth seeded Drake in overtime 101–99. Drake had come back from sixteen down in the final eight minutes, bringing the game to overtime, and were ahead with 5.7 seconds left. Ty Rogers' three-pointer at the buzzer, the NCAA record-setting 30th three-point basket gave the Hilltoppers the walk-off victory. Also in the West, 13th seeded San Diego upset fourth seed Connecticut 70–69 in another overtime game. The Huskies struggled throughout the game, compounded by the loss of leading scorer A.J. Price to a torn ACL, and De'Jon Jackson's long jumper with 1.2 seconds remaining in the bonus period pulled the Toreros ahead for their first-ever tournament victory, and handed UConn their earliest egress from the tournament since 1979 as well as the first under coach Jim Calhoun. As regards to close games and record-breakers, West Region 15th seed Belmont nearly upset second-seeded Duke in

, but a

Gerald Henderson Jerome McKinley "Gerald" Henderson Sr. (born January 16, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a combo guard who had a 13-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1979 until 1992. He played for ...

layup with 11.9 seconds left, together with a steal off the inbounds by

DeMarcus Nelson DeMarcus De'Juan Nelson (born November 2, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Standing at 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) he played at the point guard position. He also holds Serbian citizenship as of 2014. College career Nelson ...

in the final seconds, lifted the Blue Devils to victory. This would have been only the fifth time a 15 seed beat a 2 seed. The top seeded UCLA Bruins set several records in their win against 16th-seeded Mississippi Valley State at

, holding them to 29 points in a 70–29 victory. This was the lowest score in the first round in tournament history, and the lowest overall since 1946, before the

shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, indicating 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, w ...

rule was introduced. The Delta Devils' 19.7% shooting set another record for lowest shooting percentage in a game in tournament history. Elsewhere in the West, third seed Xavier avoided an upset by 14th-seeded Georgia, coming back from nine down at the half to win 73–61. They were to play sixth-seeded Purdue next, who scored their tenth-straight first-round win by defeating the 11th seeded Baylor 90–79. Brigham Young, an eighth seed, lost to ninth-seeded Texas A&M 67–62. The Cougars suffered early, not scoring until about the 14-minute mark, but managed to bring the game to a tie at the half. Twenty-six points by Aggie forward Josh Carter, however, made the difference in Texas A&M's win. Lastly, West Virginia, seventh seed in the region, defeated tenth seed Arizona 75–65, scoring 11 three-point shots. With the win, the Mountaineers broke Arizona's streak of twenty straight 20-win seasons, previously the longest streak in the nation.

Second round

Seventh-seeded West Virginia began the second round of the tournament by defeating Duke, the second seed, 73–67. The Mountaineers trailed until about eight minutes into the second half, when they took a 43–40 lead. They outrebounded the Blue Devils 47–27, which, combined with several three-point shots, aided in the win. This loss marked Duke's second consecutive loss before the Sweet Sixteen round. West Virginia's Sweet Sixteen opposition in

, was #3 Xavier, who defeated Purdue, 85–78. Xavier trailed as late as the 5:30 mark of the second half, but a widespread showing of talent from the Musketeers proved too difficult to stop, as four Xavier players scored in double figures, with two more tied at eight points each. Later that day, the top-seeded UCLA Bruins defeated ninth-seeded Texas A&M, 51–49. The Bruins trailed by as much as ten early in the first half, but slowly chipped away at the lead as the half progressed. The winning basket was scored with 9.5 seconds left on a lay-up by

Darren Collison Darren Michael Collison (born August 23, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Collison played four seasons of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He earned All-Pa ...

. Texas A&M had one final chance to tie it, but Donald Sloan's drive to the basket was stopped by two UCLA players (pictures show that they both appear to be grabbing Sloan, in what could have been a foul called on UCLA). The ensuing dunk by UCLA's Russell Westbrook was later waved off by officials as occurring after time had expired, making the final score 51–49. The Bruins then played WKU, a #12 seed who beat #13 seed San Diego by a 73–62 score. San Diego trailed by as much as 15 in the second half, but an 18–2 run gave them a one-point lead with minutes remaining. WKU, however, managed to pull ahead once again for the win, making this tournament only the third in history to feature at least two 12-or-lower seeds in the Sweet 16.

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Xavier, the third seed in the West, defeated seventh seed West Virginia, 79–75 in overtime thanks to two B.J. Raymond three-pointers in the final 78 seconds. Raymond scored all eight of his points in the bonus round after being held scoreless in regulation, and poor free-throw shooting by the Mountaineers, missing four out of six free throws, sealed the victory. Josh Duncan led the Musketeers in scoring with a career-high 26 points, followed by Joe Alexander's 18 points and 10 rebounds. Xavier led by as much as 18 during the game, but trailed six late in OT, counting on Raymond's threes to give them the victory. Number one seed UCLA would play the Musketeers in the final, after outlasting 12th seeded WKU, 88–78. WKU came to within four late in the game, taking advantage of several sloppy Bruin mistakes. Kevin Love led UCLA with 29 points and 14 rebounds, aided by James Keefe's 18 points and 12 rebounds and Russell Westbrook's 14 and 11. Trailing 41–20 at the half, WKU came out of the locker room determined to win, as evidenced by Hilltopper star Tyrone Brazelton's 31 points, 25 of which came in the second half. A. J. Slaughter missed a crucial three-point shot that would have brought them to within one, and a UCLA run left them nine points behind only two minutes later.

Regional final (Elite Eight)

was the first team to advance to the Final Four in

, the third straight year and the 18th time in school history they have done it, with a 76–57 victory over Xavier.

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time All-Star and a two-time member of the All-NBA Second Team, winning an N ...

led the Bruins with 19 points and ten rebounds, tied as high scorer with

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Luc Richard Mbah a Moute ( ; born 9 September 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional basketball player. Mbah a Moute also played for the Cameroon national team. Mbah a Moute is currently a player agent for Creative Artists Agency (CAA). ...

contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Brown led the Musketeers with 13 points. Overall, Xavier was held to 36% shooting from the floor while UCLA shot 56.8%. Love was picked as the West Region's MOP.

Final Four

For the first time since the current seeding system started in 1979, all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. This would not happen again until

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, coincidentally, also in San Antonio.

Memphis vs. UCLA

Memphis became the first team ever to win 38 games in one season by defeating UCLA 78–63 (Kentucky would match that record in 2012 and 2015). Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored a game-high of 28 points, combined with Derrick Rose to score a total of 53 of Memphis' 78 points. UCLA star Kevin Love was held to 12 points, and the Bruins lost their second straight Final Four game. Memphis had lost to Ohio State in the Alamodome in the 2007 tournament, and had made it a goal to win in the arena in this year's tournament.

Kansas vs. North Carolina

The second semifinal was a highly anticipated matchup between North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams and the team he had coached for 15 years before leaving to go to UNC. The game itself could be divided up as if it were three different games. The Jayhawks took a 40–12 lead in the first 15 minutes, causing CBS analyst Billy Packer to declare that the game was over. North Carolina narrowed the deficit to 17 at halftime on a 15–4 run and opened the second half on a 23–10 run to close to within 4 points with 11 minutes to play. After the teams traded baskets for a few minutes, Kansas pulled away, closing on a 20–7 run for an 84–66 victory. After Kansas went out to the 40–12 lead, North Carolina never held the ball with a chance to take the lead. Brandon Rush led the Jayhawks with 25 points. AP Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough scored 17 points and had 9 rebounds, both below his season averages. The Tar Heels were led by Wayne Ellington's 18 points.

National Championship Game

The National Championship Game pitted

against

. The head coaches (KU's

and Memphis'

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

) had both been on the coaching staff of Kansas' 1986 Final Four team. Neither had garnered a national championship to this point in their head coaching careers. Memphis guard

had been the leading scorer in the tournament, averaging 23.6 points per game. Memphis became the first team currently from a

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

other than the six majors to play in the championship game since 1998. Utah advanced to the championship game in 1998, and UNLV was the last team from a non-major conference to win the national title in 1990. Championshipcrowd

On the day of the game, the betting lines set by

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

Las Vegas Hilton The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...

Station Casinos Station Casinos, LLC is an American hotel and casino company based in Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin South, Nevada, and founded by Frank Fertitta Jr. Station Casinos, along with Affinity Gaming, Boyd Gaming and Golden Entertainment, dominate th ...

, and

The Mirage The Mirage is a defunct casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The 65-acre property included a casino and 3,044 rooms. Mirage Resorts, Golden Nugget, Inc., led by developer Steve Wynn, purchased the future lan ...

made Memphis the favorite by a

spread Spread may refer to: Places * Spread, West Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film. * ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers * "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...

of 2 points. The first half was back-and-forth as Kansas led for 7:37 minutes and Memphis led for 6:51 minutes. Kansas led 33–28 at halftime, the first second-half deficit that Memphis faced in the entire tournament. Memphis scored the first five points of the second half to tie the score at 33 with 18:57 left in regulation. After that Kansas maintained a small lead from the 16:04 mark until Memphis retook the lead with 8:11 remaining. Memphis then went on a 10–0 run to build a seven-point lead with 5:10 remaining and increased it to nine points with 2:12 remaining in regulation. Kansas strategically fouled Memphis—an extremely poor free throw shooting team all season—which missed four of its final five free throws in regulation while Kansas furiously scored 12 points in the final two minutes of regulation. During that stretch Kansas made 100% of their shots going 2 for 2 from two-point range, 2 for 2 from three-point range and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. When Memphis failed to foul, which arguably would have all but assured a victory for the Tigers, Kansas guard

Mario Chalmers Almario Vernard Chalmers (born May 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Zamboanga Valientes of the Asian Tournament (TAT). He was selected as the 34th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Minnesota ...

hit a three-point basket with 2.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 63, sending the game into overtime. Kansas fans now refer to this shot as Mario's Miracle. At the end of regulation, the Jayhawks had led the score a total of 17:55 minutes and Memphis 15:51 minutes. In overtime, Kansas scored the first six points en route to a 75–68 win. They continued the blistering stretch they started in regulation, going 4 of 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line in overtime. It was KU's third NCAA title since the modern tournament began in 1939 (fifth national title overall, including two Helms decisions). It was also the first national championship for the program since the 1988 team. This was the seventh overtime National Championship Game in NCAA Division I tournament history and first since 1997. It also represented the first national title for the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

. The national championship appearance by Memphis would later be vacated as a result of NCAA rules infractions.

Record by conference

* Mount St. Mary's won the opening round game. The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC respectively stand for the round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, Championship Game, and National Champion. Sixteen conferences—

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

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 ...

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

MEAC The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the Nation ...

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...

, Southland, SWAC,

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

and WAC—went 0–1. :Source:Scout.com: NCAA Tournament Records by Conference

Media

Television

CBS Sports

For the 27th consecutive year,

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

telecast the tournament, and for the 18th consecutive year, broadcast every game in the main bracket from the first round to the championship, as

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 ...

and

Billy Packer Anthony William Packer (born Anthony William Paczkowski; February 25, 1940 – January 26, 2023) was an American college basketball player, sportscaster, and author. Packer spent more than three decades working as a color analyst for television ...

called the Final Four.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

carried the 64th-seed opening-round game between Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's on March 18, with

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 the original host of their ...

Steve Lavin Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball team at the University of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head ...

and

Erin Andrews Erin Jill Andrews (born May 4, 1978) is an American sportscaster and television personality. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox Sports in 2 ...

serving as the announcing team, as the network has done the opening-round game since 2002. The complete list of announcing teams follows: *

and

Sam Ryan Samantha Ryan (born February 5, 1969) is an American sportscaster who is a sports anchor for WABC-TV New York's Eyewitness News' weekend evening broadcasts. Biography Early life and education Ryan is an alumna of the New York Institute of Tech ...

(she was only used as Sideline Reporter for the Final Four and NCAA Championship game) – first & second round at Raleigh, North Carolina; South Regional at Houston, Texas; Final Four at San Antonio, Texas (It should be also noted that this was the 1st time Jim Nantz introduced the lineups in the Final Four semi-finals and the National Championship Game). *

Dick Enberg Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...

Carter Blackburn Carter Blackburn (born March 30, 1979) is an American sportscaster. He currently works for CBS Sports after leaving ESPN in 2014. Early life and education Blackburn was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in Kerrville, in the Texas Hill Count ...

and

Jay Bilas Jay Scot Bilas (born December 24, 1963) is an American college basketball analyst who currently works for ESPN. Bilas is a former professional basketball player and coach who played for and served as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke ...

– Blackburn Thursday afternoon; Enberg Thursday night, First & Second round at Anaheim, California; East Regional at Charlotte, North Carolina *

Verne Lundquist Merton Laverne Lundquist Jr. (born July 17, 1940) is an American former sportscaster known for his long career with CBS Sports. Early life Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas, before ...

and

Bill Raftery William Joseph Raftery (born April 19, 1943) is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach. Early life and playing years Born William Joseph Raftery in Orange, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Kearny, Raftery grew up i ...

– first & second round at Birmingham, Alabama; West Regional at Phoenix, Arizona * Gus Johnson and

Len Elmore Leonard J. Elmore (born March 28, 1952) is an American sportscaster, lawyer and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Elmore has served as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports and has served in the same capacity ...

– first & second round at Denver, Colorado; Midwest Regional at Detroit, Michigan *

Kevin Harlan Kevin Robert Harlan (born June 21, 1960) is an American television and radio sports announcer, and a 3 time National Sportscaster of Year as voted by his peers. The son of former Green Bay Packers President and CEO Bob Harlan, he broadcasts NF ...

and

Dan Bonner Dan Bonner is an analyst and color commentator covering NCAA men's college basketball. 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 at ...

– first & second round at Omaha, Nebraska *

Ian Eagle Ian Eagle ( ; born February 9, 1969) is an American sports announcer. He calls NBA, NFL, and college basketball games on CBS, TNT, and TBS, as well as Brooklyn Nets games on the YES Network and French Open tennis for Tennis Channel. Other ann ...

and

Jim Spanarkel James Gerard Spanarkel (born June 28, 1957) is an American television analyst for College Basketball on CBS and Fox College Hoops. He is a former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. He played co ...

– first & second round at Little Rock, Arkansas *

Craig Bolerjack Kyle Craig Bolerjack (born May 16, 1958) is an American sportscaster. He is currently calling Utah Jazz telecasts on KJZZ with Thurl Bailey. He also calls games for CBS, ESPN, and CBS College Sports Network in a national broadcasting career ...

and

Bob Wenzel Bob Wenzel (born October 4, 1949) is a former American college basketball coach and broadcaster for the Big Ten Network, ESPN, CBS Sports and Fox Sports. Biography College playing/Coaching career Wenzel graduated from Rutgers University in 1971 ...

– first & second round at Washington, D.C. *

Tim Brando Tim Brando (born February 27, 1956) is an American sportscaster with Fox Sports. Formerly with CBS Sports, Raycom Sports, ESPN and SiriusXM, Brando has primarily covered NCAA football, basketball and the NBA. Along with radio duties, Brando has ...

and

Mike Gminski Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for the CW Courtside Saturday, ACC on The CW and CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted i ...

– first & second round at Tampa, Florida

Greg Gumbel Gregory Girard Gumbel (May 3, 1946 – December 27, 2024) was an American television sportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). He became the firs ...

once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts

Clark Kellogg Clark Clifton Kellogg Jr. (born July 2, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player who is the lead college basketball analyst for CBS Sports. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers. Basketba ...

and

Seth Davis Seth Davis is an American sportswriter and broadcaster. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Hoops HQ and is a host on Campus Insiders, an in-studio analyst for CBS men's college basketball coverage and an analyst for the NBA ...

. For the first time since the rights were acquired, the host team spent the entire tournament at the

CBS Broadcast Center The CBS Broadcast Center is a television and radio production facility located on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is CBS's main East Coast of the United States, East Coast production hub, similar to Radford Studio Cen ...

in New York City and did not travel to the Final Four site. CBS cited budget cutbacks ordered by the parent company,

CBS Corporation CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...

. This would be Billy Packer's 35th and final tournament as a broadcaster, ending a streak that began in 1975; in July 2008, it was announced that Kellogg would replace Packer as Nantz's color man in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. Several affiliates showed additional games on digital subchannels, and once, the Los Angeles area had simultaneous telecasts on two stations: On March 20, UCLA vs. Mississippi Valley State was shown on KCBS and Cal State Fullerton vs. Wisconsin was on

independent station An independent station is a broadcast station, usually a television station, not affiliated with a larger broadcast television network, network. As such, it only broadcasts broadcast syndication, syndicated programs it has purchased; brokered pr ...

KDOC at the same time. (KCBS has a duopoly with

KCAL KCAL may refer to: * KCAL (AM), a radio station (1410 AM) licensed to Redlands, California, United States * KCAL-FM, a radio station (96.7 FM) licensed to Redlands, California, United States *KCAL-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent tel ...

, but KCAL was unavailable because of a third basketball game, one between the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

CBS College Sports Network

Sibling cable network CBS College Sports Network (now known as

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

) picked up one CBS TV broadcast on each of the first two days of the tournament. It aired the Stanford-Cornell contest from Anaheim on March 20, and the St. Joseph's-Oklahoma game on March 21. Unlike CBS Sports on the broadcast side, CBS College Sports Network did send a team to San Antonio, with Blackburn anchoring coverage and hosting the postgame highlights show, called the ''NCAA March Madness Highlights Show''. Earlier,

Greg Amsinger Greg Amsinger is an American sportscaster and currently a studio host for MLB Network. Personal life Amsinger was born on May 24, 1979, in St. Louis, Missouri. He has five brothers and one sister. Amsinger and his wife have two children and the ...

had hosted the postgame program from the network's studios at

Chelsea Piers Chelsea Piers is a series of piers in Chelsea, on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located to the west of the West Side Highway ( Eleventh Avenue) and Hudson River Park and to the east of the Hudson River, they were originally ...

lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

. Analysts included

Steve Lappas Stephan Thomas Lappas (born March 18, 1954) is an American former college basketball coach. He coached at Manhattan (1988–1992), Villanova (1992–2001) and UMass (2001–2005), compiling a 280–237 (.542) record over a 17-year coaching ca ...

Greg Anthony Gregory Carlton Anthony (born November 15, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst for NBA TV and Turner Sports. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Anthony also co ...

, and Jay Williams.

Radio

Radio broadcasts were once again being handled again by CBS subsidiary

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

, hosted by

Tommy Tighe Tommy Tighe is a sports radio broadcaster who previously worked for the Westwood One radio network. He had been employed by the network since CBS radio days, hired in 1987 as a reporter and a commentator. He currently does work for ESPN Radio as a ...

Opening-round game

Bill Rosinski Bill Rosinski is an American sportscaster and talk show host, operating primarily out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Rosinski currently works for ESPN Radio as its lead college football and college basketball commentator, as well as for ISP Sport ...

and

– at Dayton, Ohio

First/second round

Dave Sims David Sims (born February 14, 1953) is an American sportscaster. He is the radio play-by-play commentator for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was previously the television play-by play commentator for MLB's Seattle Marine ...

and Bill Frieder – at Anaheim, California *Ted Robinson (sportscaster), Ted Robinson and Mike Montgomery (basketball), Mike Montgomery – at Denver, Colorado *Kevin Kugler and Reid Gettys – at Omaha, Nebraska *Mark Champion and Glenn Consor – at Washington, D.C. *Joey Wahler and Pete Gillen – at Birmingham, Alabama *Spencer Ross and Kyle Macy – at Little Rock, Arkansas *Brad Sham and John Thompson (basketball), John Thompson – at Raleigh, North Carolina *Wayne Larrivee and Kevin Grevey – at Tampa, Florida

Regionals

and Bill Frieder – East Regional at Charlotte, North Carolina *Wayne Larrivee and John Thompson (basketball), John Thompson – Midwest Regional at Detroit, Michigan *Brad Sham and Reid Gettys – South Regional at Houston, Texas *Kevin Kugler and Pete Gillen – West Regional at Phoenix, Arizona

Final Four

*Kevin Kugler, John Thompson and

– at San Antonio, Texas Kugler called his first Final Four replacing Harlan, with Raftery and Thompson on color commentary and Jim Gray (sportscaster), Jim Gray as sideline reporter.

Other media

DirecTV once again offered NCAA Mega March Madness as a pay-per-view package for one payment of US$69. This allowed access to all tournament games in the first three rounds of the main draw not shown on the local CBS station in the viewer's area. This package was exclusive to DirecTV and not available to Dish Network, FiOS, fiber optic, or cable television, cable subscribers. Online, CBSSports.com and NCAA.com teamed up for NCAA March Madness on Demand. Computer users with broadband connections were able to watch all tournament games from the first round to the championship game for free, thanks to advertiser support from Coca-Cola, AT&T Mobility, Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac, and various other companies. The ads were not the same as those shown on television, and there was a separate halftime show hosted by Jason Horowitz joined by analysts including St. John's Red Storm, St. John's head basketball coach Norm Roberts.

References

{{2008 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball navbox 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Tournament 2008 in sports in Texas, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament March 2008 sports events in the United States, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament April 2008 sports events in the United States, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament College basketball tournaments in Texas, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Basketball competitions in San Antonio

Tournament procedure

Schedule and venues

Qualifying teams

Automatic bids

Listed by region and seeding

Bracket

Opening Round game – Dayton, Ohio

East Regional – Charlotte, North Carolina

Midwest Regional – Detroit, Michigan

South Regional – Houston, Texas

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Game summaries

East Region

First round

Second round

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Midwest Region

First round

Second round

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Regional final (Elite Eight)

South Region

First round

Second round

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Regional final (Elite Eight)

West Region

First round

Second round

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Final Four

Memphis vs. UCLA

Kansas vs. North Carolina

National Championship Game

Record by conference

Media

Television

CBS Sports

CBS College Sports Network

Radio

Opening-round game

First/second round

Regionals

Final Four

Other media

See also

References