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The 2010
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 2009–10 basketball season. The 72nd annual edition of the tournament began on March 16, 2010, and concluded with the championship game on April 5, at
Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. The Final Four consisted of
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 ...
, making their first appearance since
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, who were making their second appearance and first since
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
,
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
, considered the host school and making their first ever appearance, and Michigan State, the national runner-up from
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 ...
appearing in the Final Four for the sixth time under head coach Tom Izzo. When Duke and Butler played each other in the tournament final, it was the first title game between private universities in 25 years ( Villanova and Georgetown met in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
), and the fifth such match-up in history (
1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
,
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
, and 1955 having been the other years). Duke defeated Butler 61–59 in the championship game as Gordon Hayward's last second desperation shot clanged off the rim. It was Duke's first national championship since
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
and fourth overall. Entering the tournament, the top four seeds were
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 ...
, Duke,
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 Syracuse. Kansas entered the Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed but was defeated in the opening weekend by Northern Iowa, the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region. Northern Iowa was one of four teams seeded lower than No. 8 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, joining the East Region's No. 11 seed Washington, No. 12 seed Cornell and the South Region's No. 10 seed Saint Mary's. For the first time since
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, a No. 14 seed advanced out of the first round as
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
defeated Georgetown. The No. 13 seed in the West Region, Murray State, defeated No. 4-seeded Vanderbilt, marking the second consecutive appearance for the Commodores where they lost as a No. 4 seed. Murray State very nearly upset Butler in their next game, losing by two points. One of the more exciting games of the tournament was played at the West Regional in
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 ...
, as No. 6 Xavier took No. 2 Kansas State to two overtimes before falling 101–96. Jordan Crawford hit a three-pointer with seconds remaining in the first overtime period to force a second.


Tournament procedure

A total of 65 teams were selected for the tournament. Thirty one of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their
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 ...
tournaments. The automatic bid of the
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 ...
, which at the time did not conduct a postseason tournament, went to Cornell, its regular season champion. The remaining 34 teams were granted at-large bids, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. Two teams played an opening-round game, popularly called the
play-in game A play-in game ...
; the winner of that game advanced to the main draw of the tournament and played a top seed in one of the regionals. The 2010 game was played on March 16 at
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 ...
in
Dayton 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 ...
, Ohio, as it has been since its inception in
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
. All 64 teams were seeded 1 to 16 within their regions; the winner of the play-in game automatically received a 16 seed. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65.
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 ...
athletic director Dan Guerrero took over as chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. Defending champion
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 ...
did not qualify for the Tournament, while two schools made their first post-season appearance:
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
champion Wofford and SWAC champion Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
champion
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 ...
made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years.


Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2010 tournament: Opening Round *March 16 **
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 18 and 20 ** Dunkin' Donuts Center,
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
(Hosts:
Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...
,
Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
) ** New Orleans Arena,
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
(Host:
Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...
) ** Ford Center,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
(Host:
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 ...
) ** HP Pavilion at San Jose,
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
(Host: San José State University) *March 19 and 21 ** HSBC Arena,
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
(Hosts:
Canisius College Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...
,
Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...
,
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...
) ** Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena,
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
(Host: Jacksonville University) ** Bradley Center,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
(Host:
Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...
) ** Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena,
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
(Host:
Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
) Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *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 ...
) **West Regional,
EnergySolutions Arena The Delta Center is an indoor venue in Salt Lake City. Opened in 1991, the arena is the home of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). The arena has a seating capacity ...
,
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...
(Host:
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
) *March 26 and 28 **Midwest Regional, Edward Jones Dome,
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
(Host:
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 ...
) **South Regional, Reliant Stadium,
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 3 and 5 **
Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...
,
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
(Hosts:
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
,
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 ...
) Indianapolis hosted the Final Four for the 6th time, having previously hosted in
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, and was also the first to be held at the stadium; the RCA Dome and Market Square Arena hosted past Final Fours when the event was held in Indianapolis.


Qualifying teams


Automatic bids

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2010 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


Bracket

Results to date All times in U.S. EDT.


Opening Round Game – Dayton, Ohio

Winner advanced as 16th seed in South Regional vs. (1)
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 ...
.


Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri


West Regional – Salt Lake City, Utah


East Regional – Syracuse, New York


South Regional – Houston, Texas


Final Four - Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana


Game summaries


Midwest Region


First round

The biggest upset of the first day came in Providence, Rhode Island, where 14th-seeded
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
defeated third-seeded Georgetown in convincing fashion, 97–83, for their first Tournament win since
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
, when they ousted Illinois State in the first round of that Tournament. Armon Bassett scored 32 points for the Bobcats, who shot 57 percent from the field and made 13 of 23 3-pointers. They advanced to face
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, the sixth seed in the region. The Volunteers held off 11th seed
San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...
, 62–59, on head coach Bruce Pearl's 50th birthday. J. P. Prince and Melvin Goins scored 15 points each for Tennessee. In
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
,
Ali Farokhmanesh Ali Fredrick Farokhmanesh (, born April 16, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Colorado State Rams men's basketball team. Early life Farokhmanesh was born in Ogden, Utah to Mashallah Farokh ...
drilled a three-pointer with 4.9 seconds remaining to lift ninth-seeded Northern Iowa over
UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...
. It was the Panthers first Tournament win since
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
. UNI advanced to face top-seeded
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 top seed withheld an effort by Lehigh, trailing the 16th seed early in the game and leading by just six at halftime before pulling away midway in the second half for a 90–74 win. On the second day of play, 10th-seeded
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
failed to make a single field goal in the final 8:19 of play, but sank 13 free throws to hold off No. 7
Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
, 64–59, in
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
. Gani Lawal led Georgia Tech with 14 points. The Yellow Jackets advanced to play Ohio State, who defeated
UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...
68–51. Buckeye star Evan Turner struggled from the field, shooting 2–13 and scoring nine points, and the Gauchos put up a fight playing from behind most of the game. Rounding out the Midwest bracket were
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and Michigan State in
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
, Washington. The Terrapins beat
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 ...
89–77 behind a career-high 21 points and 17 rebounds from freshman Jordan Williams, while the Spartans edged
New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...
, 70–67. The end of the game included a controversial lane violation call on Aggies player Troy Gillenwater with 18.6 seconds left that allowed MSU to reshoot a missed free throw and extend its lead to 3.


Second round

Northern Iowa stunned the nation by knocking off top overall seed Kansas, 69–67. Leading by just one in the final minute of play, Ali Farokhmanesh clinched the victory for the second time in as many games with a three-point basket that
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 ...
's
Pat Forde Pat Forde is a sports journalist who is a national columnist for ''Sports Illustrated''. He previously worked for ESPN, ''The Courier-Journal'' in Louisville, Kentucky, and '' Yahoo Sports''. Personal life and education Forde is a native of C ...
called "the greatest early-round shot in NCAA tournament history." The win was significant for several reasons: it marked the Panthers' first trip ever to the Sweet Sixteen, and was the first time in six years a No. 1 seed was eliminated in the round of 32. It was also the first time since 1962 that a team from the
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 ...
had defeated a top seed in the Tournament. Meanwhile, Michigan State lost guard Kalin Lucas to a leg injury late in the first half of its game with Maryland. Michigan State extended its halftime lead of NINE to 16 in the second half before falling behind by one late after succumbing to Maryland's relentless pressure defense and some spectacular plays by Greivis Vásquez. But Korie Lucious kept MSU from losing the game, hitting a 3-pointer as time ran out to lift his team past the Terrapins, 85–83. Lucas' injury proved to be a torn
Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...
, putting the junior out of action for up to six months. For the third time in four years, Tennessee made it to the regional semifinals with their 83–68 win over Ohio. J. P. Prince scored 18 points for the Volunteers, while Scotty Hopson added 17. In Milwaukee, Ohio State's Evan Turner bounced back from his off-night in the first round, nearly recording a triple-double (24 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists) as the Buckeyes downed Georgia Tech 75–66.


Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)


Regional final (Elite Eight)

Michigan State's Durrell Summers, after scoring 80 points on 54 field goal attempts, was named the region's Most Outstanding Player.


West Region


First round

For the second time in three years, the Vanderbilt Commodores were victims of the upset, losing to Murray State on a Danero Thomas shot with time expiring, 66–65, in San Jose, California. Like 2008, when they lost to
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 ...
, Vandy was seeded fourth against the Racers. Murray State advanced to face fifth-seeded
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
, who defeated UTEP, 77–59, after trailing 33–27 at the half. Shelvin Mack led the Bulldogs with 25 points. Meanwhile, the Florida Gators rallied from a 13-point deficit in Oklahoma City to send their game with BYU to two overtimes. But Florida player Chandler Parsons missed chances to win the game at the end of regulation and the first overtime, and BYU's Jimmer Fredette sealed the 99–92 win with a pair of threes in the second overtime. Fredette finished with 37 points, the eighth time that year he'd scored over 30. BYU advanced to play Kansas State, who had little trouble with the North Texas Mean Green, winning 82–62. Five years after
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
upset Syracuse, the two teams met again in the Big Dance, this time in Buffalo, New York. Unlike the 2005 game, however, Syracuse was able to shut down the Catamounts, winning 79–56. Five players scored in double digits for the Orange. They advanced to play Gonzaga. The Bulldogs had an 18-point led against
Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
, but the Seminoles cut it to five with 2:21 remaining. The Zags survived FSU's comeback, however, by making 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal a 67–60 win. The last two slots in the West went to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and Xavier. It was a close game between Pittsburgh and
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
in Milwaukee until Grizzlies forward Derick Nelson received an elbow from Gary McGhee of the Panthers, opening a cut over his left eye that began spurting blood. Immediately after Nelson's departure, Pitt went on a 19–2 run. The Panthers held Oakland to 33 percent in their 89–66 victory. As for Xavier, they beat
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, 65–54. Jordan Crawford, the Xavier player who made national headlines the previous summer when he dunked on
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...
during a training camp held by the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
superstar, scored 28 points for the Musketeers, 17 of those came in the second half.


Second round

Murray State had another chance at an upset against Butler, but a 3-point play by Bulldog Ronald Nored dashed those hopes, along with Gordon Hayward deflecting a Racers pass. Butler won 54–52. The Bulldogs' next opponent, top-seeded Syracuse, rolled over Gonzaga, 87–65, with Wes Johnson scoring a career best 31 points and pulling 14 rebounds. 2 seed Kansas State fell behind to BYU early, trailing 10–0 to start the game. But the Wildcats would pull ahead with 4:21 to go in the first half and never relinquished the lead after that, advancing to the next round with an 84–72 win. K-State's Jacob Pullen had a career-high 34 points. And third-seeded Pitt was eliminated by Xavier, 71–68. Jordan Crawford had 27 points for the Musketeers.


Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

In what Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com called "one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16", Kansas State downed Xavier, 101–96, in double overtime in
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 ...
. The Musketeers' Terrell Holloway made three free throws with 5 seconds remaining in regulation to pull Xavier even with the Wildcats. Down 3 again with the first overtime winding down, Jordan Crawford nailed a 35-foot shot to extend the game further. Jacob Pullen then hit a pair of threes in the second overtime to push K-State over the top. Syracuse became the second number-one seed to fall, as Butler claimed its first-ever trip to the Elite Eight. The 63–59 win brought the Bulldogs within one win of playing the Final Four in their home city. Trailing by four with 5:23 left, Butler held the Orange scoreless for nearly five minutes, while scoring 11 points of their own, including a 3-point shot by Willie Veasley that bounced high off the rim before hitting the backboard and eventually falling through the net. The win marked Butler's 23rd in a row.


Regional final (Elite Eight)

The West All-Regional team was made of regional MVP Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack of Butler, Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen of Kansas State, and Jordan Crawford of Xavier.


East Region


First round

In
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, Ishmael Smith scored a 17-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left in overtime as Wake Forest defeated
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, 81–80. The Longhorns, who had been ranked number one as recently as January, but fell to an 8 seed in the tournament, twice trailed by double digits before rallying, then held an eight-point lead before falling. Wake Forest advanced to face top-seeded Kentucky, who breezed past East Tennessee State, 100–71. A basket by Quincy Pondexter with 1.7 seconds remaining helped the
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...
past Marquette, 80–78, in San Jose. Washington had trailed by 15 with over 13 minutes to go in the second half. The Huskies advanced to face
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, who beat the
Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula, Montana, Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fieldin ...
, 62–57. Roman Martinez scored 19 points for the Lobos, while
Darington Hobson Darington O'Neal Hobson (born September 29, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for Botafogo of the Novo Basquete Brasil. He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hobson attended five h ...
had 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists despite playing with a sprained left wrist.
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 ...
champion Cornell joined the parade of double-digit seeds advancing to the second round with a dominating performance over
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
, 78–65, in
Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, Florida. Louis Dale, Ryan Wittman and Jeff Foote, all seniors for the Big Red, scored 21, 20 and 16 points respectively, and Cornell shot 56 percent from the field overall, making 8 of their first 10 shots and shooting 68 percent in the first half. It was the first tournament win in Big Red history. The
Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...
, who Cornell drew next, managed to avoid getting upset itself, beating Wofford in a low-scoring affair, 53–49. A pair of free throws from Jon Leuer with 4.2 seconds on the clock sealed the win for Badgers. Leuer had 20 points on the day. One year after reaching the Elite Eight, 10th-seeded
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
knocked off No. 7 Clemson, 86–78, in Buffalo. The Missouri Tigers' defense forced 20 turnovers and stole the ball 15 times in the win, while Kim English and Keith Ramsey had 20 points each offensively. Mizzou advanced to play
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, who started its opening round game trailing Morgan State, 12–3. But the 2 seed hit 8 of its next 11 shots to take the lead for good en route to a 77–50 win.


Second round

Washington looked nothing like the No. 11 seed in the East, dismantling third-seeded New Mexico, 82–64. With 18 points from Quincy Pondexter and 15 from Isaiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning each, the Huskies played their uptempo style to a 12-point lead at halftime that grew to 23 midway through the second half. Washington made the Sweet 16 for the third time since 2005. West Virginia reached the Sweet 16 after beating Missouri, 68–59. Da'Sean Butler had 28 points for the Mountaineers, while the Tigers were plagued by poor shooting from the field and at the line. It was another blowout for the Kentucky Wildcats as they beat Wake Forest, 90–60. Four players scored in double figures for UK as they built an early cushion, then padded it to 31 points by the second half. The Wildcats became the next hurdle in Cornell's Cinderella season, which continued with an 87–69 pasting of No. 4 Wisconsin. Thanks to 26 points from Louis Dale, another 24 from Ryan Wittman, and a 61 percent shooting effort overall—the highest percentage ever allowed by the Badgers in Bo Ryan's nine-year tenure in Madison—the Big Red became the first team from the Ivy League to reach the round of 16 in more than 30 years.


Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

The clock struck midnight for 12 seed Cornell and 11 seed Washington. Kentucky put an end to the Big Red's Cinderella run with a 62–45 win in Syracuse, New York. The game started promising for Cornell, as they took a 10–2 lead to the delight of the partisan-Big Red crowd. But a talented Wildcats squad spoiled the party after that with 16 points from DeMarcus Cousins, 12 rebounds from Patrick Patterson and 8 assists from John Wall. West Virginia's 69–56 defeat of the Huskies set up the only 1 vs. 2 regional final in the tournament. The Mountaineers' Da'Sean Butler led all scorers with 18 points, as West Virginia recorded its 30th win, the most in school history.


Regional final (Elite Eight)


South Region


First round

Second-seeded Villanova survived a scare in Providence, needing overtime to beat Robert Morris, 73–70. Scottie Reynolds was kept from the starting lineup for undisclosed reasons (Coach Jay Wright said he wanted to make a "teaching point"), and even though he scored 20 points, he only made 2 of 15 shots from the field. Mezie Nwigwe had a chance to send the game to a second overtime for the Colonials, but missed a 3-pointer as time ran out. Villanova plays Saint Mary's of California in the second round. The Gaels beat Richmond, 80–71, advancing for the first time in over 50 years. Contributing to the
Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
's woes on day one of the tournament was Notre Dame's 51–50 loss to Old Dominion in New Orleans. The Fighting Irish opened the second half with a 30–22 lead before the Monarchs went on a 9–0 run to take the lead. The game remained close until the end, when Notre Dame's Carleton Scott attempted a 3-point basket that ended up rattling around the rim before falling out. A putback from Luke Harangody at the buzzer was not enough for the Irish. Old Dominion advanced to face Baylor in the round of 32. In a close game with Sam Houston State, the Bears used an 8–0 run in the final minutes to take the 68–59 victory. Arkansas-Pine Bluff won the play-in game on March 16, 2010, by beating Winthrop, 61–44. But they proved to be no match for the No. 1-seed
Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...
, who blew the Golden Lions out, 73–44, in Jacksonville. Kyle Singler had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Duke, who led 39–20 at the break. Duke advanced to face
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in the second round. The Golden Bears rode a rollercoaster with
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 ...
, leading the Cardinals by 18 before having their lead cut to 6, then pulling back out to a 14-point advantage before Louisville brought it back to within 4. But Cal ended the game with a 15–4 run to win, 77–62. Finally, in Spokane, the fourth-seeded
Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...
had a go of it with upset specialist
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 ...
, trailing the Saints 32–29 at halftime before racing to a 14-point lead to open the second half. Siena would pull within 3 with just over a minute remaining, but Purdue held on for the 72–64 win, spoiling the predictions of some fans and even President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
that Siena would make the Boilers their latest victim. They advanced to play
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
, who defeated Utah State, 69–53, behind 19 points from freshman Khris Middleton.


Second round

After barely beating Robert Morris in the first round, Villanova could not withstand the Gael storm from St. Mary's. Omar Samhan scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the No. 10 seed took down Nova, 75–68. Afterwards, Samhan called the game his "best win ever." Wildcat Scottie Reynolds remained in his funk to end the season, netting just 8 points. Trailing by as many as 14 in the first half and 38–28 at halftime, Old Dominion went on a 9–0 run against Baylor at the start of the second half, then took the lead, 49–47, on free throws from Kent Bazemore. But Baylor would close the door on the upset bid with an 8–1 run to end the game, winning 76–68. The Bears' LaceDarius Dunn led all scorers with 26 points, while 7-foot center Josh Lomers had eight rebounds to go with his career high 14 points. Chris Kramer's layup with 4.2 seconds left in overtime gave Purdue a 63–61 win over Texas A&M. Kramer finished with 17 points as the Boilermakers came back from a 7-point deficit at halftime. They advanced to face Duke in the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils beat California, 68–53, behind 20 points from Nolan Smith, 17 points from Kyle Singler and 14 points and 13 rebounds from Brian Zoubek. This was the 19th time under head coach
Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...
Duke reached the round of 16.


Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)


Regional final (Elite Eight)

Duke defeated Baylor 78–71, in front of a practically home crowd for Baylor in Houston, Texas.
Nolan Smith Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player and assistant coach for Memphis Tigers men's basketball, Memphis. He played college basketball for Duke before being drafted 21st overall by the Portlan ...
was named game MVP with 29 points, while Lance Thomas also had a career high 8 offensive rebounds.


Final four

On April 3, 2010, Butler Bulldogs, playing in their hometown, faced off against the
Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...
. In a tough, physical game, the Bulldogs, despite going more than 11 minutes without a field goal, were able to hang on after forcing Michigan State into 16 turnovers and holding the Spartans to zero fast-break points. The Bulldogs also out-rebounded Michigan State on the offensive glass, 11 to 8. With the victory,
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
became the fourth team in NCAA tournament history to hold its first five opponents under 60 points. On April 3, 2010,
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 ...
, the #1 seed from the South and West Virginia Mountaineers, the #2 seed from the East, squared off in the second of the Final Four games. Duke showed its full potential in the game, hitting 52.7 percent of its shots (and 52 percent of its three-pointers) while shredding West Virginia's 1-3-1 zone trap. Duke led 39–31 at the half and maintained its red-hot shooting in the second half. The highlight of the game came when Nolan Smith missed a contested, fast-break layup, but Kyle Singler and Miles Plumlee combined to slam home the rebound to give Duke a 14-point lead. Plumlee was credited with the dunk. Kyle Singler scored 21 points for the Blue Devils and Nolan Smith added 19 points and six assists. With the victory,
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 ...
advanced to its 10th NCAA Championship game.


National championship

On April 5, 2010,
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
and
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 ...
faced off in what ''The New York Times'' called "the most eagerly awaited championship game in years". Butler became the first team to play in the championship game in its home city since UCLA in 1968. Duke jumped out to a quick 6–1 lead to start the game, but Butler rallied back, taking a 12–11 lead at the 12:28 mark of the first half. At the under eight-minute TV timeout, Butler held a 20–18 lead. After the timeout, Duke went on an 8–0 run to take a 26–20 lead. Butler coach Brad Stevens then called a timeout. With starters Matt Howard and Ronald Nored on the bench in foul trouble, backup center Avery Jukes came up big for Butler. Jukes hit two three-pointers and a made tip-in en route to 10 first half points, tying his single-game season high. At half time, Duke's lead stood at 33–32. The second half was played very closely, with neither team taking a lead larger than two points until a Brian Zoubek layup put Duke up 47–43 with 12:27 remaining. Butler stayed close, keeping within 5 points the rest of the way. With 3:16 to play, Duke took a 60–55 lead on two made free throws by
Nolan Smith Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player and assistant coach for Memphis Tigers men's basketball, Memphis. He played college basketball for Duke before being drafted 21st overall by the Portlan ...
. Butler missed its next shot, but forced a missed shot and turned Duke over after an offensive rebound. Matt Howard made a layup for Butler to make it a 60–57 game with 1:44 remaining. Smith missed a layup for Duke and Howard got another layup after collecting an offensive rebound on a missed three-pointer by Shelvin Mack. Duke coach
Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...
then called a time out. Kyle Singler missed an open jump shot with 36 seconds remaining, giving Butler a chance to take the lead. Butler was unable to initiate their offense and Stevens called a timeout to set up a play. They were then forced to call their last timeout when they were unable to get the ball in-bounds. Gordon Hayward then missed a short fade-away jumper. Zoubek came down with the rebound, forcing Butler to foul with 3.6 seconds remaining. Zoubek made the first foul shot and then intentionally missed the second, knowing Butler had no timeouts remaining. Hayward was forced to throw up a desperation shot from half court. The ball bounced off the backboard and then the rim. According to analysis by ESPN, Hayward's aim was off by three inches, or less than one degree, on the x-axis. Because a made three-point shot would have resulted in a loss for Duke, some pundits criticized Krzyzewski for his decision to have Zoubek miss the second free throw intentionally. Other pundits, however, ran various analyses that indicated that it was statistically the correct call. The 61–59 victory earned Krzyzewski his fourth national championship crown, his second in ten years. The game was the most watched finale in more than 10 years, pulling in average of viewers in the United States. Kyle Singler earned Most Outstanding Player honors with 19 points and eight rebounds.


Record by conference

*The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, MAAC, MEAC, Northeast, Patriot, Southern, Southland,
Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
, and
Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the re ...
conferences went 0–1. ** Arkansas-Pine Bluff won the Opening Round game. The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, and CG respectively stand for the Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and championship Game. The number in each field represents an appearance in that round by a team from that conference.


Media


Television

For the 29th 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 ...
again televised a majority of the event, with the exception of the opening round game, which was televised by
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 ...
, and first-round games played in the late afternoon, which CBS College Sports Network aired so CBS affiliates could break for local and
network news News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or tele ...
. The championship game scored a Nielsen rating of 16.0. *Studio: Greg Gumbel,
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
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 ...
* Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson (as sideline reporter for the Final Four and NCAA Championship game) – First and Second Round at Jacksonville, Florida; South Regional at Houston, Texas; Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana * Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas – First and Second Round at New Orleans, Louisiana; East Regional at Syracuse, New York * Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery – First and Second Round at Providence, Rhode Island; Midwest Regional at St. Louis, Missouri * Gus Johnson and Len Elmore – First and Second Round at Buffalo, New York; West Regional at Salt Lake City, Utah; championship game on international broadcast *
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 – First and Second Round at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * Ian Eagle 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 and Second Round at Milwaukee, Wisconsin * Tim Brando 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 and Second Round at Spokane, Washington * Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel – First and Second Round at San Jose, California In addition to the main CBS affiliates, many stations opened
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
s for additional coverage. Also, on these four occasions, CBS opened the coverage to additional channels to settle conflicts: *On March 26, during the regional semifinals,
South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
, Indiana affiliate WSBT-TV aired the Purdue-Duke telecast, while its digital subchannel,
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 ...
SBT2, carried Michigan State vs. Northern Iowa. Part of the South Bend market (including the city of Benton Harbor) is located within the state of Michigan. *On March 25, also within the Sweet 16, the game between Xavier and Kansas State was seen on WKRC-TV and the game between Kentucky and Cornell was seen on WKRC-DT2, also known as "The CW Cincinnati", at the same time. Xavier is located in the city of Cincinnati, while much of the Cincinnati DMA is located within the state of Kentucky. The fan and alumni bases for the University of Kentucky are substantial in the Cincinnati area, and the Wildcats play occasional home games at U.S. Bank Arena. *On March 19, the first-round game between Clemson and Missouri was shown on WSPA-TV while the game between Wofford and Wisconsin was on WYCW at the same time. Both Clemson and Wofford are located in the upstate area of South Carolina. *On March 18, the first-round game between North Texas and Kansas State was seen on KTVT, while at the same time Baylor vs. Sam Houston State was shown on KTXA. UNT is in the Dallas/Fort Worth media market ( Denton, Texas); Waco, Texas, where Baylor is located, is in a separate DMA. However, some DFW stations are available via
cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...
in Waco, and it is believed that more alumni of BU live in the Metroplex than anywhere else. (For similar reasons, KTVT agreed to air the late-afternoon Texas A&M vs. Utah State game on 3/19 after earlier planning not to do so.) WSPA and WYCW are in a duopoly owned by Media General, and KTVT and KTXA are in a duopoly owned by
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 ...
.


Radio

Westwood One again broadcast the tournament.


Opening round game

* Dave Ryan and Dave Odom – at Dayton, Ohio


First and second rounds

* Bob Papa and John Thompson – First and Second Rounds at Providence, Rhode Island * Kevin Kugler and Will Perdue – First and Second Rounds at New Orleans, Louisiana * Brad Sham and Reid Gettys – First and Second Rounds at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * Ted Robinson and Bill Frieder – First and Second Rounds at San Jose, California * Mark Champion and Kyle Macy – First and Second Rounds at Buffalo, New York * Gary Cohen and Kevin Grevey – First and Second Rounds at Jacksonville, Florida * Wayne Larrivee and Pete Gillen – First and Second Rounds at Milwaukee, Wisconsin * Dave Sims and P. J. Carlesimo – First and Second Rounds at Spokane, Washington


Regionals

* Ian Eagle and P. J. Carlesimo – East Regional at Syracuse, New York *
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 John Thompson – Midwest Regional at St. Louis, Missouri *Kevin Kugler and Pete Gillen – South Regional at Houston, Texas *Ted Robinson and Bill Frieder – West Regional at Salt Lake City, Utah


Final four

*Kevin Kugler, John Thompson and Bill Raftery – at Indianapolis, Indiana John Tautges again served as host of the broadcasts.


Local radio


International broadcasters

Broadcasters used the CBS feed unless stated otherwise. *: Live/delayed on Basketball TV *: Live/delayed on ONE HD *: SUN TV in Toronto simulcast CBS broadcasts. The Score Television Network on cable combined CBS broadcasts with its own studio team and used the international feed for the championship game.


See also

* 2010 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament * 2010 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament * 2010 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament * 2010 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament * 2010 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament * 2010 National Invitation Tournament * 2010 Women's National Invitation Tournament * 2010 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament * 2010 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament * 2010 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament * 2010 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament * 2010 College Basketball Invitational * 2010 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament *
2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2009, and ended with the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 5, 2010, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The openin ...


References

{{2010 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball navbox
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 ...
2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season Basketball in Indianapolis
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 ...
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 ...
Basketball in Houston