2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

2008 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

File:2008FinalFour.png 2008 Final Four logo
Season	2007–08
Teams	65
Finals site	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
Runner-up	Memphis (2nd title game)
Semifinalists	North Carolina (17th Final Four) UCLA (18th Final Four)
Winning coach	Bill Self (1st title)
MOP	Mario Chalmers (Kansas)
Top scorer	Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis) (140 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2007 2009»

The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2008, and concluded as the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Memphis Tigers 75-68 in overtime on April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The host institution was the University of Texas at San Antonio. For the first time in tournament history since seeding began, the top seeded team from each of the four regionals made it to the final four: Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, and UCLA.

American University, Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), Texas-Arlington, and Portland State all entered the tournament for the first time in their school's history. Another school, Coppin St. became the first 20-loss school ever to enter the tournament by winning the MEAC Tournament. The first round of the tournament featured some unprecedented upsets, with four upsets in all four games played in Tampa. The cinderella team of the tournament was tenth-seeded Davidson, who advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Kansas 59-57.

Tournament procedure

The U.S. Airways Center held the West Regional semifinals and finals on March 27th and 29th, respectively.

Ford Field held the Midwest Regional semifinals and finals on March 28th and 30th, respectively.

The Alamodome, location of the Final Four on April 5th

Further information: NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship § Tournament format

The NCAA Men's Division I 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. The first and second round games were played at the following sites, which were not restricted to any one particular Tournament Region, because of the "pod system":

March 20 and 22

Honda Center, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference)

Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado (Hosts: Colorado State University and Mountain West Conference)

Qwest Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska (Hosts: Creighton University and Missouri Valley Conference)

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University)

March 21 and 23

BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)

Alltel Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas (Host: University of Arkansas at Little Rock)

RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)

St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas, a practice that resumed in 2007. Between 2004 and 2006, the regionals were named for their host cities. The following arenas/stadia and cities were the sites for the 2008 regionals:

March 27 and 29

East Regional, Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

West Regional, US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University)

March 28 and 30

Midwest Regional, Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan (Host: University of Detroit Mercy)

South Regional, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas (Hosts: University of Houston and Rice University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four.

April 5 and 7

Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

Qualifying teams

Further information: 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament: Qualifying Teams

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. Three other teams returned after absences from the NCAA Tournament of 20 years or more—Drake (last appearing in 1971), Cal State Fullerton (1978) and Cornell (1988).

East Regional - Charlotte Seed School Conference Record Berth Type 1 North Carolina ACC 32-2 Tournament Champion 2 Tennessee SEC 29-4 At-Large Bid 3 Louisville Big East 24-8 At-Large Bid 4 Washington State Pac-10 24-8 At-Large Bid 5 Notre Dame Big East 24-7 At-Large Bid 6 Oklahoma Big 12 22-11 At-Large Bid 7 Butler Horizon 29-3 Tournament Champion 8 Indiana Big Ten 25-7 At-Large Bid 9 Arkansas SEC 22-11 At-Large Bid 10 South Alabama Sun Belt 26-6 At-Large Bid 11 Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 21-12 At-Large Bid 12 George Mason CAA 23-10 Tournament Champion 13 Winthrop Big South 22-11 Tournament Champion 14 Boise State WAC 25-8 Tournament Champion 15 American Patriot 21-11 Tournament Champion 16A Mount St. Mary's (Play-in Winner) Northeast 18-14 Tournament Champion 16B Coppin State (Play-in Loser) MEAC 16-20 Tournament Champion

West Regional - Phoenix Seed School Conference Record Berth Type 1 UCLA Pac-10 31-3 Tournament Champion 2 Duke ACC 27-5 At-Large Bid 3 Xavier Atlantic 10 27-6 At-Large Bid 4 Connecticut Big East 24-8 At-Large Bid 5 Drake Missouri Valley 28-4 Tournament Champion 6 Purdue Big Ten 24-8 At-Large Bid 7 West Virginia Big East 24-10 At-Large Bid 8 Brigham Young Mountain West 27-7 At-Large Bid 9 Texas A&M Big 12 24-10 At-Large Bid 10 Arizona Pac-10 19-14 At-Large Bid 11 Baylor Big 12 21-10 At-Large Bid 12 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 27-6 Tournament Champion 13 San Diego WCC 21-13 Tournament Champion 14 Georgia SEC 17-16 Tournament Champion 15 Belmont Atlantic Sun 25-8 Tournament Champion 16 Mississippi Valley State SWAC 17-15 Tournament Champion

Midwest Regional - Detroit Seed School Conference Record Berth Type 1 Kansas Big 12 31-3 Tournament Champion 2 Georgetown Big East 27-5 At-Large Bid 3 Wisconsin Big Ten 29-4 Tournament Champion 4 Vanderbilt SEC 26-7 At-Large Bid 5 Clemson ACC 24-9 At-Large Bid 6 Southern California Pac-10 21-11 At-Large Bid 7 Gonzaga WCC 25-7 At-Large Bid 8 UNLV Mountain West 26-7 Tournament Champion 9 Kent State Mid-American 28-6 Tournament Champion 10 Davidson SoCon 26-6 Tournament Champion 11 Kansas State Big 12 20-11 At-Large Bid 12 Villanova Big East 20-12 At-Large Bid 13 Siena MAAC 22-10 Tournament Champion 14 Cal State Fullerton Big West 24-8 Tournament Champion 15 UMBC America East 24-8 Tournament Champion 16 Portland State Big Sky 23-9 Tournament Champion

South Regional - Houston Seed School Conference Record Berth Type 1 Memphis C-USA 33-1 Tournament Champion 2 Texas Big 12 28-6 At-Large Bid 3 Stanford Pac-10 26-7 At-Large Bid 4 Pittsburgh Big East 26-9 Tournament Champion 5 Michigan State Big Ten 25-8 At-Large Bid 6 Marquette Big East 24-9 At-Large Bid 7 Miami (Fla.) ACC 22-10 At-Large Bid 8 Mississippi State SEC 22-10 At-Large Bid 9 Oregon Pac-10 18-13 At-Large Bid 10 Saint Mary's (Cal.) WCC 25-6 At-Large Bid 11 Kentucky SEC 18-12 At-Large Bid 12 Temple Atlantic 10 21-12 Tournament Champion 13 Oral Roberts Summit 24-8 Tournament Champion 14 Cornell Ivy 22-5 Regular Season Champion 15 Austin Peay Ohio Valley 24-10 Tournament Champion 16 Texas-Arlington Southland 21-11 Tournament Champion

Brackets

* - Denotes overtime period

Opening Round Game – Dayton, Ohio

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

	Opening Round Game March 18
	16a	Mount St. Mary's	69
	16b	Coppin St.	60

East Regional – Charlotte, North Carolina

	First round March 20-21					Second round March 22-23					Regional semifinals March 27					Regional finals March 29
	1	North Carolina	113
	16	Mount St. Mary's	74
						1	North Carolina	108
	Raleigh
						9	Arkansas	77
	8	Indiana	72
	9	Arkansas	86
											1	North Carolina	68
											4	Washington St.	47
	5	Notre Dame	68
	12	George Mason	50
						5	Notre Dame	41
	Denver
						4	Washington St.	61
	4	Washington St.	71
	13	Winthrop	40
																1	North Carolina	83
																3	Louisville	73
	6	Oklahoma	72
	11	St. Joseph's	64
						6	Oklahoma	48
	Birmingham
						3	Louisville	78
	3	Louisville	79
	14	Boise St.	61
											3	Louisville	79
											2	Tennessee	60
	7	Butler	81
	10	South Alabama	61
						7	Butler	71
	Birmingham
						2	Tennessee	76*
	2	Tennessee	72
	15	American	57

Midwest Regional – Detroit, Michigan

	First round March 20-21					Second round March 22-23					Regional semifinals March 28					Regional finals March 30
	1	Kansas	85
	16	Portland St.	61
						1	Kansas	75
	Omaha
						8	UNLV	56
	8	UNLV	71
	9	Kent St.	58
											1	Kansas	72
											12	Villanova	57
	5	Clemson	69
	12	Villanova	75
						12	Villanova	84
	Tampa
						13	Siena	72
	4	Vanderbilt	62
	13	Siena	83
																1	Kansas	59
																10	Davidson	57
	6	Southern California	67
	11	Kansas St.	80
						11	Kansas St.	55
	Omaha
						3	Wisconsin	72
	3	Wisconsin	71
	14	Cal St. Fullerton	56
											3	Wisconsin	56
											10	Davidson	73
	7	Gonzaga	76
	10	Davidson	82
						10	Davidson	74
	Raleigh
						2	Georgetown	70
	2	Georgetown	66
	15	UMBC	47

South Regional – Houston, Texas

	First round March 20-21					Second round March 22-23					Regional semifinals March 28					Regional finals March 30
	1	Memphis	87
	16	Texas-Arlington	63
						1	Memphis	77
	North Little Rock
						8	Mississippi St.	74
	8	Mississippi St.	76
	9	Oregon	69
											1	Memphis	92
											5	Michigan St.	74
	5	Michigan State	72
	12	Temple	61
						5	Michigan St.	65
	Denver
						4	Pittsburgh	54
	4	Pittsburgh	82
	13	Oral Roberts	63
																1	Memphis	85
																2	Texas	67
	6	Marquette	74
	11	Kentucky	66
						6	Marquette	81
	Anaheim
						3	Stanford	82*
	3	Stanford	77
	14	Cornell	53
											3	Stanford	62
											2	Texas	82
	7	Miami (Fla.)	78
	10	St. Mary's (Cal.)	64
						7	Miami (Fla.)	72
	North Little Rock
						2	Texas	75
	2	Texas	74
	15	Austin Peay	54

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

	First round March 20-21					Second round March 22-23					Regional semifinals March 27					Regional finals March 29
	1	UCLA	70
	16	Mississippi Val.	29
						1	UCLA	51
	Anaheim
						9	Texas A&M	49
	8	Brigham Young	62
	9	Texas A&M	67
											1	UCLA	88
											12	Western Kentucky	78
	5	Drake	99
	12	Western Kentucky	101*
						12	Western Kentucky	72
	Tampa
						13	San Diego	63
	4	Connecticut	69
	13	San Diego	70*
																1	UCLA	76
																3	Xavier	57
	6	Purdue	90
	11	Baylor	79
						6	Purdue	78
	Washington, DC
						3	Xavier	85
	3	Xavier	73
	14	Georgia	61
											3	Xavier	79*
											7	West Virginia	75
	7	West Virginia	75
	10	Arizona	65
						7	West Virginia	73
	Washington, DC
						2	Duke	67
	2	Duke	71
	15	Belmont	70

Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

	National Semifinals April 5					National Championship Game April 7
	E1	North Carolina	66
	M1	Kansas	84
						M1	Kansas	75*
						S1	Memphis	68
	S1	Memphis	78
	W1	UCLA	63

Bracket Source

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 and Ty Lawson'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 and were unable to stop Sonny Weems' career-high 31 points despite having two AP All-Americans D.J. White and Eric Gordon on their team.. 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 Birmingham, Alabama, 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 afterafternoon session at Birmingham, seventh seeded Butler defeated 10th seed Southern 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 Charlotte, North Carolina East Regional by handily beating fifth-seeded Notre Dame, 61-41 in Denver, Colorado. 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 in. 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 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 a 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 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)

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
LOU	32	41	73
UNC	44	39	83

In the East Regional finals in their home state, against third-seed Louisville, Tyler Hansbrough 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 a 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. Hanbrough was named the East Region's Tournament MVP.

Midwest Region

First round

The St. Pete Times Forum saw a record four upsets in four games in the tournament's 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 Omaha, Nebraska. The media had focused a lot of attention on the freshman stars of both teams, the Wildcats' Michael Beasley and the Trojans' O. J. Mayo. 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 Raleigh, North Carolina. Stephen Curry 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 Tampa, Florida. The Saints never trailed in the game 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, Western Kentucky, 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 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 at Madison defeated Kansas State, 72-55 to become the first school to advance to Detroit, Michigan 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%. On the following afternoon, the 12th-seeded Villanova Wildcats defeated the 13th-seeded Siena Saints in a 12-seed versus 13-seed Cinderella match-up by a score of 84-72 and will face Kansas on one semifinal. This was Villanova's 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, and played Wisconsin in the other semifinal. Davidson won on the back of another tour-de-force performance in the second half by Stephen Curry. 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)

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
DAV	28	29	57
KU	30	29	59

Kansas completed the first all top-seeded Final Four in NCAA Tournament history as they defeated 10th 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 shot missed. It was head coach Bill Self's first regional final win. He had previously held the lackluster title "best coach never to make a Final Four". The Wildcat's 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.

South Region

First round

Top seed Memphis got a scare from Texas-Arlington, the region's 16th seed, but went on to win their opening round contest, 87-63, in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Memphis went on to meet Mississippi State, a 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, adding to the Owls' four straight tournament losses in four straight appearances, 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 10th seed Saint Mary's (California) 78-64, led by Jack McClinton 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 make the difference in overtime with a basket with 1.3 seconds left to beat Marquette 82-81 and advance to Houston, Texas. Stanford coach Trent Johnson 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. The Spartans will 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 of Memphis followed by a missed three on Mississippi's end gave the Tigers the win. Texas, the second seed, will play 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. 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' 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 a bit of an underdog, with many predicting them the top seed most likely to lose. Instead, the Tigers went into halftime with a 30-point lead. Derrick Rose lead his team with 27 points, and Chris Douglas-Roberts followed with 25, while Spartan star Drew Neitzel was held to just six.

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
TEX	28	39	67
MEM	39	46	85

Top seeded Memphis defeated the Texas Longhorns to earn the third pass into the Final Four for the first time in 23 years 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

Xavier coach Sean Miller during a practice before a tournament game

First round

In the West Region, with a pod in Tampa as well, Western Kentucky 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 Washington, DC, but a Gerald Henderson layup with 11.9 seconds left, together with a steal off the inbounds by DeMarcus 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 Anaheim, California, 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 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 10th-straight first-round win by defeating the 10th seeded Baylor 90-79. Brigham Young, a 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 10th 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 marks Duke's second consecutive loss before the Sweet Sixteen round. West Virginia's Sweet Sixteen opposition in Phoenix, Arizona 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. Texas A&M had one final shot to tie it, but Donald Sloan's drive to the basket was stopped by two UCLA players. The ensuing dunk by UCLA's Russell Westbrook was later waived off by officials as occurring after time had expired making the final score 51-49. The Bruins then played Western Kentucky, 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 6-and-a-half minutes remaining. Western Kentucky, 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 26 points, followed by Joe Alexander's 18 points and 10 rebounds. Xavier led by as much as much as 18 during the game, but trailed six late in OT, counting on Raymod's threes to give them the victory. Number one seed UCLA would play the Musketeers in the final, after outlasting 12th seeded Western Kentucky, 88-78. WKU came to within four late n 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 Westbrooks' 14 and 11. Trailing 41-20 at the half, WKU came out of the locker room determined to win, as evidenced by Big Red 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)

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
XAV	24	33	57
UCLA	33	43	76

UCLA was the first team to advance to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, the third straight year and the 18th time in school history they have done it, with a 76-57 victory over Xavier. Kevin Love led the Bruins with 19 points and ten rebounds, tied as high scorer with Darren Collison. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 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.

Memphis vs. UCLA

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
MEM	38	40	78
UCLA	35	28	63

Memphis became the first team ever to win 38 games in one season by defeating UCLA 78-63. 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 third 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 playoff.

KU fans celebrating in downtown Lawrence after KU's win over UNC

Kansas vs. North Carolina

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
KU	44	40	84
UNC	27	39	66

The second semifinal game could be divided up as if it were three different games. The Jayhawks took a 40-12 lead in the first 15 minutes. North Carolina narrowed the deficit to 17 at halftime 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 a 84-66 victory over the tournament's #1 overall seed. Brandon Rush led the Jayhawks with 25 points. Kansas's defense held the AP Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough, to 17 points and 9 rebounds. The Tar Heels were led by Wayne Ellington's 18 points.

National Championship Game

Teams	1st Half	2nd Half	OT	Final
KU	33	30	12	75
MEM	28	35	5	68

The National Championship Game pitted Memphis against Kansas. Coming into the game, neither team's current conference or coach had won a national basketball title. Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts had also been the leading scorer in the tournament, averaging 23.6 points in Memphis' five NCAA games. Memphis became the first team not from one of the six major conferences to advance to 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.

On the day of the game, Las Vegas casinos Las Vegas Hilton, Station Casinos, and the The Mirage predicted Memphis to win by a spread of 2 points.

After a back-and-forth first half, Kansas took a five-point lead into the locker room, the first second-half deficit that Memphis faced in the entire tournament. The lead was short-lived, however, as Memphis tied the score at 33 with 18:57 left in regulation. The two teams traded the lead, until Memphis used a 10-0 run to build a seven-point lead with 5:10 remaining.

Memphis built the lead to nine points with 2:12 remaining in regulation, but Kansas came back, strategically fouling Memphis to force free-throws.

Memphis missed four of its final five free throws in regulation, and Kansas guard Mario Chalmers hit a three-point basket with 2.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 63. A desperation, half-court shot by Robert Dozier missed, and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, Kansas pulled away, scoring the first six points of the extra session, en route to a 75-68 win, the first national championship for the program in 20 years.

This was only the 7th overtime National Championship Game in NCAA Division I tournament history. It also represented the first national title for a school representing the Big 12 Conference.

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Second Round	Sweet Sixteen	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship Game
Big East	8	11-8	0.579	7	3	1	-	-
Big 12	6	12-5	0.706	5	2	2	1	1
Pac-10	6	8-6	0.571	3	3	1	1	-
SEC	6	4-6	0.400	3	1	-	-	-
ACC	4	6-4	0.600	3	1	1	1	-
Big Ten	4	5-4	0.556	3	2	-	-	-
Atlantic 10	3	3-3	0.500	1	1	1	-	-
WCC	3	1-3	0.250	1	-	-	-	-
Sun Belt	2	2-2	0.500	1	1	-	-	-
Mountain West	2	1-2	0.333	1	-	-	-	-
C-USA	1	5-1	0.833	1	1	1	1	1
Southern	1	3-1	0.750	1	1	1	-	-
Horizon	1	1-1	0.500	1	-	-	-	-
MAAC	1	1-1	0.500	1	-	-	-	-
Northeast	1	1-1*	0.500	-	-	-	-	-

* Mount St. Mary's won the opening round game.

Sixteen conferences — America East Conference, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Ivy League, MAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southland, SWAC, Summit League and WAC — went 0-1.

Source:

Television and radio

Jim Nantz, CBS Sports TV Announcer for the 2008 Final Four along with Billy Packer

For the 27th consecutive year, CBS Sports 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 and Billy Packer called the Final Four. ESPN carried the 64th-seed Opening Round game between Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's on March 18th, with Brent Musburger, Steve Lavin and Erin Andrews serving as the announcing team, as the network has done the Opening Round game since 2002.

The list of CBS announcing teams were as follows:

• Jim Nantz and Billy Packer - 1st & 2nd rounds at Raleigh; South Region at Houston; Final Four
• Gus Johnson and Len Elmore - 1st & 2nd rounds at Denver; Midwest Region at Detroit
• Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas - 1st & 2nd rounds at Anaheim (Carter Blackburn doing play-by-play on the first two games); East Region at Charlotte
• Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery - 1st & 2nd rounds at Birmingham; West Region at Phoenix
• Tim Brando and Mike Gminski - 1st & 2nd rounds at Tampa
• Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel - 1st & 2nd rounds at Little Rock
• Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner - 1st & 2nd rounds at Omaha
• Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel - 1st & 2nd rounds at Washington, DC

Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. For the first time since the rights were acquired, the host team spent the entire tournament in their New York City studios, as the network cited cutbacks in budgets as a result. Sibling cable network CBS College Sports Network (formerly known as CSTV) 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. Following the end of the CBS broadcast, CBS-CSN broadcast a highlight show of each days' games. Greg Amsinger hosted with Steve Lappas as studio analyst.

Radio broadcasts were once again being handled again by CBS subsidiary Westwood One, hosted by Tommy Tighe.

• Bill Rosinski and Steve Lappas - Opening Round Game
• Mark Champion and Glenn Consor - 1st & 2nd rounds at Washington, DC
• Brad Sham and John Thompson - 1st & 2nd rounds at Raleigh
• Wayne Larrivee and Kevin Grevey - 1st & 2nd rounds at Tampa
• Joey Wahler and Pete Gillen - 1st & 2nd rounds at Birmingham
• Kevin Kugler and Reid Gettys - 1st & 2nd rounds at Omaha
• Spencer Ross and Kyle Macy - 1st & 2nd rounds at Little Rock
• Ted Robinson and Mike Montgomery - 1st & 2nd rounds at Denver
• Dave Sims and Bill Frieder - 1st & 2nd rounds at Anaheim

• Kevin Kugler and Pete Gillen - West Regionals at Phoenix
• Ian Eagle and Bill Frieder - East Regionals at Charlotte
• Brad Sham and Reid Gettys - South Regionals at Houston
• Wayne Larrivee and John Thompson - Midwest Regionals at Detroit

Kugler called his first Final Four replacing Harlan, with Raftery and Thompson on color commentary and Jim Gray as sideline reporter.

External links

• NCAA.com

See also

• 2007-08 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season
• 2008 National Invitation Tournament
• 2008 College Basketball Invitational
• 2008 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament