2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
 | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
| File:2008FinalFour.png 2008 Final Four logo | |||||
| Season | 2007–08 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 65 | ||||
| Finals site | Alamodome San Antonio, Texas | ||||
| |||||
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involves 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 will conclude with the championship game on April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.[1] The host institution will be the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Tournament procedure
A total of 65 teams enter the tournament. Thirty of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The automatic bid of the Ivy League, which does not conduct a postseason tournament, goes to its regular-season champion, Cornell. The remaining 34 teams are granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Two teams will play an opening-round game, popularly called the "play-in game"; the winner of that game will advance to the main draw of the tournament and plays a top seed in one of the regionals. This game has been played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio since its inception in 2001, and was played between Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's on March 18. Mount St. Mary's won the game 69-60 and will face North Carolina in the first round of the tournament.
All 64 teams are seeded 1 to 16 within their regionals; the winner of the play-in game automatically receives a 16 seed. The Selection Committee has seeded the entire field from 1 to 65.
The first and second round games will be played at the following sites, which are not restricted to any one particular Tournament Region:[1]
- March 20 and March 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 March 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 areas, a practice which resumed in 2007. Between 2004 and 2006, the regionals were named for their host cities. The following are the sites for the 2008 regionals:[1]
- March 27 and March 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 March 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 will advance to the Final Four.
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, was announced on Sunday, March 16.[2] Coppin State is the first team to make the tournament with 20 losses.[3] UMBC, American, Texas-Arlington, and Portland State all received their first tournament bids in school history.[4][5][6][7] Three other teams returned after absences from the NCAA Tournament of 20 years or more—Drake (last appearing in 1971),[8] Cal State Fullerton (1978)[9] and Cornell (1988).[10]
Brackets
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 | Mt. St. Mary's | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Raleigh | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Arkansas | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Notre Dame | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | George Mason | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Notre Dame | ||||||||||||||||||
| Denver | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Washington St. | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Washington St. | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Winthrop | 40 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Oklahoma | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | St. Joseph's | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birmingham | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Louisville | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Boise St. | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Butler | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | South Alabama | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Butler | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birmingham | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tennessee | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | American | 57 | |||||||||||||||||
South Regional – Houston, Texas
| First round March 20-21 | Second round March 22-23 | Regional semifinals March 28 | Regional finals March 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Memphis | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Texas-Arlington | ||||||||||||||||||
| North Little Rock | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi St. | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi St. | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Oregon | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Michigan St. | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Temple | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Michigan St. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Denver | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Oral Roberts | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Marquette | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Kentucky | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Marquette | ||||||||||||||||||
| Anaheim | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Stanford | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Stanford | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Cornell | 53 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Miami (Fla.) | 78 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | St. Mary's (Cal.) | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Miami (Fla.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| North Little Rock | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Texas | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Austin Peay | 54 | |||||||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Omaha | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | UNLV | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | UNLV | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Kent St. | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Clemson | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Villanova | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tampa | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Siena | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Vanderbilt | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Siena | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | USC | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Kansas State | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Kansas State | ||||||||||||||||||
| Omaha | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Wisconsin | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Cal St. Fullerton | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Gonzaga | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Davidson | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Davidson | ||||||||||||||||||
| Raleigh | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Georgetown | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Georgetown | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | UMBC | 47 | |||||||||||||||||
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 Valley | 29 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | UCLA | ||||||||||||||||||
| Anaheim | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Texas A&M | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Brigham Young | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Texas A&M | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Drake | 99 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Western Ky. | 101* | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Western Ky. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tampa | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | San Diego | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Connecticut | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | San Diego | 70* | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Purdue | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Baylor | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Purdue | ||||||||||||||||||
| Washington, DC | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Xavier | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Xavier | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Georgia | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | West Virginia | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Arizona | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | West Virginia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Washington, DC | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Duke | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Duke | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Belmont | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
| National Semifinals April 5 | National Championship April 7 | ||||||||
| East Regional Champion | |||||||||
| Midwest Regional Champion | |||||||||
| South Regional Champion | |||||||||
| West Regional Champion | |||||||||
* - Denotes overtime period
Most Outstanding Player
- TBA
Tournament summaries
Opening rounds
First round upsets, close games, and record-breakers
Among the first upsets of the tournament was 11-seed Kansas State's win over the 6-seed Southern California Trojans 80-67. The media had focused a lot of attention on the freshman stars of both teams, Michael Beasley of KSU and O. J. Mayo of USC. In reality, while Beasley and Mayo did well, it was the other four players of KSU who made the difference, applying a strong defense to the USC attack and coming up with the school's first tournament win since 1988.[11] Also in the Midwest region, the 10-seed Davidson Wildcats upset 7-seed Gonzaga 82-76. Stephen Curry lead the Wildcats with 40 points, the fifth most in NCAA tournament history, and gave Davidson their first tournament win since 1969.[12] Lastly, in the same region, 13-seed Siena defeated 4th-seed Vanderbilt 83-62. The Saints never trailed in the entire game and became the first MAAC team to advance since 2004.[13]
In the west region, 12-seed Western Kentucky defeated 5-seed Drake in overtime 101-99. Drake had come back from eighteen down in the second half, bringing the game to overtime, and were ahead with 5.7 seconds left, but a Ty Rogers three at the buzzer gave WKU the win. Roger's three was the 30th successful three point shot in the game, setting an NCAA record.[14] Also in the West, 13-seed San Diego defeated 4-seed Connecticut 70-69 in overtime. Connecticut struggled throughout the game and De'Jon Jackson's long jumper with under two seconds left pulled San Diego ahead for their first-ever tournament victory.[15]
As regards close games and record-breakers, 15-seed Belmont nearly upset Duke, a # 2 seed, but a Gerald Henderson layup with 11.9 seconds left, together with a steal by DeMarcus Nelson in the final seconds, lifted Duke to victory.[16] UCLA set several records in their win against Missippi Valley State, 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. Mississippi Valley State's 19.7% shooting set another record for lowest shooting percentage in a game in tournament history.[17]
Record by conference
| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big East | 8 | 4-1 | 0.800 | - | - | - | - |
| Big 12 | 6 | 5-1 | 0.833 | - | - | - | - |
| Pac-10 | 6 | 3-3 | 0.500 | - | - | - | - |
| SEC | 6 | 2-3 | 0.400 | - | - | - | - |
| ACC | 4 | 3-0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | - |
| Big Ten | 4 | 3-0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | - |
| Atlantic 10 | 3 | 1-2 | 0.333 | - | - | - | - |
| WCC | 3 | 1-2 | 0.333 | - | - | - | - |
| Mountain West | 2 | 1-1 | 0.500 | - | - | - | - |
| Sun Belt | 2 | 1-1 | 0.500 | - | - | - | - |
| America East | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| C-USA | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Horizon | 1 | 1-0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | - |
| MAAC | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Northeast | 1 | 1-1* | 0.500 | - | - | - | - |
| Southern | 1 | 1-0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | - |
| Southland | 1 | 1-0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | - |
| WAC | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - |
* Mount St. Mary's won the opening round game.
Eleven conferences--Atlantic Sun Conference, Big South Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big West Conference, Ivy League, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Mid-American Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference, Patriot League, Ohio Valley Conference, Missouri Valley Conference and The Summit League--went 0-1.
Bracket Source:[18]
Television and radio
For the 27th consecutive year, CBS Sports will telecast the tournament, and for the 18th consecutive year, broadcast every game in the main bracket from the first round to the championship, with Jim Nantz and Billy Packer calling the Final Four. ESPN carried the 64th-seed play-in game, as it has every year since 2002.
The complete list of announcing teams are as follows:[19]
- Jim Nantz and Billy Packer - 1st/2nd rounds at Raleigh
- Gus Johnson and Len Elmore - 1st/2nd rounds at Denver
- Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas - 1st/2nd rounds at Anaheim
- Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery - 1st/2nd rounds at Birmingham
- 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 will serve as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis.
ESPN carried the play-in game between Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's on March 18 at 7:30 PM ET; the announcers were Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin.[20] In addition, 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.
Radio broadcasts will be handled again by CBS subsidiary Westwood One. It is expected that Kevin Harlan and Bill Raftery will again call the Final Four. More information will be coming when the pairings are set.
External links
References
- ^ a b c d "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Information". Retrieved 2006-07-28.
- ^ http://www.ticketsolutions.com/ncaa-selection.asp
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3296941&categoryId=2459792
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280762466
- ^ http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280722502
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3297006&n8pe6c=1&categoryId=2459792
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280740044
- ^ Associated Press (2008-03-09). "Drake pummels Illinois State, sweeps MVC titles". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Associated Press (2008-03-15). "Big West win puts Cal State Fullerton in NCAA tourney for first time since '78". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Associated Press (2008-03-01). "Gore, Wittman will Cornell into Big Dance with first Ivy League title in 20 years". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000008
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000011
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000005
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000035
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000036
- ^ http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000043
- ^ http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000032
- ^ http://www.ncaa.com/basketball-mens/default.aspx?id=147034
- ^ "Your NCAA Announcing Schedule: Round One". Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ "ESPN Does Care, Gives Us One More Lavinburger-EA Game!". Retrieved 2008-03-18.
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