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    1981 NCAA Tournament (March Madness)

    

Play In Round    Round of 64    Round of 32    Sweet 16   Elite 8   Final 4

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Winning Team highlighted in Green Box

. It began on March 12, 1981, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in Philadelphia. A total of 48 games were played, including a national third-place game (the last in the NCAA tournament). 

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1981 tournament:

First and Second rounds

 

 

1981 was the Final year that a National Third Place Game would be played

First Round

945

East REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team Score  
  5 Virginia Commonwealth 12  Long Island 85-69  
    6 Brigham Young 11 Princeton 60-51  
    7 Georgetown  10 James Madison 61-55  
    8 Houston  9  Villanova 90-72  

 Mideast  REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team  Score
    5
Boston College  		12 Ball State 93-90
    6 Maryland 11 ennessee-Chattanooga 81-69
    7  Idaho 10  Pittsburgh 70-69 (OT)
    8 Creighton 9  St. Joseph's 59-57  

Midwest    REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team  Score  
    5
Arkansas
 12 Mercer 73-67  
    6 Wichita State 11 Southern 95-70  
    7 Kansas 10 Mississippi 69-66  
    8 Lamar 9

Missouri

71-67  

West  REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team  Score  
    5
Wyoming
12 Howard 78-43
    6 Fresno State 11 Northeastern 55-53
    7 UAB 10 Western Kentucky 93-68
    8 Kansas State 9 San Francisco 64-60  

Round of 32

East  REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
1
Virginia 

9 Villanova 54-50  
2 Notre Dame 10 James Madison 54-45  
    3 UCLA 6  Brigham Young 78-55  
    4 Tennessee 5 5 Virginia Commonwealth 59-56(OT)  

 Mideast REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
1 DePaul 9 St. Joseph's 49-48
2 Kentucky
7 UAB 69-62
    3  Indiana 6 Maryland 99-64  
    4 Wake Forest 5 Boston College 67-64  

 Midwest   REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
    1  Louisiana State 8  Lamar 100-78  
2  Arizona State 7 Kansas 88-71  
    3  Iowa 6 Wichita State 60-56  
    4  Louisville 5 Arkansas 74-73  

West REGIONAL
Favorite Site Seed Team Seed Team

 Score

Star Efforts
1 Oregon State 8 Kansas State 50-48
    2 North Carolina  10 Pittsburgh 74-57
    3  Utah 11 Northeastern 94-69  
    4  Illinois 5 Wyoming 67-65  

Sweet 16

 East REGIONAL at East Regional, Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, GeorgiaMarch 19 and 21
Favorite Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
1
 
Virginia 62,  48
4 Tennessee 62-48  
2 51, Notre Dame 50 6 Brigham Young 51-50  

   Mideast  REGIONAL at  , Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IndianaMarch 20 and 22
Favorite Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
3


Indiana

7

UAB

 87-72  
5  Boston College  9 St. Joseph's 42-41  

Midwest    REGIONAL at  Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LouisianaMarch 20 and 22
Favorite Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
  1 Louisiana State
 
 5 Arkansas 72-56  
  6 Wichita State 7 Kansas 66-65  

 West  REGIONAL at  West Regional, Special Events Center, Salt Lake City, UtahMarch 19 and 21
Favorite Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
  2  
North Carolina		 3  Utah 61-56  
  4 Illinois 8 Kansas State 57-52  

 

 

Elite 8

 East  REGIONAL at

Favorite Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
  1 Virginia
 6 Brigham Young

74-60

  

   Mideast REGIONAL at
Favorite Seed Team Seed Team

Score

 Star Efforts
3

Indiana

9 St. Joseph's

78-46

  

 Midwest REGIONAL at

Favorite Seed Team Seed Team Score Star Efforts
  1 Louisiana State 6 Wichita State

96-85

 West REGIONAL at

Favorite Seed Team Seed Team Score Star Efforts
  2 North Carolina 8 Kansas State

82-68

  

 

Final 4

at at Philadelphia,PA

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS
Favorite Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
1

 Louisiana State 

3 Indiana

67-49

  
  1 Virginia 2 North Carolina

78-65

  

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

at Philadelphia, PA

National Third Place
Virginia 78, Louisiana State 74

 
Favorite Seed Team Seed Team  Score Star Efforts
2  North Carolina 3 Indiana 63-50  

 

NCAA Results
First Round

Second Round





Indiana leaders: Isiah Thomas, So., G; Ray Tolbert, Sr., F-C; Randy Wittman, Jr., G; Landon Turner, Jr., F-C; Ted Kitchel, Jr., F
Top 10 Teams
Rank Team W-L Post-Season Result
1. DePaul 27-2 Lost NCAA regionals
2. Oregon State 26-2 Lost NCAA regionals
3 Arizona State 24-4 Lost NCAA regionals
4. LSU 31-5 NCAA 4th Place
5. Virginia 29-4 NCAA 3rd Place
6. North Carolina 28-8 NCAA 2nd Place
7. Notre Dame 23-6 Lost NCAA regionals
8. Kentucky 22-6 Lost NCAA regionals
9. Indiana 26-9 NCAA 1st Place
10. UCLA 20-7 Lost NCAA regionals
All-America Team
Pos Name Cl. School
F Mark Aguirre Jr. DePaul
C Steve Johnson Sr. Oregon State
C Ralph Sampson So. Virginia
G Danny Ainge Sr. BYU
G Isiah Thomas So. Indiana


All NCAA Tournament Team
Name Cl. Pos Team
Al Wood Sr. F North Carolina
Landon Turner Jr. F-C Indiana
Jeff Lamp Sr. G Virginia
Isiah Thomas So. G Indiana
Jim Thomas So. G Indiana
Team Offense

Cal-Irvine, 86.4
Notes
  • Oregon State’s Steve Johnson set an NCAA record for field goal accuracy (74.6 percent).
  • Cal-Irvine’s Kevin Magee was the first player to finish among the top four nationally in scoring (27.5), rebounding (12.5), and field goal percentage (67.1 percent).
  • NIT 1st Place: Tulsa (26-7) def. Syracuse (22-12) for the NIT title. The previous year, Tulsa finished 8-19.
Team Defense

Fresno State, 50.7
Individual Scoring
1. Zam Frederick South Carolina 28.9
2. Mike Ferrara Colgate 28.6
3. Kevin Magee Cal-Irvine 27.5
4. Lewis Lloyd Drake 26.3
5. Rob Williams Houston 25.0
6. Rubin Jackson Oklahoma City 24.8
Individual Rebounding
1. Darryl Watson Mississippi Valley 14.0
2. Wayne Sappleton Loyola (Chicago) 13.4
3. Michael Cage San Diego State 13.1

 

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