# 1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

The 1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 American schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the National Champion of Men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 12, 1977, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 28 in Atlanta. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third-place game. This was the final tournament in which teams were not seeded.
Marquette, coached by Al McGuire, won the national title with a 67–59 victory in the final game over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Butch Lee of Marquette was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Publicly announcing his retirement during the middle of the season, McGuire retired as head coach immediately after the game. UNLV and UNC Charlotte were third and fourth place, respectively. Marquette's seven losses were a record at the time for the most losses in a season by a national champion, exceeded four years later in 1981 by Indiana with nine.

## Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1977 tournament:
First round
* March 12
** East Region
*** The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania)
*** Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
** Midwest Region
*** Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma)
*** Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska (Hosts: Creighton University)
** West Region
*** ASISU Minidome, Pocatello, Idaho (Hosts: Idaho State University)
*** McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)
* March 13
** Mideast Region
*** LSU Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University)
*** Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University Bloomington)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
* March 17 and 19
** East Regional, Cole Field House, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park)
** Mideast Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
** Midwest Regional, Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Oklahoma City University)
** West Regional, Marriott Center, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)
National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)
* March 26 and 28
** The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia)

## Teams

| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final opponent | Score |
| East |||||||
| East | Duquesne | John Cinicola | Eastern | Round of 32 | VMI | L 73–66 |
| East | Hofstra | Roger Gaeckler | East Coast | Round of 32 | Notre Dame | L 90–83 |
| East | Kentucky | Joe B. Hall | Southeastern | Regional Runner-up | North Carolina | L 79–72 |
| East | North Carolina | Dean Smith | Atlantic Coast | Runner Up | Marquette | L 67–59 |
| East | Notre Dame | Digger Phelps | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | North Carolina | L 79–77 |
| East | Princeton | Pete Carril | Ivy League | Round of 32 | Kentucky | L 72–58 |
| East | Purdue | Fred Schaus | Big Ten | Round of 32 | North Carolina | L 69–66 |
| East | VMI | Charlie Schmaus | Southern | Sweet Sixteen | Kentucky | L 93–78 |
| Mideast |||||||
| Mideast | Central Michigan | Dick Parfitt | Mid-American | Round of 32 | UNC Charlotte | L 91–86 |
| Mideast | UNC Charlotte | Lee Rose | Sun Belt | Fourth Place | UNLV | L 106–94 |
| Mideast | Detroit | Dick Vitale | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | Michigan | L 86–81 |
| Mideast | Holy Cross | George Blaney | Independent | Round of 32 | Michigan | L 92–81 |
| Mideast | Michigan | Johnny Orr | Big Ten | Regional Runner-up | UNC Charlotte | L 75–68 |
| Mideast | Middle Tennessee State | Jimmy Earle | Ohio Valley | Round of 32 | Detroit | L 93–76 |
| Mideast | Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | UNC Charlotte | L 81–59 |
| Mideast | Tennessee | Ray Mears | Southeastern | Round of 32 | Syracuse | L 93–88 |
| Midwest |||||||
| Midwest | Arizona | Fred Snowden | Western Athletic | Round of 32 | Southern Illinois | L 81–77 |
| Midwest | Arkansas | Eddie Sutton | Southwest | Round of 32 | Wake Forest | L 86–80 |
| Midwest | Cincinnati | Gale Catlett | Metropolitan | Round of 32 | Marquette | L 66–51 |
| Midwest | Kansas State | Jack Hartman | Big Eight | Sweet Sixteen | Marquette | L 67–66 |
| Midwest | Marquette | Al McGuire | Independent | Champion | North Carolina | W 67–59 |
| Midwest | Providence | Dave Gavitt | Independent | Round of 32 | Kansas State | L 87–80 |
| Midwest | Southern Illinois | Paul Lambert | Missouri Valley | Sweet Sixteen | Wake Forest | L 86–81 |
| Midwest | Wake Forest | Carl Tacy | Atlantic Coast | Regional Runner-up | Marquette | L 82–68 |
| West |||||||
| West | Idaho State | Jim Killingsworth | Big Sky | Regional Runner-up | UNLV | L 107–90 |
| West | Long Beach State | Dwight Jones | Pacific Coast | Round of 32 | Idaho State | L 83–72 |
| West | Louisville | Denny Crum | Metropolitan | Round of 32 | UCLA | L 87–79 |
| West | San Francisco | Bob Gaillard | West Coast | Round of 32 | UNLV | L 121–95 |
| West | St. John's | Lou Carnesecca | Independent | Round of 32 | Utah | L 72–68 |
| West | UCLA | Gene Bartow | Pacific-8 | Sweet Sixteen | Idaho State | L 76–75 |
| West | UNLV | Jerry Tarkanian | Independent | Third Place | UNC Charlotte | W 106–94 |
| West | Utah | Jerry Pimm | Western Athletic | Sweet Sixteen | UNLV | L 83–88 |

## Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

### East region

Cole Field House – College Park, Maryland First round games were played at Raleigh, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 12.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| VMI | VMI | 73 | | | | | | |
| Duquesne | Duquesne | 66 | | | | | | |
| Duquesne | Duquesne | 66 | VMI | VMI | 78 | | | |
| | | | Kentucky | Kentucky | 93 | | | |
| Kentucky | Kentucky | 72 | Kentucky | Kentucky | 93 | | | |
| Princeton | Princeton | 58 | | | | | | |
| Princeton | Princeton | 58 | | | | Kentucky | Kentucky | 72 |
| | | | | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 79 |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame | 90 | | | | | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 79 |
| Hofstra | Hofstra | 83 | | | | | | |
| Hofstra | Hofstra | 83 | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | 77 | | | |
| | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 79 | | | |
| North Carolina | North Carolina | 69 | North Carolina | North Carolina | 79 | | | |
| Purdue | Purdue | 66 | | | | | | |

### West region

Most of the excitement surrounding the Western Regional was the anticipated matchup between top-five-ranked teams UCLA and UNLV. Jerry Tarkanian had lost three times in the tournament to UCLA while he was at Long Beach State, including a heartbreaking 57–55 loss in the 1971 West Regional final in which Long Beach led by eleven in the second half. Many felt this UNLV team gave him the best opportunity to beat his longtime nemesis. But he never got the chance as UCLA was stunned in the regional semi final by unranked Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference. This was the first time since 1963 that UCLA made the tournament but failed to get to the Final Four. Down by a point at halftime, UNLV went on to easily beat Idaho State 107–90.
Marriott Center – Provo, Utah First round games were played at Pocatello, Idaho and Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, March 12.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| UCLA | UCLA | 87 | | | | | | |
| Louisville | Louisville | 79 | | | | | | |
| Louisville | Louisville | 79 | UCLA | UCLA | 75 | | | |
| | | | Idaho State | Idaho State | 76 | | | |
| Idaho State | Idaho State | 83 | Idaho State | Idaho State | 76 | | | |
| Long Beach State | Long Beach State | 72 | | | | | | |
| Long Beach State | Long Beach State | 72 | | | | Idaho State | Idaho State | 90 |
| | | | | | | UNLV | UNLV | 107 |
| Utah | Utah | 72 | | | | | | | UNLV | UNLV | 107 |
| St. John's | St. John's | 68 | | | | | | |
| St. John's | St. John's | 68 | Utah | Utah | 83 | | | |
| | | | UNLV | UNLV | 88 | | | |
| UNLV | UNLV | 121 | UNLV | UNLV | 88 | | | |
| San Francisco | San Francisco | 95 | | | | | | |

### Mideast region

Rupp Arena – Lexington, Kentucky First round games were played at Bloomington, Indiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday, March 13.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Michigan | Michigan | 92 | | | | | | |
| Holy Cross | Holy Cross | 81 | | | | | | |
| Holy Cross | Holy Cross | 81 | Michigan | Michigan | 86 | | | |
| | | | Detroit | Detroit | 81 | | | |
| Detroit | Detroit | 93 | Detroit | Detroit | 81 | | | |
| Middle Tennessee State | Middle Tennessee State | 76 | | | | | | |
| Middle Tennessee State | Middle Tennessee State | 76 | | | | Michigan | Michigan | 68 |
| | | | | | | UNC Charlotte | UNC Charlotte | 75 |
| UNC Charlotte | UNC Charlotte | 91 | | | | | | | UNC Charlotte | UNC Charlotte | 75 |
| Central Michigan | Central Michigan | 86* | | | | | | |
| Central Michigan | Central Michigan | 86* | UNC Charlotte | UNC Charlotte | 81 | | | |
| | | | Syracuse | Syracuse | 59 | | | |
| Syracuse | Syracuse | 93 | Syracuse | Syracuse | 59 | | | |
| Tennessee | Tennessee | 88* | | | | | | |

### Midwest region

Myriad Convention Center – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma First round games were played at Omaha, Nebraska and Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday, March 12.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Marquette | Marquette | 66 | | | | | | |
| Cincinnati | Cincinnati | 51 | | | | | | |
| Cincinnati | Cincinnati | 51 | | Marquette | 67 | | | |
| | | | | Kansas State | 66 | | | |
| Kansas State | Kansas State | 87 | | Kansas State | 66 | | | |
| Providence | Providence | 80 | | | | | | |
| Providence | Providence | 80 | | | | Marquette | Marquette | 82 |
| | | | | | | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 68 |
| Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 86 | | | | | | | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 68 |
| Arkansas | Arkansas | 80 | | | | | | |
| Arkansas | Arkansas | 80 | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 86 | | | |
| | | | Southern Illinois | Southern Illinois | 81 | | | |
| Southern Illinois | Southern Illinois | 81 | Southern Illinois | Southern Illinois | 81 | | | |
| Arizona | Arizona | 77 | | | | | | |

### Final Four

Omni Coliseum – Atlanta, Georgia
| National semifinals Saturday, March 26 | National semifinals Saturday, March 26 | National semifinals Saturday, March 26 | National Championship Game Monday, March 28 | National Championship Game Monday, March 28 | National Championship Game Monday, March 28 |
| E | North Carolina | 84 | | | |
| W | UNLV | 83 | | | |
| W | UNLV | 83 | E | North Carolina | 59 |
| | | | MW | Marquette | 67 |
| ME | UNC Charlotte | 49 | MW | Marquette | 67 |
| MW | Marquette | 51 | National third-place game | National third-place game | National third-place game |
| | | | W | UNLV | 106 |
| | | | ME | UNC Charlotte | 94 |