Eighth-seed Villanova, coached by Rollie Massimino, won their first national title with a 66–64 victory in the final game over Georgetown, coached by John Thompson. Ed Pinckney of Villanova was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The game, often cited as "The Perfect Game", is widely considered among the greatest upsets in college basketball history, and is the second biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history.[1][2] This Villanova team remains the lowest-seeded team to win the tournament. The Wildcats are also notable as the last Division I men's national champion to date to represent a school that did not sponsor varsity football at the time of its title (Villanova had dropped football after the 1980 season and did not reinstate the sport until the 1985 season, the first after the championship game). The game is also notable as the last played without a shot clock.
This year's Final Four saw an unprecedented and unmatched three teams from the same conference, with Big East members Villanova and Georgetown joined by St. John's. The only "interloper" in the Big East party was Memphis State, then of the Metro Conference (Memphis State's 1985 Final Four appearance was vacated due to using ineligible players, as were all of its tournament appearances from 1982 to 1986). Lehigh, champion of the East Coast Conference Tournament, became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to compete with a record below .500, as they were 12–18 at the time they played in the First Round.[3]
This was also the first year that one of the regionals was named "Southeast", replacing "Mideast". This name was used until 1998, when the regional was renamed "South". This was also the last tournament until 2010 to feature two private schools in the title game. This tournament was also the last until 2012 to feature no teams in the Sweet 16 from the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones.
This tournament's East Region is the only one in NCAA Tournament history in which the higher-seeded team won every game.
As of 2024 this is the most recent tournament in which all of the final four head coaches are deceased.
# - Memphis State was forced to vacate its NCAA tournament appearance after a massive gambling scandal and a criminal investigation into head coach Dana Kirk. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Memphis removing the wins from its own record.[4][5]
Brent Musburger First round (Kentucky–Washington), (Arizona–Alabama), second round & Dick Stockton Regional, Final Four served as studio hosts and Bill Raftery Regional, Final Four served as studio analyst.
Dick Stockton/Brent Musburger and Billy Packer – Stockton/Packer, first round (Kentucky–Washington), second round at Salt Lake City, Utah & Houston, Texas; Musburger/Packer, East Regionals at Providence, Rhode Island, Southeast Regional Finals at Birmingham, Alabama, Final Four at Lexington, Kentucky
Gary Bender and Doug Collins – Second Round at South Bend, Indiana & Dayton, Ohio, West Regionals at Denver, Colorado
Frank Glieber and James Brown – Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut, Midwest Regionals at Dallas, Texas
Pat Summerall/Verne Lundquist and Larry Conley – Summerall/Conley, second round at Atlanta, Georgia; Lundquist/Conley, Southeast Regional semifinals (Auburn–North Carolina) at Birmingham, Alabama
Verne Lundquist and Steve Grote – First round (Arizona–Alabama) & Second Round at Albuquerque, New Mexico
– First round (Ohio–Kansas) & (Oregon State–Notre Dame) at South Bend, Indiana
Tom Hammond and Jack Givens – First round (Auburn–Purdue) & (Middle Tennessee–North Carolina) at South Bend, Indiana
– First round (Southern–St. John's) at Salt Lake City, Utah
– First round (Arkansas–Iowa) & (San Diego State–UNLV) at Salt Lake City, Utah
Larry Zimmer and Ted Owens – First round (Nevada–NC State) at Albuquerque, New Mexico
– First round (UTEP–Tulsa) & (Marshall–VCU) at Albuquerque, New Mexico
Frank Fallon and Gary Thompson- First round (Michigan State–UAB) & (Boston College–Texas Tech) at Houston, Texas Midwest Regional semifinals (Louisiana Tech–Oklahoma) at Dallas, Texas
Mike Patrick and Larry Conley – Southeast Regional semifinals (Villanova–Maryland) at Birmingham, Alabama
