1999 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1999 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. A total of 63 games were played. This year's Final Four was the first—and so far, only—to be held in a baseball-specific facility, as Tropicana Field is home to the Tampa Bay Rays (then known as the Devil Rays).

1999 NCAA Division I
Men's Basketball Tournament
Season1998–99
Teams64
Finals siteTropicana Field
St. Petersburg, Florida
ChampionsConnecticut Huskies (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upDuke Blue Devils (8th title game,
12th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJim Calhoun (1st title)
MOPRichard Hamilton (Connecticut)
Attendance720,685
Top scorerRichard Hamilton Connecticut
(145 points)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
«1998 2000»

The Final Four consisted of Connecticut, making their first ever Final Four appearance; Ohio State, making their ninth Final Four appearance and first since 1968; Michigan State, making their third Final Four appearance and first since their 1979 national championship; and Duke, the overall number one seed and making their first Final Four appearance since losing the national championship game in 1994.

In the national championship game, Connecticut defeated Duke 77–74 to win their first ever national championship, snapping Duke's 32-game winning streak, and scoring the biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. Duke nonetheless tied the record for most games won during a single season, with 37, which they co-held until Kentucky's 38-win seasons in 2011–12 and 2014–15. The 2007–08 Memphis team actually broke this record first, but the team was later forced to forfeit their entire season due to eligibility issues surrounding the team.

Richard "Rip" Hamilton of Connecticut was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was a significant victory for the program, as it cemented Connecticut's reputation as a true basketball power after decades of barely missing the Final Four. Also, the Huskies did not play football at the level now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision (known as Division I-A from 1978 to 2006) at the time of their title. Connecticut then played football in Division I-AA, now the Football Championship Subdivision; by the time of the Huskies' next men's basketball title in 2004, the school's football team had upgraded to the current FBS level. The next team to win a title that did not also have an FBS football team was Villanova in 2016.

This tournament is also historically notable as the coming-out party for Gonzaga as a rising mid-major power. The Bulldogs became the nation's basketball darlings during a run to the West Regional final in which they defeated three major-conference powers, including 1998 Final Four participant Stanford, and took UConn literally to the last minute before losing. Gonzaga has made every NCAA tournament since then, and is now generally considered to be a high-major program despite its mid-major conference affiliation.

Due to violations committed by Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien, the Buckeyes were forced to vacate their appearance in the 1999 Final Four.[1]

Locations
Boston
Charlotte
Indianapolis
Orlando
Milwaukee
New Orleans
Denver
Seattle
1999 first and second rounds
Phoenix
St. Louis
Knoxville
E. Rutherford
St. Petersburg
1999 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

First & Second Rounds
RegionSiteVenueHost
East Boston, Massachusetts FleetCenter Boston College/Boston
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum Davidson
Midwest Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center Marquette
Indianapolis, Indiana RCA Dome Butler/IUPUI
South New Orleans, Louisiana Louisiana Superdome Tulane
Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena Stetson/UCF
West Denver, Colorado McNichols Sports Arena Colorado
Seattle, Washington KeyArena Seattle University/Washington

Regional Sites and Final Four
RegionSiteVenueHost
East East Rutherford, New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena Seton Hall
Midwest St. Louis, Missouri Trans World Dome Missouri Valley Conference
South Knoxville, Tennessee Thompson–Boling Arena Tennessee
West Phoenix, Arizona America West Arena Arizona State
Final Four St. Petersburg, Florida Tropicana Field South Florida

St. Petersburg became the 27th host city, and Tropicana Field the 32nd host venue, for the Final Four. Tropicana Field, the home of baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, was the sixth different domed stadium to host a Final Four, and the only one designed specifically for baseball; given its inability to be converted to a center court arena, it is unlikely to host one again. There were four new venues in the 1999 tournament, two in completely new host cities for the tournament. For the first time, the tournament came to Boston at the FleetCenter, which had replaced the Boston Garden in 1995. Despite the original Garden's rich college and NBA history, it never had hosted any NCAA tournament games. The tournament also came to downtown Phoenix for the first time, at the NBA home of the Phoenix Suns. Previous games in the metropolitan area were played in suburban Tempe at Arizona State University. For the second straight year, the Midwest Regional games were held in a new venue in St. Louis, this time at the Trans World Dome, then home to the NFL's St. Louis Rams. The tournament also returned to Seattle, this time at KeyArena, the downtown home to the Seattle SuperSonics. This tournament would be the last held at McNichols Sports Arena, which was scheduled to close later in the year and is now the site of parking for Empower Field at Mile High; subsequent games in Denver have moved to the Ball Arena. It is also the last tournament to date to include Tropicana Field and Thompson–Boling Arena, as neither has hosted since. Any future tournament games to be held in Tampa would be played at the Amalie Arena.

Teams
East Regional – East Rutherford
Seed School Coach Conference Record Bid Type
#1 Duke Mike Krzyzewski ACC 32–1 Automatic
#2 Miami (FL) Leonard Hamilton Big East 22–6 At-Large
#3 Cincinnati Bob Huggins Conference USA 26–5 At-Large
#4 Tennessee Jerry Green SEC 20–8 At-Large
#5 Wisconsin Dick Bennett Big Ten 22–9 At-Large
#6 Temple John Chaney Atlantic 10 21–10 At-Large
#7 Texas Rick Barnes Big 12 19–12 At-Large
#8 College of Charleston John Kresse Southern 28–2 Automatic
#9 Tulsa Bill Self WAC 22–9 At-Large
#10 Purdue Gene Keady Big Ten 19–12 At-Large
#11 Kent State Gary Waters Mid-American 23–6 Automatic
#12 Southwest Missouri State Steve Alford Missouri Valley 20–12 At-Large
#13 Delaware Mike Brey America East 25–5 Automatic
#14 George Mason Jim Larranaga CAA 19–10 Automatic
#15 Lafayette Fran O'Hanlon Patriot League 22–7 Automatic
#16 Florida A&M Mickey Clayton MEAC 12–18 Automatic
Midwest Regional – St. Louis
Seed School Coach Conference Record Bid Type
#1 Michigan State Tom Izzo Big Ten 29–4 Automatic
#2 Utah Rick Majerus WAC 27–4 Automatic
#3 Kentucky Tubby Smith SEC 25–8 Automatic
#4 Arizona Lute Olson Pac-10 22–6 At-Large
#5 UNC-Charlotte Bobby Lutz Conference USA 22–10 Automatic
#6 Kansas Roy Williams Big 12 22–9 Automatic
#7 Washington Bob Bender Pac-10 17–11 At-Large
#8 Villanova Steve Lappas Big East 21–10 At-Large
#9 Ole Miss Rod Barnes SEC 19–12 At-Large
#10 Miami (OH) Charlie Coles Mid-American 22–7 At-Large
#11 Evansville Jim Crews Missouri Valley 23–9 At-Large
#12 Rhode Island Jim Harrick Atlantic 10 20–10 Automatic
#13 Oklahoma Kelvin Sampson Big 12 20–10 At-Large
#14 New Mexico State Lou Henson Big West 23–9 Automatic
#15 Arkansas State Dickey Nutt Sun Belt 18–11 Automatic
#16 Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan NEC 15–14 Automatic
South Regional – Knoxville
Seed School Coach Conference Record Bid Type
#1 Auburn Cliff Ellis SEC 27–3 At-Large
#2 Maryland Gary Williams ACC 26–5 At-Large
#3 St. John's Mike Jarvis Big East 25–8 At-Large
#4 Ohio State (vacated) Jim O'Brien Big Ten 23–8 At-Large
#5 UCLA (vacated) Steve Lavin Pac-10 22–8 At-Large
#6 Indiana Bob Knight Big Ten 22–10 At-Large
#7 Louisville Denny Crum Conference USA 19–10 At-Large
#8 Syracuse Jim Boeheim Big East 21–11 At-Large
#9 Oklahoma State Eddie Sutton Big 12 22–10 At-Large
#10 Creighton Dana Altman Missouri Valley 21–8 Automatic
#11 George Washington Tom Penders Atlantic 10 20–8 At-Large
#12 Detroit Perry Watson MCC (Horizon) 24–5 Automatic
#13 Murray State Tevester Anderson Ohio Valley 27–5 Automatic
#14 Samford Jimmy Tillette TAAC 24–5 Automatic
#15 Valparaiso Homer Drew Mid-Continent 23–8 Automatic
#16 Winthrop Gregg Marshall Big South 17–13 Automatic
West Regional – Phoenix
Seed School Coach Conference Record Bid Type
#1 Connecticut Jim Calhoun Big East 28–2 Automatic
#2 Stanford Mike Montgomery Pac-10 25–6 Automatic
#3 North Carolina Bill Guthridge ACC 24–9 At-Large
#4 Arkansas Nolan Richardson SEC 22–10 At-Large
#5 Iowa Tom Davis Big Ten 18–9 At-Large
#6 Florida Billy Donovan SEC 20–8 At-Large
#7 Minnesota Clem Haskins Big Ten 17–10 At-Large
#8 Missouri Norm Stewart Big 12 20–8 At-Large
#9 New Mexico Dave Bliss WAC 24–8 At-Large
#10 Gonzaga Dan Monson West Coast 25–6 Automatic
#11 Penn Fran Dunphy Ivy League 21–5 Automatic
#12 UAB Murry Bartow Conference USA 20–11 At-Large
#13 Siena Paul Hewitt MAAC 25–5 Automatic
#14 Weber State Ron Abegglen Big Sky 24–7 Automatic
#15 Alcorn State Davey Whitney SWAC 23–6 Automatic
#16 Texas-San Antonio Tim Carter Southland 18–10 Automatic

Bids by conference
Bids by Conference
Bids Conference(s)
7 Big Ten
6 SEC
5 Big 12, Big East
4 C-USA, Pac-10
3 Atlantic 10, ACC, Missouri Valley, WAC
2 Mid-American
1 19 others

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey
First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Duke 99
16 Florida A&M 58
1 Duke 97
Charlotte
9 Tulsa 56
8 College of Charleston 53
9 Tulsa 62
1 Duke 78
12 SW Missouri St. 61
5 Wisconsin 32
12 SW Missouri St. 43
12 SW Missouri St. 81
Charlotte
4 Tennessee 51
4 Tennessee 62
13 Delaware 52
1 Duke 85
6 Temple 64
6 Temple 61
11 Kent St. 54
6 Temple 64
Boston
3 Cincinnati 54
3 Cincinnati 72
14 George Mason 48
6 Temple 77
10 Purdue 55
7 Texas 54
10 Purdue 58
10 Purdue 73
Boston
2 Miami-FL 63
2 Miami-FL 75
15 Lafayette 54

Regional Final summary
CBS
Sunday, March 21
#1 Duke Blue Devils 85, #6 Temple Owls 64
Scoring by half: 43–31, 42–33
Pts: T. Langdon – 23
Rebs: E. Brand – 8
Asts: C. Carrawell – 7		 Pts: L. Barnes, M. Karcher – 19
Rebs: L. Barnes – 8
Asts: P. Sánchez – 4
Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, NJ
Attendance: 19,557
Referees: Frankie Bourdeaux, Ted Valentine, Scott Thornley

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri
First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Michigan State 76
16 Mount St. Mary's 53
1 Michigan State 74
Milwaukee
9 Ole Miss 66
8 Villanova 70
9 Ole Miss 72
1 Michigan State 54
13 Oklahoma 46
5 Charlotte 81
12 Rhode Island 70
5 Charlotte 72
Milwaukee
13 Oklahoma 85
4 Arizona 60
13 Oklahoma 61
1 Michigan State 73
3 Kentucky 66
6 Kansas 95
11 Evansville 74
6 Kansas 88*
New Orleans
3 Kentucky 92
3 Kentucky 82
14 New Mexico State 60
3 Kentucky 58
10 Miami-OH 43
7 Washington 58
10 Miami-OH 59
10 Miami-OH 66
New Orleans
2 Utah 58
2 Utah 80
15 Arkansas State 58

Regional Final summary
CBS
Sunday, March 21
#1 Michigan State Spartans 73, #3 Kentucky 66
Scoring by half: 35–36, 38–30
Pts: M. Peterson – 19
Rebs: M. Peterson – 10
Asts: M. Cleaves – 7		 Pts: H. Evans, T. Prince – 12
Rebs: H. Evans – 6
Asts: W. Turner – 8
Trans World Dome – St. Louis, MO
Attendance: 42,519
Referees: Jim Burr, Bob Donato, Reggie Greenwood

South Regional – Knoxville, Tennessee
First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Auburn 80
16 Winthrop 41
1 Auburn 81
Indianapolis
9 Oklahoma State 74
8 Syracuse 61
9 Oklahoma State 69
1 Auburn 64
4 Ohio State 72
5 UCLA 53
12 Detroit 56
12 Detroit 44
Indianapolis
4 Ohio State 75
4 Ohio State 72
13 Murray State 58
4 Ohio State 77
3 St. John's 74
6 Indiana 108
11 George Washington 88
6 Indiana 61
Orlando
3 St. John's 86
3 St. John's 69
14 Samford 43
3 St. John's 76
2 Maryland 62
7 Louisville 58
10 Creighton 62
10 Creighton 63
Orlando
2 Maryland 75
2 Maryland 82
15 Valparaiso 60

Regional Final summary
CBS
Saturday, March 20
#4 Ohio State Buckeyes 77, #3 St. John's Red Storm 74
Scoring by half: 41–33, 36–41
Pts: S. Penn – 22
Rebs: S. Penn – 8
Asts: S. Penn – 8		 Pts: L. Postell – 24
Rebs: L. Postell, R. Artest – 9
Asts: E. Barkley – 7
Thompson–Boling Arena – Knoxville, TN
Attendance: 24,248
Referees: Dave Libbey, Gene Monje, Mark Whitehead

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona
First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Connecticut 91
16 Texas-San Antonio 66
1 Connecticut 78
Denver
9 New Mexico 56
8 Missouri 59
9 New Mexico 61
1 Connecticut 78
5 Iowa 68
5 Iowa 77
12 UAB 64
5 Iowa 82
Denver
4 Arkansas 72
4 Arkansas 94
13 Siena 80
1 Connecticut 67
10 Gonzaga 62
6 Florida 75
11 Pennsylvania 61
6 Florida 82
Seattle
14 Weber State 74*
3 North Carolina 74
14 Weber State 76
6 Florida 72
10 Gonzaga 73
7 Minnesota 63
10 Gonzaga 75
10 Gonzaga 82
Seattle
2 Stanford 74
2 Stanford 69
15 Alcorn State 57

Regional Final summary
CBS
Saturday, March 20
#1 Connecticut Huskies 67, #10 Gonzaga 62
Scoring by half: 31–32, 36–30
Pts: R. Hamilton – 21
Rebs: K. Freeman – 15
Asts: K. El-Amin – 4		 Pts: Q. Hall – 18
Rebs: Q. Hall, C. Calvary – 8
Asts: M. Santangelo, R. Floyd, R. Frahm – 2
America West Arena – Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 18,053
Referees: Mike Patterson, Larry Rose, Bobby Hunt

Final four

St. Petersburg, Florida
National Semifinals National Championship Game
      
E1 Duke 68
M1 Michigan State 62
E1 Duke 74
W1 Connecticut 77
S4 Ohio State 58
W1 Connecticut 64

Final four
CBS
March 27
5:00 pm
#1 Connecticut Huskies 64, #4 Ohio State Buckeyes 58
Scoring by half: 36–35, 28–23
Pts: R. Hamilton – 24
Rebs: Ricky Moore – 8
Asts: K. El-Amin – 6		 Pts: M. Redd – 15
Rebs: M. Redd – 8
Asts: J. Singleton, S. Penn – 4
Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
Attendance: 41,340
Referees: Jim Burr, Larry Rose, Mark Whitehead
CBS
March 27
8:00 pm
#1 Duke Blue Devils 68, #1 Michigan State Spartans 62
Scoring by half: 32–20, 36–42
Pts: E. Brand – 18
Rebs: E. Brand – 15
Asts: T. Langdon – 3		 Pts: M. Peterson – 15
Rebs: A. Smith – 10
Asts: M. Cleaves – 10
Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
Attendance: 41,340
Referees: Dave Libbey, Curtis Shaw, John Cahill

National Championship
Main article: 1999 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
CBS
March 29
9:00 pm
#1 Connecticut Huskies 77, #1 Duke Blue Devils 74
Scoring by half: 37–39, 40–35
Pts: R. Hamilton – 27
Rebs: Ricky Moore, K. Freeman – 8
Asts: K. El-Amin – 4		 Pts: T. Langdon – 25
Rebs: E. Brand – 13
Asts: W. Avery – 5
Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
Attendance: 41,340
Referees: Tim Higgins, Gerald Boudreaux, Scott Thornley

Announcers

Additional notes
  • Despite their loss in the finals to Connecticut, the 1998–1999 Duke team won 37 games.[2] This tied them with Duke's 1985–86 team, UNLV's 1986–87 squad, and later, Illinois' 2004–05 team and Kansas's 2007–08 team, for the most wins in a season, until their record was broken by the 38-win Memphis team in 2007–08. However, as the NCAA vacated Memphis' 2007–2008 season due to the ineligibility of Derrick Rose, they reclaimed the 37-win record. The mark would once again be raised to 38 wins after Kentucky's dominant title run in 2012, which then tied with Kentucky's 2014–15 team. Only one of the first 5 teams to be the winningest single-season teams won a national championship; UNLV's squad lost in the national semifinal to Indiana, and the other teams lost in the finals, to Louisville, UConn, and North Carolina, while Kansas defeated Memphis in the 2008 national championship game. Kentucky's 2014–15 squad suffered their only loss that season in the national semifinal to Wisconsin.
  • Connecticut's victory in the finals marks the biggest upset in Championship Game history in the NCAA Tournament, as they were 9.5-point underdogs in the contest despite having compiled a 33–2 record going into the Championship game, including a 14–2 record in the tough Big East Conference. In fact, Connecticut had spent more weeks as the number 1 team in the country, according to the AP Top 25 Poll, than had Duke. The previous record was held by Villanova, who defeated Georgetown as 9-point underdogs in 1985.[3]
  • The 1999 Final Four would be the last time Tropicana Field would host NCAA tournament games. For Duke, they had 2 straight promising seasons end on the Tropicana Field floor, with an 86–84 loss to Kentucky in the 1998 South Regional final, and then the 1999 National Championship game.

North Carolina lost to Weber State which marked the first time the Tar Heels had lost in the first round of the expanded field era with 64 or more teams.

Notes
  1. Jim O'Brien – Firing controversy (references included)
  2. "Men's College Basketball 1998–1999 Chi Square Linear WL – SD". Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  3. "Gold Sheet College Basketball Log". Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.

See also
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