1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

See also: 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The game was played on March 31, 1986, at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas,^[1] and featured the East Regional Champion, #1-seeded Duke and the West Regional Champion, #2-seeded Louisville.^[1]

1986 NCAA tournament championship game

National championship game
Louisville Cardinals Duke Blue Devils Metro ACC (31–7) (37–2) 72 69 Head coach: Denny Crum Head coach: Mike Krzyzewski
AP: 7 Coaches: 3 AP: 1 Coaches: 1
1st half 2nd half Total Louisville Cardinals 34 38 72 Duke Blue Devils 37 32 69
Date	March 31, 1986
Venue	Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
MVP	Pervis Ellison, Louisville
Favorite	Duke by 1.5[1]
Referees	Hank Nichols, Don Rutledge, Pete Pavia
Attendance	16,493
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Announcers	Brent Musburger (play-by-play) Billy Packer (color)
← 1985 1987 →

This was the last national championship that was played in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex until 2014 which was played at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington, Texas due to the NCAA's preference for domed stadiums. This was also the last championship game to ever feature a team from the Metro Conference, which disbanded in 1995.

Participating teams

Louisville Cardinals

Main article: 1985–86 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

• West
  • (2) Louisville 93, (15) Drexel 73
  • (2) Louisville 82, (7) Bradley 68
  • (2) Louisville 94, (3) North Carolina 79
  • (2) Louisville 84, (8) Auburn 76
• Final Four
  • (W2) Louisville 88, (SE11) LSU 77^[2]

Duke Blue Devils

Main article: 1985–86 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

Duke's Jay Bilas surrounded by Louisville players

• East
  • (1) Duke (1) 85, (16) Mississippi Valley State 78
  • (1) Duke 89, (8) Old Dominion 61
  • (1) Duke 74, (12) DePaul 67
  • (1) Duke 71, (7) Navy 50
• Final Four
  • (E1) Duke 71, (MW1) Kansas 67^[2]

Starting lineups

Louisville	Position		Duke
Milt Wagner 2	G		Tommy Amaker
Jeff Hall	G		† Johnny Dawkins 1
Herbert Crook	F		David Henderson
Billy Thompson 1	F		Mark Alarie 1
Pervis Ellison	C		Jay Bilas
† 1986 Consensus First Team All-American
Players selected in the 1986 NBA draft  (number indicates round)

Source

Game summary

External videos
Full game broadcast by CBS on YouTube

CBS

Monday, March 31 8:00 p.m. CST[1]

Box score

#W2 Louisville Cardinals 72, #E1 Duke Blue Devils 69
Pts: Pervis Ellison – 25 Rebs: Herbert Crook – 12 Asts: Herbert Crook – 5		Pts: Johnny Dawkins – 24 Rebs: Mark Alarie – 6 Asts: Tommy Amaker – 7 Halftime Score: Duke, 37–34

Reunion Arena – Dallas, Texas Attendance: 16,493[3] Referees: Hank Nichols, Don Rutledge, Pete Pavia[3]

Aftermath

This was Louisville's last appearance in the Final Four until 2005, where they would lose to Illinois in the semifinal.

This also remains the last official national championship won by the Cardinals, along with their last official appearance in the championship game. They would return to the title game in 2013, where they defeated Michigan to win what was their third title. However, Louisville was forced to vacate their title due to a massive sex scandal involving players on the team, and as a result the Cardinals had four seasons from 2012 to 2015 wiped from the record books. The Cardinals became the first team to vacate a basketball national championship, and the second team overall to vacate a national championship in college sports after USC vacated its 2004 national championship after an investigation into the eligibility of Reggie Bush.