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. The 61st annual edition of the tournament 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 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

Season	1998–99
Teams	64
Finals site	Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Champions	Connecticut Huskies (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Duke Blue Devils (8th title game, 12th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Michigan State Spartans (3rd Final Four) Ohio State Buckeyes (Vacated) (9th Final Four)
Winning coach	Jim Calhoun (1st title)
MOP	Richard Hamilton (Connecticut)
Attendance	720,685
Top scorer	Richard 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 vacate 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 a decade of barely missing the Final Four.

This tournament is also historically notable as the coming-out party for Gonzaga as a rising mid-major power. 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. Gonzaga is expected to join the newly revamped Pac-12 Conference in the 2025–26 academic year.

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]

Schedule and venues

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)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1999 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

• March 11 and 13
  • South Region
    • RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University, Midwestern Collegiate Conference)
    • Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida (Host: Stetson University)
  • West Region
    • McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado (Hosts: Western Athletic Conference, Colorado State University)
    • KeyArena, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)
• March 12 and 14
  • East Region
    • FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts (Host: Boston College)
    • Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
  • Midwest Region
    • Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University)
    • Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Tulane University)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 18 and 20
  • South Regional, Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
  • West Regional, America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University)
• March 19 and 21
  • East Regional, Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference)
  • Midwest Regional, Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• March 27 and 29
  • Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida (Hosts: University of South Florida, Conference USA)

Teams

There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 28 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while two were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Ivy League and Pac-10).

Five conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Arkansas State (Sun Belt), Florida A&M (MEAC), Kent State (MAC), Samford (TAAC), and Winthrop (Big South).

Automatic qualifiers

Automatic qualifiers

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	Duke	23rd	1998
America East	Delaware	4th	1998
Atlantic 10	Rhode Island	8th	1998
Big 12	Kansas	28th	1998
Big East	Connecticut	20th	1998
Big Sky	Weber State	12th	1995
Big South	Winthrop	1st	Never
Big Ten	Michigan State	13th	1998
Big West	New Mexico State	15th	1994
CAA	George Mason	2nd	1989
Conference USA	UNC Charlotte	7th	1998
Ivy League	Penn	17th	1995
MAAC	Siena	2nd	1989
MAC	Kent State	1st	Never
MCC	Detroit	5th	1998
MEAC	Florida A&M	1st	Never
Mid-Continent	Valparaiso	4th	1998
Missouri Valley	Creighton	10th	1991
NEC	Mount St. Mary's	2nd	1995
Ohio Valley	Murray State	10th	1998
Pac-10	Stanford	8th	1998
Patriot	Lafayette	2nd	1957
SEC	Kentucky	40th	1998
Southern	College of Charleston	4th	1998
Southland	UTSA	2nd	1988
SWAC	Alcorn State	5th	1984
Sun Belt	Arkansas State	1st	Never
TAAC	Samford	1st	Never
WAC	Utah	21st	1998
West Coast	Gonzaga	2nd	1995

Listed by region and seeding

East Regional – Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Duke ACC 32–1 Automatic 2 Miami (FL) Big East 22–6 At-Large 3 Cincinnati Conference USA 26–5 At-Large 4 Tennessee SEC 20–8 At-Large 5 Wisconsin Big Ten 22–9 At-Large 6 Temple Atlantic 10 21–10 At-Large 7 Texas Big 12 19–12 At-Large 8 College of Charleston Southern 28–2 Automatic 9 Tulsa WAC 22–9 At-Large 10 Purdue Big Ten 19–12 At-Large 11 Kent State Mid-American 23–6 Automatic 12 Southwest Missouri State Missouri Valley 20–10 At-Large 13 Delaware America East 25–5 Automatic 14 George Mason CAA 19–10 Automatic 15 Lafayette Patriot 22–7 Automatic 16 Florida A&M MEAC 12–18 Automatic

South Regional – Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Auburn SEC 27–3 At-Large 2 Maryland ACC 26–5 At-Large 3 St. John's Big East 25–8 At-Large 4 Ohio State (vacated) Big Ten 23–8 At-Large 5 UCLA (vacated) Pac-10 22–8 At-Large 6 Indiana Big Ten 22–10 At-Large 7 Louisville Conference USA 19–10 At-Large 8 Syracuse Big East 21–11 At-Large 9 Oklahoma State Big 12 22–10 At-Large 10 Creighton Missouri Valley 21–8 Automatic 11 George Washington Atlantic 10 20–8 At-Large 12 Detroit MCC 24–5 Automatic 13 Murray State Ohio Valley 27–5 Automatic 14 Samford TAAC 24–5 Automatic 15 Valparaiso Mid-Continent 23–8 Automatic 16 Winthrop Big South 17–13 Automatic

Midwest Regional – Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Michigan State Big Ten 29–4 Automatic 2 Utah WAC 27–4 Automatic 3 Kentucky SEC 25–8 Automatic 4 Arizona (vacated) Pac-10 22–6 At-Large 5 UNC Charlotte Conference USA 22–10 Automatic 6 Kansas Big 12 22–9 Automatic 7 Washington Pac-10 17–11 At-Large 8 Villanova Big East 21–10 At-Large 9 Ole Miss SEC 19–13 At-Large 10 Miami (OH) MAC 22–7 At-Large 11 Evansville Missouri Valley 23–9 At-Large 12 Rhode Island Atlantic 10 20–10 Automatic 13 Oklahoma Big 12 20–10 At-Large 14 New Mexico State Big West 23–9 Automatic 15 Arkansas State Sun Belt 18–11 Automatic 16 Mount St. Mary's NEC 15–14 Automatic

West Regional – America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Connecticut Big East 28–2 Automatic 2 Stanford Pac-10 25–6 Automatic 3 North Carolina ACC 24–9 At-Large 4 Arkansas SEC 22–10 At-Large 5 Iowa Big Ten 18–9 At-Large 6 Florida SEC 20–8 At-Large 7 Minnesota Big Ten 17–10 At-Large 8 Missouri Big 12 20–8 At-Large 9 New Mexico WAC 24–8 At-Large 10 Gonzaga West Coast 25–6 Automatic 11 Penn Ivy League 21–5 Automatic 12 UAB Conference USA 20–11 At-Large 13 Siena MAAC 25–5 Automatic 14 Weber State Big Sky 24–7 Automatic 15 Alcorn State SWAC 23–6 Automatic 16 UTSA 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

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

	First round					Quarter-finals					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

box score

#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					Quarter-finals					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	81OT
	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	92OT
	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

box score

#1 Michigan State Spartans 73, #3 Kentucky Wildcats 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					Quarter-finals					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 Mercy	56
						12	Detroit Mercy	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

box score

#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					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Connecticut	91
	16	UTSA	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	82OT
	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

Game summaries

First Round

CBS

Thursday, March 11 10:15 pm

#1 Connecticut Huskies 91, #16 UTSA Roadrunners 66
Scoring by half: 52–27, 39–39
Pts: R. Hamilton – 28 Rebs: K. Freeman – 8 Asts: K. El-Amin – 10		Pts: S. Meyer – 18 Rebs: M. Powers – 8 Asts: S. Meyer, J. Riley – 3

McNichols Sports Arena – Denver, CO Attendance: 16,237 Referees: Mark Whitehead, Larry Lembo, Robert Staffen

Second Round

CBS

Saturday, March 13 2:20 pm

#1 Connecticut Huskies 78, #9 New Mexico Lobos 56
Scoring by half: 37–22, 41–34
Pts: K. El-Amin, R. Hamilton – 21 Rebs: J. Voskuhl – 9 Asts: E.J. Harrison – 3		Pts: D. Walker – 21 Rebs: K. Thomas – 11 Asts: J. Harrison II – 6

McNichols Sports Arena – Denver, CO Attendance: 16,237 Referees: Frank Scagliotta, Gerald Boudreaux, Phil Bova

Regional Semifinals

CBS

Thursday, March 18 10:27 pm

#1 Connecticut Huskies 78, #5 Iowa Hawkeyes 68
Scoring by half: 40–35, 38–33
Pts: R. Hamilton – 24 Rebs: K. Freeman – 6 Asts: K. El-Amin, R. Moore – 5		Pts: J. R. Koch – 14 Rebs: J. Bauer, G. Rucker, J. Settles – 6 Asts: J. Bauer, D. Oliver, J. Settles – 2

America West Arena – Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 17,975 Referees: Jody Silvester, Frank Bosone, John Sweeney

Regional Final

CBS

Saturday, March 20 3:40 pm

box score

#1 Connecticut Huskies 67, #10 Gonzaga Bulldogs 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
	MW1	Michigan State	62
						E1	Duke	74
						W1	Connecticut	77
	S4	Ohio State	58
	W1	Connecticut	64

Ohio State vacated 34 games, including all NCAA Tournament wins from the 1998–99 season due to the Jim O’Brien scandal.^[2][3] Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Ohio State removing the wins from its own record.

Game summaries

Final four

CBS

Saturday, March 27 5:42 pm

box score

#W1 Connecticut Huskies 64, #S4 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

Saturday, March 27 8:00 pm

box score

#E1 Duke Blue Devils 68, #MW1 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

Monday, March 29 9:18 pm

Box score

#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

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports

• Greg Gumbel served as the studio host, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg.

Commentary teams

• Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Bonnie Bernstein – First & Second Round at New Orleans, Louisiana; Midwest Regional at St. Louis; Final Four at St. Petersburg, Florida
• Sean McDonough/Bill Raftery/Michele Tafoya – First & Second Round at Indianapolis, Indiana; South Regional at Knoxville, Tennessee
• Verne Lundquist/Al McGuire/Armen Keteyian – First & Second Round at Charlotte, North Carolina; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Gus Johnson/Dan Bonner/Barry Booker – First & Second Round at Orlando, Florida; West Regional at Phoenix, Arizona
• Tim Brando/James Worthy/Beth Mowins – First & Second Round at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Kevin Harlan/Jon Sundvold/Mike Harris – First & Second Round at Seattle, Washington
• Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Mike Mayock – First & Second Round at Denver, Colorado
• Craig Bolerjack/Rolando Blackman/Jimmy Dykes – First & Second Round at Boston, Massachusetts

Radio

Westwood One

First and Second Rounds

• – East Region First and Second Rounds at Charlotte, North Carolina
• – East Region First and Second Rounds at Boston, Massachusetts
• – Midwest Region First and Second Rounds at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• – Midwest Region First and Second Rounds at New Orleans, Louisiana
• – South Region First and Second Rounds at Indianapolis, Indiana
• – South Region First and Second Rounds at Orlando, Florida
• – West Region First and Second Rounds at Denver, Colorado
• – West Region First and Second Rounds at Seattle, Washington

Regionals

• – East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
• – Midwest Regional at St. Louis, Missouri
• – South Regional at Knoxville, Tennessee
• – West Regional at Phoenix, Arizona

Final Four and National Championship

• Marty Brennaman and Ron Franklin – (Connecticut–Ohio State) Final Four at St. Petersburg, Florida
• John Rooney and Bill Raftery – (Duke–Michigan State) Final Four and National Championship Game at St. Petersburg, Florida

Local Radio

East Regional – East Rutherford Seed School Radio Play-by-play Color commentator Studio host 1 Midwest Regional – St. Louis Seed School Radio Play-by-play Color commentator Studio host 1
South Regional – Knoxville Seed School Radio Play-by-play Color commentator Studio host 1	West Regional – Phoenix Seed School Radio Play-by-play Color commentator Studio host 1 Connecticut WTIC–AM 1080 (Connecticut) Joe D'Ambrosio Wayne Norman

Additional notes

• Despite their loss in the finals to Connecticut, the 1998–1999 Duke team won 37 games.^[4] 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.^[5]
• 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.
• This is the only tournament in which all four 7-seeds lost in the first round to their 10-seeded opponents.