1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. This was the first year the field was expanded to 64 teams, from 53 in the previous year's tournament. It began on March 14, 1985, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Lexington, Kentucky. A total of 63 games was played.

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 is often cited among the greatest upsets in college basketball history, and is the second biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. 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 1982–1986.)

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.

Locations

Atlanta

Dayton

Albuquerque

Hartford

Houston

South Bend

Tulsa

Salt Lake City

1985 first and second rounds

Dallas

Providence

Birmingham

Denver

Lexington

1985 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

First and Second rounds

• Albuquerque, New Mexico (University Arena)
• Atlanta (Omni Coliseum)
• Dayton, Ohio (University of Dayton Arena)
• Hartford, Connecticut (Hartford Civic Center)
• Houston, Texas (Hofheinz Pavilion)
• Salt Lake City, Utah (Jon M. Huntsman Center)
• South Bend, Indiana (Edmund P. Joyce Center)
• Tulsa, Oklahoma (Mabee Center)

Later rounds

Teams

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – Providence, Rhode Island

Regional Final Summary

West Regional – Denver, Colorado

First Round Summary

Second Round Summary

Regional Semifinal Summary

Regional Final Summary

Mideast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

Regional Final Summary

Midwest Regional – Dallas, Texas

Regional Final Summary

Final Four @ Lexington, Kentucky

Game Summaries

National Championship

Announcers

• Brent Musburger or Dick Stockton and Billy Packer
• Gary Bender and Doug Collins
• Frank Glieber and James Brown
• Verne Lundquist or Pat Summerall and Larry Conley
• Verne Lundquist and Steve Grote

Further reading

• Pinckney, Ed; Gordon, Robert (2004). Ed Pinckney's Tales from the Villanova Hardwood: The Story of the 1985 NCAA champs. Champaign: Sports Publishing. ISBN 1-58261-809-7.