| National championship game | |||||||||||||
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| Date | March 31, 1986 | ||||||||||||
| Venue | Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||
| MVP | Pervis Ellison, Louisville | ||||||||||||
| Favorite | Duke by 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||||
| ← 19851987 → | |||||||||||||
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, and featured the East Regional Champion, #1-seeded Duke and the West Regional Champion, #2-seeded Louisville.
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
Duke Blue Devils
Main article: 1985–86 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team
- 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
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
| CBS |
| Monday, March 31 8:00 p.m. CST |
| 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 Referees: Hank Nichols, Don Rutledge, Pete Pavia |
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.
References
- ^ "NCAA Final At a Glance". Sports News. Miami Herald. March 31, 1986. p. 1C. Retrieved October 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NCAA tournament". Sports. San Francisco Examiner. March 31, 1986. p. F-8. Retrieved October 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barnhouse, Wendell (April 1, 1986). "Louisville leaves Duke down and out". Sports. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. 1C, 8C. Retrieved October 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
Media related to 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game at Wikimedia Commons- Box score via Sports Reference
| Louisville Cardinals men's basketball 1985–86 NCAA champions | |
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- 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
- NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games
- Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
- Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
- Basketball competitions in Dallas
- College basketball tournaments in Texas
- 1986 in sports in Texas
- 20th century in Dallas
- March 1986 sports events in the United States