1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Kansas, coached by Larry Brown, won the national title with an 83–79 victory in the final game over Big Eight Conference rival Oklahoma, coached by Billy Tubbs. As of 2023, this was the last national championship game to feature two schools from the same conference. Danny Manning of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Even though the Final Four was contested 40 miles (64 km) from its campus in Lawrence, Kansas, Kansas was considered a long shot against the top rated Sooners because Oklahoma had previously defeated the Jayhawks twice by 8 points that season—at home in Norman, Oklahoma and on the road in Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas's upset was the third biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. After this upset, the 1988 Kansas team was remembered as "Danny and the Miracles."

This was the first NCAA Tournament which barred teams from playing on their home courts, or in any facility in which it played four or more regular season games. The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee made this change after each of the previous two Final Fours featured a team which played its first and second-round games at home: LSU in 1986 (as a No. 11 seed) and Syracuse in 1987.

The team which was arguably hurt the most by the change was North Carolina, whose Dean Smith Center hosted for the first (and as of 2023, only) time. The Tar Heels were a No. 2 seed, but with the hosting ban now in effect, they were shipped to the West, where they were routed in the regional final by top seed Arizona. Archrival Duke was the No. 2 seed in the East and won its first two games at Chapel Hill on its way to the Final Four.

Arizona, now known as a prominent basketball powerhouse, made their debut in this year's Final Four, marking the 80th different school (including official NCAA vacations; 78th otherwise) to do so. This is notable because Arizona's Final Four appearance was the first by a new school since the 1983 tournament, the longest gap at that point.

Schedule and venues

Atlanta

South Bend

Cincinnati

Hartford

Lincoln

Chapel Hill

Los Angeles

Salt Lake City

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1988 first and second rounds

Seattle

Pontiac

Birmingham

E. Rutherford

Kansas City

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1988 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1988 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

• March 17 and 19
  • East Region
    • Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
  • Midwest Region
    • Edmund P. Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame
      )
  • Southeast Region
    • Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech)
  • West Region
    • Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
• March 18 and 20
  • East Region
    • Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
  • Midwest Region
    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln
      )
  • Southeast Region
    • Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio (Hosts: University of Cincinnati, Xavier University
      )
  • West Region
    • UCLA
      )

• March 24 and 26
  • East Regional,
    Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference
    )
  • Southeast Regional, BJCC Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)
• March 25 and 27
  • Midwest Regional,
    Midwestern Collegiate Conference
    )
  • West Regional, Kingdome, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 2 and 4
  • Big 8 Conference
    )

Teams

(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Midwest Regional – Pontiac, Michigan

Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.

West Regional – Seattle, Washington

Final Four – Kansas City, Missouri

Game summaries

Announcers

Television

CBS Sports

• James Brown
  served as studio hosts.
• Brent Musburger and Billy Packer – first round (Florida–St. John's) at Salt Lake City, Utah; second round at Hartford, Connecticut and Chapel Hill, North Carolina; West Regional at Seattle, Washington; Final Four at Kansas City, Missouri
• Tim Brant and Bill Raftery – First (UNLV–SW Missouri State) and Second Rounds at Los Angeles, California; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Dick Stockton and Billy Cunningham – second round at Lincoln, Nebraska and Salt Lake City, Utah; Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Alabama
• Verne Lundquist and Tom Heinsohn – second round at Cincinnati, Ohio and South Bend, Indiana; Midwest Regional at Pontiac, Michigan
• Tim Ryan and Curry Kirkpatrick – second round at Atlanta, Georgia

ESPN and NCAA Productions

• John Saunders (NCAA Tournament Today) and Bob Ley (NCAA Tournament Tonight) served as studio hosts and Dick Vitale served as studio analyst.
• Mike Gorman and Ron Perry – first round (Temple–Lehigh, Georgia Tech–Iowa State) at Hartford, Connecticut
• Bob Carpenter and Dan Belluomini – first round (Indiana–Richmond, Georgetown–LSU) at Hartford, Connecticut
• Ralph Hacker and Bucky Waters – first round (Duke–Boston University, Missouri–Rhode Island) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Bob Rathbun and Dan Bonner – first round (Syracuse–North Carolina A&T, SMU–Notre Dame) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Fred White and Larry Conley – first round (Oklahoma–Chattanooga, Louisville–Oregon State) at Atlanta, Georgia
• Mike Patrick and Bob Ortegel – first round (Brigham Young–Charlotte, Auburn–Bradley) at Atlanta, Georgia
• Tom Hammond and Mike Pratt – first round (Kentucky–Southern, Illinois–UTSA) at Cincinnati, Ohio
• Mick Hubert and Jack Givens – first round (Villanova–Arkansas, Maryland–UC Santa Barbara) at Cincinnati, Ohio
• Eddie Doucette and John Laskowski – first round (Purdue–Fairleigh Dickinson, Kansas State–La Salle) at South Bend, Indiana
• Wayne Larrivee and Jim Gibbons – first round (DePaul–Wichita State, Baylor–Memphis State) at South Bend, Indiana
• Ron Franklin and Quinn Buckner – first round (Pittsburgh–Eastern Michigan, N.C. State–Murray State) at Lincoln, Nebraska
• John Sanders and Gary Thompson – first round (Kansas–Xavier, Vanderbilt–Utah State) at Lincoln, Nebraska
• Pete Solomon and Derrek Dickey – first round (Arizona–Cornell) at Los Angeles, California
• Phil Stone and Lynn Shackelford – first round (Iowa–Florida State, Seton Hall–UTEP) at Los Angeles, California
• Ted Robinson and Bruce Larson – first round (North Carolina–North Texas) at Salt Lake City, Utah
• Frank Fallon and Bruce Larson – first round (Michigan–Boise State) at Salt Lake City, Utah
• Frank Fallon and Irv Brown – first round (Wyoming–Loyola Marymount) at Salt Lake City, Utah

See also

• 1988 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1988 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 1988 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1988 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 1988 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 1988 National Invitation Tournament
• 1988 National Women's Invitation Tournament
• 1988 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1988 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament