1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament


The 1985 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. This was the first year the field was expanded to 64 teams, from 53 in the previous year's tournament. The 47th annual edition of the tournament began on March 14, 1985, and ended with the championship game on April 1, at Rupp Arena on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington. A total of 63 games were played.
Eighth-seed [1984–85 1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team|Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team|Villanova], coached by Rollie Massimino, won their first national title with a 66–64 victory in the final game over [1984–85 1984–85 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team|Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team|Georgetown], coached by John Thompson. Ed Pinckney of Villanova was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The game, often cited as "The Perfect Game", is widely considered 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. 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 [1984–85 1984–85 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team|Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team|Memphis State], then of the Metro Conference. Lehigh, champion of the East Coast Conference Tournament, became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to compete with a record below.500, as they were 12–18 at the time they played in the First Round.
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. No metropolitan area as small as Lexington has hosted the Final Four to date, though Lexington has hosted regionals throughout the years.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1985 tournament:
First and Second Rounds
Regional semifinals and finals
National semifinals and championship

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Midwest Regional – Dallas, Texas

* - denotes overtime

Final Four – Lexington, Kentucky

# - Memphis State was forced to vacate its NCAA tournament appearance after a massive gambling scandal and a criminal investigation into head coach Dana Kirk. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Memphis removing the wins from its own record.

Announcers

Television

CBS Sports
ESPN and NCAA Productions
  • Bob Ley served as studio host and Dick Vitale served as studio analyst.
  • – First round & at Hartford, Connecticut
  • – First round & at Hartford, Connecticut
  • Mike Patrick and Larry Conley – First round & at Atlanta, Georgia
  • – First round & at Atlanta, Georgia
  • – First round & at Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • – First round & at Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • – First round & at Houston, Texas
  • – First round & at Dayton, Ohio
  • Frank Herzog/Ralph Hacker and Joe Dean– First round & at Dayton, Ohio
  • – First round & at South Bend, Indiana
  • Tom Hammond and Jack Givens – First round & at South Bend, Indiana
  • – First round at Salt Lake City, Utah
  • – First round & at Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Larry Zimmer and Ted Owens – First round at Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • – First round & at Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Frank Fallon and Gary Thompson- First round & at Houston, Texas Midwest Regional semifinals at Dallas, Texas
  • Mike Patrick and Larry Conley – Southeast Regional semifinals at Birmingham, Alabama

Radio

Regionals

CBS Radio
  • – East Regionals at Providence, Rhode Island
  • – Midwest Regionals at Dallas, Texas
  • – Southeast Regionals at Birmingham, Alabama
  • – West Regionals at Denver, Colorado

Final four

  • – at Lexington, Kentucky