2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament


The 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's basketball national champion for the [2018–19 NCAA Division I men's College basketball|basketball season|2018–19 season]. The 81st annual edition of the [NCAA NCAA Division I|Division I men's basketball tournament|tournament] began on March 19, 2019, and concluded with the championship game on April 8, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the [2018–19 2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|Virginia Cavaliers], with Virginia winning 85–77 in overtime.
Two schools made their first appearances in the tournament: [2019 2019 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament|Big South Conference men's basketball tournament|Big South] champion Gardner–Webb and [2019 2019 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament|Southland Conference men's basketball tournament|Southland] champion Abilene Christian.
For the first time since 2001, no #8 seed survived the first round of the tournament. This was also the first time since the First Four was established in 2011 that no team in the [|First Four] advanced past the first round of the tournament. This was the first Final Four since 2012 that did not include at least one team seeded #7 or lower.
This tournament marked the first time that the Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference and the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference made the Final Four. This also marked the third Final Four appearance for the Virginia Cavaliers of the Atlantic Coast Conference, but their first since 1984.
The championship game was the first time since 1979 to see two first-time participants playing in the championship, and the first since 2006 to have a first-time national champion. As a result of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that started in late 2019 and subsequently forced the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, this would be the last tournament held until 2021, and this would be also the last tournament held across the United States until 2022.
Carsen Edwards of [2018–19 2018–19 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team|Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team|Purdue] was the leading scorer, with 139 points in only 4 games—producing an average of 34.8 points per game. Edwards also set the record for most made three-point shots in a tournament, with 28. The previous record holder, Glen Rice of [1988–89 1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team|Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team|Michigan] in 1989, made 27, but did so in 6 games.
In the previous year's tournament, Virginia had infamously become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed. At the conclusion of this year's title game, CBS announcer Jim Nantz dubbed Virginia's win the "all-time turnaround title."
WWW finalfourminneapolis.com

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams entered the 2019 tournament. Thirty-two automatic bids were awarded to each program that won their conference's tournament. The remaining 36 bids were "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Eight teams played in the First Four. The winners of these games advanced to the main draw of the tournament.
The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.
The selections and seedings were completed and revealed on Sunday, March 17.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2019 tournament:
First Four
First and second rounds
Regional semifinals and finals
National semifinals and championship
U.S. Bank Stadium became the 40th venue to host the Final Four. This was the first hosting of the event at the facility, built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, a two-time host in 1992 and 2001. The tournament returned to Hartford's XL Center for the first time since 1998. For the first time since 1970, the tournament returned to Columbia, South Carolina, with games played at the Colonial Life Arena.

Qualification and selection

Four teams, out of 353 in Division I, were ineligible to participate in the 2019 tournament; Alabama A&M and Florida A&M failed to meet APR requirements, while California Baptist and North Alabama are amidst reclassification from Division II.

Tournament seeds


The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process.

*See First Four

Tournament bracket

First Four – Dayton, OH">UD Arena">Dayton, OH

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

East Regional – Washington, D.C.">Capital One Arena">Washington, D.C.

East Regional all-tournament team

West Regional – Anaheim, CA">Honda Center">Anaheim, CA

West Regional all-tournament team

South Regional – Louisville, KY">KFC Yum! Center">Louisville, KY

South Regional all-tournament team

Midwest Regional – Kansas City, MO">Sprint Center">Kansas City, MO

Midwest Regional all-tournament team

Final Four – Minneapolis, MN">U.S. Bank Stadium">Minneapolis, MN

Final Four all-tournament team

Game summaries and tournament notes

Upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." There were five upsets during the whole tournament, and all of them were in the first round.
RoundEastWestSouthMidwest
First roundNo. 12 Liberty defeated No. 5 Mississippi State, 80–76No. 12 Murray State defeated No. 5 Marquette, 83–64No. 11 Ohio State defeated No. 6 Iowa State, 62–59

Record by conference

  • The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64, round of 32, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
  • The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for the NEC, Ohio Valley, Pac-12, and Summit conferences and losses in the First Four for the American and Big East conference.
  • The SWAC and MEAC each had one representative, eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1.
  • The America East, Big Sky, Big South, Colonial, C-USA, Horizon, MAAC, Missouri Valley, Patriot, Southland, Sun Belt, WAC, and Ivy League each had one representative, eliminated in the Round of 64 with a record of 0–1.

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports and Turner Sports had U.S. television rights to the tournament. As part of a cycle than began in 2016, CBS televised the 2019 Final Four and championship game.
In response to criticism over TBS's handling of the selection show in 2018, it was announced that CBS's selection show would revert to an hour-long format, and prioritize unveiling the bracket. CNN president Jeff Zucker, who had also become head of WarnerMedia's sports properties after a reorganization, explained that "it's a sign of understanding when things don't necessarily go as well as you would hope you change it. So there's no shame in that. At the end of the day, you have to give the fans what they want." The show attracted its highest viewership since 2014 and averaged a 4.0 share on Nielsen overnight ratings.

Television channels

  • First Four – truTV
  • First and second rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV
  • Regional semifinals and finals – CBS and TBS
  • National semifinals and championship – CBS

Studio hosts

  • Greg Gumbel – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Ernie Johnson – First round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Casey Stern – First Four, first round and second round
  • Adam Zucker – First round and second round

Studio analysts

  • Charles Barkley – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Mike Brey – Regional Semi-Finals
  • Jeff Capel – First round
  • Seth Davis – First Four, first round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Brendan Haywood – First Four, first round, second round and Regional semi-finals
  • Clark Kellogg – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Porter Moser – Second round
  • Candace Parker – First Four, first round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals and Final Four
  • Kenny Smith – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Gene Steratore – First Four, first round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Wally Szczerbiak – Second round and Final Four
  • Jay Wright – Final Four

Commentary teams

ESPN International had international rights to the tournament. Coverage uses CBS/Turner play-by-play teams until the Final Four.

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.

First Four

First and second rounds

Regionals

  • Kevin Kugler and John Thompson – East Regional at Washington, D.C.
  • Scott Graham and P. J. Carlesimo – Midwest Regional at Kansas City, Missouri
  • Brandon Gaudin and Will Perdue – South Regional at Louisville, Kentucky
  • Ryan Radtke and Jim Jackson – West Regional at Anaheim, California

Final Four

Internet

Video

Live video of games was available for streaming through the following means:
In addition, the March Madness app offered Fast Break, whiparound coverage of games similar to NFL RedZone.

Audio

Live audio of games was available for streaming through the following means:

Film

#16 seed Gardner–Webb's season and appearance in the tournament became the subject of a documentary titled The Dancin' Bulldogs, released on October 16, 2020.