The 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 27, 1981, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 29, 1982, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The North Carolina Tar Heels won their second NCAA national championship with a 63–62 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas.
Season headlines
Eastern Illinois, Illinois–Chicago, Loyola (MD), Marist, Maryland–Eastern Shore, Texas–San Antonio, U.S. International, Utica, Western Illinois, Wisconsin–Green Bay and Youngstown State began Division I play. The ECAC Metro Conference began play, with 11 original members. It was renamed the Northeast Conference in 1988. The ECAC South Conference began conference play, with 11 original members. Although it had been founded in 1979, its members had played as independents until this season, taking part in the Eastern College Athletic Conference's postseason South region tournament for independents. The ECAC South Conference was renamed the Colonial Athletic Association in 1985 and the Coastal Athletic Association in 2023. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference began play, with six original members. Before a crowd of 7,300 people at Robertson Field House in Peoria, Illinois, on December 21, 1981, Cincinnati defeated Bradley 75–73 in seven overtimes in the longest game in NCAA Division I history. Texas Southern's Harry Kelly led the United States in scoring and had the highest single-game output with 51 points against Texas College.2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book, pp. 307–8, NCAA, retrieved 2010-08-14 The NCAA tournament's national third-place game — which had pitted the two teams that lost in the semifinals against one another — was abolished. It had been part of the tournament from 1946 through 1981. The National Invitation Tournament's third-place game, in which the two teams that lost in the semifinals had played against one another, was abolished. It had been part of the NIT since the tournament was first held in 1938. For the first time CBS was awarded the television rights for the NCAA tournament. The selection show announcing the NCAA tournament bracket was televised live for the first time. Brent Musburger of CBS Sports became the first television sportscaster to refer to the NCAA tournament as "March Madness" on the air. John Thompson of Georgetown became the first African-American head coach to lead his team to the Final Four. Dean Smith won his first national championship as his North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 63–62 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was Smith's first win after three losses in the championship game – including losing the previous year to Indiana. Following the season, the University of San Francisco (USF) dropped its basketball program following a scandal involving All-American guard Quintin Dailey. In the process of pleading guilty to assaulting a female USF student, Dailey revealed that he had been paid $1000 per month by a Dons booster for a job he never showed up for. This, combined with other blemishes on the program, caused university president John Lo Schiavo to shut down the program., Sports Illustrated, retrieved 2009-07-02 USF did not reinstate its basketball program until 1985.
Major rule changes Beginning in 1981–1982, the following rules changes were implemented: The jump ball was only used at the beginning of the game and at the start of each overtime. An alternating arrow was used to indicate possession in jump-ball situations during the game. All fouls charged to bench personnel were assessed to the head coach.2008–09 NCAA Record Book – Playing-rules history section To decrease stalling, two defensive players are required to enter the mid-court area and "continuously and aggressively" attempt to gain control of the ball. Causing a backboard to vibrate during a shot or tap is a technical foul. Purposely faking a free throw is a violation. During free throw attempts, the free throw shooter and any players not in a marked space around the lane are not allowed to enter the lane until the ball touches either the rim or backboard. "Break-away" rims, implemented by the NBA after the Darryl Dawkins backboard-shattering dunks, are now permitted.NCAA Changes basketball rules
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.* Associated PressRankingTeam1 North Carolina (25)2 UCLA (20)3 Kentucky (8)4 Louisville (4)5 Georgetown (2)6 Wichita State7 Virginia8 DePaul9 Iowa10 Minnesota11 Tulsa12 Indiana (1)13 Wake Forest14 Alabama-Birmingham15 Missouri16 Georgia17 Louisiana State18 Arkansas (1)19 Notre Dame20 Alabama UPI CoachesRankingTeam1 North Carolina2 UCLA3 Kentucky4 Louisville5 Georgetown 6 Virginia7 Wichita State8 Iowa9 DePaul10 Minnesota11 Indiana12 Tulsa13 Georgia14 Wake Forest 15 Missouri16 San Francisco17 Alabama-Birmingham18 Louisiana State19 Arkansas20 UNLV
Conference membership changes SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Division I independent Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division I independent Old Dominion Athletic Conference (Division III) Division I independent ECAC South Conference Division II independent Division I independent Division I independent Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division I independent Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Division I independent ECAC South Conference Sun Belt Conference Division I independent CCAC (NAIA) Division I independent Division I independent Missouri Valley Conference Division I independent Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Division I independent ECAC South Conference Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division II independent ECAC Metro Conference Division I independent Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Big Apple Conference (Division II) ECAC Metro Conference Division II independent Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Division I independent ECAC South Conference Division I independent ECAC South Conference Division I independent Discontinued basketball program Division I independent ECAC South Conference Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division I independent Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference No program Division I independent Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division II independent Division I independent Non-Division I Division I independent Division I independent ECAC Metro Conference Division II independent Division I independent Division I independent ECAC South Conference Division II independent Division I independent Division II independent Ohio Valley Conference NOTE: Although the ECAC South Conference was founded in 1979, its members played as independents until conference play began this season. Catholic University left the ECAC South Conference before conference play began.
New arenas
Georgetown, which had used on-campus McDonough Gymnasium as its home court since the 1951–52 season, moved off campus to Capital Centre (later known as USAir Arena and USAirways Arena) in Landover, Maryland. Although they would continue to play occasional home games at McDonough Gymnasium, the Hoyas would use Capital Centre as their home court until early in the 1997–98 season. In its first game at Capital Centre, Georgetown defeated 71–53 before a crowd of 8,302 on December 5, 1981.
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments