The 1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 American schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the National Champion of Men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 39th annual edition of the tournament began on Saturday, March 12, 1977, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 28, at The Omni in Atlanta. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third-place game. This was the final tournament in which teams were not seeded.

Marquette, coached by Al McGuire, won the national title with a 67–59 victory in the final game over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Butch Lee of Marquette was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Publicly announcing his retirement during the middle of the season, McGuire retired as head coach immediately after the game. UNLV and UNC Charlotte were third and fourth place, respectively. Marquette's seven losses were a record at the time for the most losses in a season by a national champion, exceeded four years later in 1981 by Indiana with nine.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1977 tournament:

First round March 12 East Region The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University) Midwest Region Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma) Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska (Hosts: Creighton University, Missouri Valley Conference) West Region ASISU Minidome, Pocatello, Idaho (Hosts: Idaho State University, Big Sky Conference) McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona) March 13 Mideast Region LSU Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University) Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University Bloomington)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 17 and 19 East Regional, Cole Field House, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park) Mideast Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) Midwest Regional, Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Oklahoma City University) West Regional, Marriott Center, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship) March 26 and 28 The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia)

Teams Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final opponent Score East East Duquesne John Cinicola Eastern Round of 32 VMI L 73–66 East Roger Gaeckler East Coast Round of 32 Notre Dame L 90–83 East Kentucky Joe B. Hall Southeastern Regional Runner-up North Carolina L 79–72 East North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Runner Up Marquette L 67–59 East Notre Dame Digger Phelps Independent Sweet Sixteen North Carolina L 79–77 East Princeton Pete Carril Ivy League Round of 32 Kentucky L 72–58 East Purdue Fred Schaus Big Ten Round of 32 North Carolina L 69–66 East VMI Charlie Schmaus Southern Sweet Sixteen Kentucky L 93–78 Mideast Mideast Dick Parfitt Mid-American Round of 32 UNC Charlotte L 91–86 Mideast UNC Charlotte Lee Rose Sun Belt Fourth Place UNLV L 106–94 Mideast Detroit Dick Vitale Independent Sweet Sixteen Michigan L 86–81 Mideast George Blaney Independent Round of 32 Michigan L 92–81 Mideast Michigan Johnny Orr Big Ten Regional Runner-up UNC Charlotte L 75–68 Mideast Jimmy Earle Ohio Valley Round of 32 Detroit L 93–76 Mideast Syracuse Jim Boeheim Independent Sweet Sixteen UNC Charlotte L 81–59 Mideast Ray Mears Southeastern Round of 32 Syracuse L 93–88 Midwest Midwest Arizona Fred Snowden Western Athletic Round of 32 Southern Illinois L 81–77 Midwest Arkansas Eddie Sutton Southwest Round of 32 Wake Forest L 86–80 Midwest Cincinnati Gale Catlett Metropolitan Round of 32 Marquette L 66–51 Midwest Kansas State Jack Hartman Big Eight Sweet Sixteen Marquette L 67–66 Midwest Marquette Al McGuire Independent Champion North Carolina W 67–59 Midwest Providence Dave Gavitt Independent Round of 32 Kansas State L 87–80 Midwest Southern Illinois Paul Lambert Missouri Valley Sweet Sixteen Wake Forest L 86–81 Midwest Wake Forest Carl Tacy Atlantic Coast Regional Runner-up Marquette L 82–68 West West Idaho State Jim Killingsworth Big Sky Regional Runner-up UNLV L 107–90 West Dwight Jones Pacific Coast Round of 32 Idaho State L 83–72 West Louisville Denny Crum Metropolitan Round of 32 UCLA L 87–79 West Bob Gaillard West Coast Round of 32 UNLV L 121–95 West St. John's Lou Carnesecca Independent Round of 32 Utah L 72–68 West UCLA Gene Bartow Pacific-8 Sweet Sixteen Idaho State L 76–75 West UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Independent Third Place UNC Charlotte W 106–94 West Utah Jerry Pimm Western Athletic Sweet Sixteen UNLV L 83–88

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region Cole Field House – College Park, MarylandFirst round games were played at Raleigh, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 12.

West region Most of the excitement surrounding the Western Regional was the anticipated matchup between top-five-ranked teams UCLA and UNLV. Jerry Tarkanian had lost three times in the tournament to UCLA while he was at Long Beach State, including a heartbreaking 57–55 loss in the 1971 West Regional final in which Long Beach led by eleven in the second half. Many felt this UNLV team gave him the best opportunity to beat his longtime nemesis. But he never got the chance as UCLA was stunned in the regional semi final by unranked Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference. This was the first time since 1963 that UCLA made the tournament but failed to get to the Final Four. Down by a point at halftime, UNLV went on to easily beat Idaho State

Marriott Center – Provo, Utah First round games were played at Pocatello, Idaho and Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, March 12.

Mideast region Rupp Arena – Lexington, Kentucky First round games were played at Bloomington, Indiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday, March 13.

Midwest region Myriad Convention Center – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma First round games were played at Omaha, Nebraska and Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday, March 12.

Final Four Omni Coliseum – Atlanta, Georgia

See also 1977 NCAA Division II basketball tournament 1977 NCAA Division III basketball tournament 1977 National Invitation Tournament 1977 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1977 National Women's Invitation Tournament

Notes All four regionals were played on Thursday and Saturday. The opening round the preceding weekend played twelve games on Saturday and four on Sunday. The tournament saw only two teams making their NCAA Tournament debut, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Southern Illinois University. Interestingly, both teams had hosted tournament games in their arenas before playing in the tournament; SIU Arena hosted first-round games in the 1969 tournament, and Charlotte Coliseum, which the 49ers had just moved to in 1976 after previously playing on campus at Belk Gymnasium, had hosted games seven previous years (including 1976) and would host five more times before the opening of the second Charlotte Coliseum in 1988. This tournament marked the most recent appearance of VMI; their 47-year drought is, as of 2024, the sixth-longest active drought in the NCAA and ninth all-time. Fellow 1977 tournament participant Duquesne, who also spent 47 years attempting to reach the tournament again, ended their drought in 2024. Prior to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, this marked the last time the six Division I college basketball-playing schools in the Philadelphia metropolitan area: Drexel, La Salle, Penn, St. Joseph's, Temple, and Villanova – were collectively shut out of the NCAA tournament. At least one of the teams had made the tournament the previous 18 years, and the city has only been shut out twelve of the 83 tournaments.

Announcers Dick Enberg, Curt Gowdy, and Billy Packer - Final Four at Atlanta, Georgia; For the Final Four, Dick Enberg and Billy Packer called the first game while Packer teamed with Curt Gowdy for the second game. For the Championship Game, Curt Gowdy called the play-by-play while Dick Enberg and Billy Packer did the color commentary. Dick Enberg and Billy Packer - First Round at Pocatello, Idaho (UCLA-Louisville); First Round at Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Syracuse-Tennessee); East Regional Semifinals at College Park, Maryland; West Regional Final at Provo, Utah Curt Gowdy and John Wooden - First Round at Bloomington, Indiana (Michigan-Holy Cross); Mideast Regional Semifinals at Lexington, Kentucky; East Regional Final at College Park, Maryland Jim Simpson and Tom Hawkins - First Round at Tucson, Arizona (UNLV-San Francisco); Mideast Regional Final at Lexington, Kentucky Jay Randolph and Gary Thompson - Midwest Regional Final at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Marquette-Wake Forest)

References