1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 1991 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. The 53rd annual edition of the tournament began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the championship game on April 1, at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. A total of 63 games were played.

Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski, won a rematch of the previous year's national final matchup against undefeated UNLV 79–77 in the semifinal, then won the national title with a 72–65 victory in the final game over Kansas, coached by Roy Williams. This was the first national championship game for Williams as a head coach. Kansas defeated Williams' mentor Dean Smith and North Carolina (where Williams later coached) in the semifinal. Kansas made its second trip to the national championship game in four seasons, the prior appearance being 1988 when they defeated Oklahoma. Christian Laettner of Duke was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This tournament marked the first time a #15 seed upset a #2 seed since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, when Richmond accomplished against Syracuse in the East region. In addition, for the first time ever, at least one team seeded #9 through #15 won a first-round game. This feat would be followed in 2013, 2016, and 2021.

This tournament adopted the NBA's 10ths-second timer during the final minute of each period in all arenas.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1991 tournament:

First and Second Rounds March 14 and 16 East Region Cole Field House, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park) Midwest Region Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota) Southeast Region Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) West Region Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah) March 15 and 17 East Region Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University) Midwest Region University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) Southeast Region Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology) West Region McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 21 and 23 Southeast Regional, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte) West Regional, Kingdome, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington) March 22 and 24 East Regional, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference) Midwest Regional, Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan (Host: University of Detroit Mercy)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) March 30 and April 1 Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University, Midwestern Collegiate Conference)

Teams There were 26 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 23 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while three were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Big Ten, Ivy League and Pac-10). Another 35 bids were awarded by the NCAA tournament committee at-large to the best teams in the nation not already qualified.

The Big Eight was eligible for an automatic bid to the tournament, but their conference tournament was won by Missouri, who were on probation and ineligible for the NCAA tournament. No automatic bid was awarded to the Big Eight.

Play-in Games The remaining three bids were decided by play-in games between the six lowest-rated conferences in the nation. These matchups, which were decided prior to the season, paired the tournament champions of the six lowest-rated conferences in the nation in games played at campus sites:

The winner of the NEC tournament, Saint Francis (PA), hosted the winner of the Patriot League tournament, . The winner of the Southland tournament, Northeast Louisiana, hosted the winner of the MEAC tournament, Florida A&M. The winner of the SWAC tournament, , hosted the winner of the Big South tournament, Coastal Carolina.

Unlike the later Opening Round and First Four games, the play-in games were not considered part of the NCAA tournament. This meant that the winners of these games were not credited with an NCAA tournament win, and only the teams that advanced to the field of 64 were credited with an NCAA tournament appearance.

All three games were played on March 6, 1991.

Automatic qualifiers Five conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Coastal Carolina (Big South), Georgia State (TAAC), Green Bay (Mid-Continent), Saint Francis (PA) (NEC), and Saint Peter's (MAAC).

+Automatic qualifiersConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidACCNorth Carolina25th1990American SouthLouisiana Tech5th1989Atlantic 10Penn State6th1965Big EastSeton Hall3rd1989Big SkyMontana2nd1975Big TenOhio State17th1990Big WestUNLV12th1990CAARichmond5th1990East CoastTowson State2nd1990Ivy LeaguePrinceton17th1990MAACSaint Peter's1stMACEastern Michigan2nd1988MCCXavier8th1990MetroFlorida State7th1989Mid-ContinentGreen Bay1stMissouri ValleyCreighton9th1989NACNortheastern7th1987Ohio ValleyMurray State5th1990Pac-10Arizona10th1990SECAlabama10th1990SouthernEast Tennessee State4th1990Sun BeltSouth Alabama4th1989SWCArkansas17th1990TAACGeorgia State1stWACBYU15th1990West CoastPepperdine9th1986Big South–SWAC Play-inCoastal Carolina1stMEAC–Southland Play-inNortheast Louisiana4th1990Patriot–NEC Play-inSaint Francis (PA)1st

Tournament seeds +East Regional – Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New JerseySeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1North CarolinaACC25–5Automatic2SyracuseBig East26–5At-Large3Oklahoma StateBig Eight22–7At-Large4UCLAPac-1023–8At-Large5Mississippi StateSEC20–8At-Large6NC StateACC19–10At-Large7PurdueBig Ten17–11At-Large8PrincetonIvy League24–2Automatic9VillanovaBig East16–14At-Large10TempleAtlantic 1021–9At-Large11Southern MissMetro21–7At-Large12Eastern MichiganMAC24–6Automatic13Penn StateAtlantic 1020–10Automatic14New MexicoWAC20–9At-Large15RichmondCAA21–9Automatic16NortheasternNAC22–10Automatic+Midwest Regional – Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MichiganSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1Ohio StateBig Ten25–3Automatic2DukeACC26–7At-Large3NebraskaBig Eight26–7At-Large4St. John'sBig East20–8At-Large5TexasSWC22–8At-Large6LSUSEC20–9At-Large7IowaBig Ten20–10At-Large8Georgia TechACC16–12At-Large9DePaulIndependent20–8At-Large10East Tennessee StateSouthern28–4Automatic11ConnecticutBig East18–10At-Large12Saint Peter'sMAAC24–6Automatic13Northern IllinoisMid-Continent25–5At-Large14XavierMCC21–9Automatic15Northeast LouisianaSouthland25–7Play-in Winner16Towson StateEast Coast19–10Automatic+Southeast Regional – Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North CarolinaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1ArkansasSWC31–3Automatic2IndianaBig Ten27–4At-Large3KansasBig Eight22–7At-Large4AlabamaSEC21–9Automatic5Wake ForestACC18–10At-Large6PittsburghBig East20–11At-Large7Florida StateMetro20–10Automatic8Arizona StatePac-1019–9At-Large9RutgersAtlantic 1019–9At-Large10USCPac-1019–9At-Large11GeorgiaSEC17–12At-Large12Louisiana TechAmerican South21–9Automatic13Murray StateOhio Valley24–8Automatic14New OrleansAmerican South23–7At-Large15Coastal CarolinaBig South24–7Play-in Winner16Georgia StateTAAC16–14Automatic+West Regional – Kingdome, Seattle, WashingtonSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1UNLVBig West30–0Automatic2ArizonaPac-1026–6Automatic3Seton HallBig East22–8Automatic4UtahWAC28–3At-Large5Michigan StateBig Ten18–10At-Large6New Mexico StateBig West23–5At-Large7VirginiaACC21–11At-Large8GeorgetownBig East18–12At-Large9VanderbiltSEC17–12At-Large10BYUWAC20–12Automatic11CreightonMissouri Valley23–7Automatic12Green BayMid-Continent24–6Automatic13South AlabamaSun Belt22–8Automatic14PepperdineWest Coast22–8Automatic15Saint Francis (PA)NEC24–7Play-in Winner16MontanaBig Sky23–7Automatic

Bracket East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Southeast Regional – Charlotte, North Carolina

Midwest Regional – Pontiac, Michigan

West Regional – Seattle, Washington

Final Four – Indianapolis, Indiana

Broadcast information For the first time, CBS Sports showed all 63 tournament games. In the first three rounds, games were shown on a regional basis, except for one game each on Saturday and Sunday in the second round. Usual start times were noon and 7:30 or 8 p.m. Eastern time on each of the Thursdays and Fridays. During the weekend of the second round, the national telecast began at noon, with the regional windows (three on Saturday, two on Sunday) following. Although the times would be adjusted, the same basic format was in place until 2010. As of 2011, the regional broadcasts have been replaced by simulcast feeds on non-broadcast networks owned by Turner Sports.

Announcers Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – Midwest Regional at Pontiac, Michigan; Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana Dick Stockton and Billy Cunningham – First and Second Rounds at Minneapolis, Minnesota; West Regional at Seattle, Washington James Brown and Bill Raftery – First and Second Rounds at Dayton, Ohio; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey Greg Gumbel and Quinn Buckner – First and Second Rounds at Tucson, Arizona; Southeast Regional at Charlotte, North Carolina Verne Lundquist and Len Elmore – First and Second Rounds at College Park, Maryland Brad Nessler and Mimi Griffin – First and Second Rounds at Atlanta, Georgia Tim Ryan/Jim Henderson and Dan Bonner – First and Second Rounds at Syracuse, New York Sean McDonough and Bill Walton – First and Second Rounds at Louisville, Kentucky Mel Proctor and Jack Givens – First and Second Rounds at Salt Lake City, Utah

Miscellaneous Duke's 79–77 win over UNLV in the Final Four became one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Duke was an 8-point underdog in the game. UNLV's juggernaut 1990–91 squad ranked #2 on ESPN Classic's Who's #1? for Best Teams Not To Win a Title. UNLV was undefeated entering the 1991 tournament, which was unmatched until Wichita State in 2014 and Kentucky in 2015. (Saint Joseph's went unbeaten in the 2004 regular season, finishing 27–0, but lost in their conference tournament before the NCAAs. Alcorn State went unbeaten in the 1979 regular season, but got invited to the NIT since the Southwestern Athletic Conference did not have an automatic bid to the NCAAs, and lost to eventual winner Indiana in the 2nd round. Indiana is the last team to win the championship undefeated in 1976). This was Duke's fourth (of five) consecutive Final Four trips, the first team to achieve such a feat since UCLA. Since freshmen were not eligible at the time of UCLA's run, Duke's Greg Koubek became the first player to play in four Final Fours, a record matched by Duke teammates Christian Laettner and Brian Davis the next year when the team repeated as national champions. For the first time in tournament history a 15-seed defeated a 2-seed. Richmond defeated Syracuse 73–69. Since then this has happened ten additional times: in 1993, Santa Clara defeated Arizona 64–61; in 1997, Coppin State defeated South Carolina 78–65; in 2001, Hampton defeated Iowa State 58–57; on the same day in 2012 Norfolk State defeated Missouri 86–84 and Lehigh defeated Duke 75–70; in 2013 Florida Gulf Coast defeated Georgetown 78–68; in 2016, Middle Tennessee defeated Michigan State 90–81; in 2021, Oral Roberts defeated Ohio State 75–72; in 2022, Saint Peter's defeated Kentucky 85–79; and in 2023, Princeton defeated Arizona 59–55. In the Final Four against Kansas, legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith was ejected from the game for leaving the coach's box.