1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Denver, Colorado. A total of 63 games were played.

1990 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	1989–90
Teams	64
Finals site	McNichols Sports Arena Denver, Colorado
Champions	UNLV Runnin' Rebels (1st title, 1st title game, 3rd Final Four)
Runner-up	Duke Blue Devils (4th title game, 8th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Arkansas Razorbacks (4th Final Four) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Jerry Tarkanian (1st title)
MOP	Anderson Hunt (UNLV)
Attendance	537,138
Top scorer	Dennis Scott (Georgia Tech) (153 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1989 1991»

UNLV, coached by Jerry Tarkanian, won the national title with a 103–73 victory in the final game over Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. In doing so, UNLV set the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament record for largest margin of victory in a championship game. UNLV's win marks the last time a school from a non-power conference has won the championship game. Anderson Hunt of UNLV was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This tournament is also remembered for an emotional run by Loyola Marymount in the West regional. In the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament against the Portland Pilots, Lions star forward Hank Gathers collapsed and died due to a heart condition. The WCC tournament was immediately suspended, with the regular-season champion Lions given the conference's automatic bid. The team defeated New Mexico State, then laid a 34-point thrashing on defending national champion Michigan, and defeated Alabama in the Sweet Sixteen (the only game in which Loyola Marymount did not score 100 or more points in the tournament) before running into eventual champion UNLV in the regional final. Gathers' childhood friend Bo Kimble, the team's undisputed floor leader in the wake of the tragedy, paid tribute to his friend by attempting his first free throw in each game left-handed despite being right-handed. (Gathers was right-handed, but struggled so much with free throws that he tried shooting them left-handed for a time.) Kimble made all of his left-handed attempts in the tournament.

The tournament employed a new timing system borrowed from FIBA & the NBA: when the game was played in an NBA arena, the final minute of the period is measured in tenths-seconds, rather than whole seconds as in previous years.

Schedule and venues

Atlanta

Indianapolis

Austin

Hartford

Richmond

Knoxville

Long Beach

Salt Lake City

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1990 first and second rounds

Oakland

Dallas

New Orleans

E. Rutherford

Denver

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1990 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1990 tournament, and their host(s):

First and Second Rounds

• March 15 and 17
  • East Region
    • Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
  • Midwest Region
    • Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
  • Southeast Region
    • Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
  • West Region
    • Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
• March 16 and 18
  • East Region
    • Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech)
  • Midwest Region
    • Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University, Midwestern Collegiate Conference)
  • Southeast Region
    • Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia (Hosts: University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University)
  • West Region
    • Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California (Host: Long Beach State University)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 22 and 24
  • East Regional, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference)
  • Midwest Regional, Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas (Host: Southwest Conference)
• March 23 and 25
  • Southeast Regional, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Hosts: Tulane University, University of New Orleans)
  • West Regional, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California (Host: University of California, Berkeley)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• March 31 and April 2
  • McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado (Hosts: University of Colorado Boulder, Big 8 Conference)

Teams

Region	Seed	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East
East	1	Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	Big East	Elite 8	3 Duke	L 79–78
East	2	Kansas	Roy Williams	Big Eight	Round of 32	7 UCLA	L 71–70
East	3	Duke	Mike Krzyzewski	Atlantic Coast	National Runner Up	1 UNLV	L 103–73
East	4	La Salle	Speedy Morris	Metro Atlantic	Round of 32	5 Clemson	L 79–75
East	5	Clemson	Cliff Ellis	Atlantic Coast	Sweet Sixteen	1 Connecticut	L 71–70
East	6	St. John's	Lou Carnesecca	Big East	Round of 32	3 Duke	L 76–72
East	7	UCLA	Jim Harrick	Pacific-10	Sweet Sixteen	3 Duke	L 90–81
East	8	Indiana	Bob Knight	Big Ten	Round of 64	9 California	L 65–63
East	9	California	Lou Campanelli	Pacific-10	Round of 32	1 Connecticut	L 74–54
East	10	UAB	Gene Bartow	Sun Belt	Round of 64	7 UCLA	L 68–56
East	11	Temple	John Chaney	Atlantic 10	Round of 64	6 St. John's	L 81–65
East	12	BYU	Roger Reid	Western Athletic	Round of 64	5 Clemson	L 49–47
East	13	Southern Miss	M.K. Turk	Metro	Round of 64	4 La Salle	L 79–63
East	14	Richmond	Dick Tarrant	Colonial	Round of 64	3 Duke	L 81–46
East	15	Robert Morris	Jarrett Durham	Northeast	Round of 64	2 Kansas	L 79–71
East	16	Boston University	Mike Jarvis	North Atlantic	Round of 64	1 Connecticut	L 76–52
Midwest
Midwest	1	Oklahoma	Billy Tubbs	Big Eight	Round of 32	8 North Carolina	L 79–77
Midwest	2	Purdue	Gene Keady	Big Ten	Round of 32	10 Texas	L 73–72
Midwest	3	Georgetown	John Thompson	Big East	Round of 32	6 Xavier	L 74–71
Midwest	4	Arkansas	Nolan Richardson	Southwest	National semifinals	3 Duke	L 97–83
Midwest	5	Illinois	Lou Henson	Big Ten	Round of 64	12 Dayton	L 88–86
Midwest	6	Xavier	Pete Gillen	Midwestern	Sweet Sixteen	10 Texas	L 102–89
Midwest	7	Georgia	Hugh Durham	Southeastern	Round of 64	10 Texas	L 100–88
Midwest	8	North Carolina	Dean Smith	Atlantic Coast	Sweet Sixteen	4 Arkansas	L 96–73
Midwest	9	Southwest Missouri State	Charlie Spoonhour	Mid-Continent	Round of 64	8 North Carolina	L 83–70
Midwest	10	Texas	Tom Penders	Southwest	Elite 8	4 Arkansas	L 88–85
Midwest	11	Kansas State	Lon Kruger	Big Eight	Round of 64	6 Xavier	L 87–79
Midwest	12	Dayton	Jim O'Brien	Midwestern	Round of 32	4 Arkansas	L 86–84
Midwest	13	Princeton	Pete Carril	Ivy League	Round of 64	4 Arkansas	L 68–64
Midwest	14	Texas Southern	Robert Moreland	Southwest Athletic	Round of 64	3 Georgetown	L 70–52
Midwest	15	Northeast Louisiana	Mike Vining	Southland	Round of 64	2 Purdue	L 75–63
Midwest	16	Towson State	Terry Truax	East Coast	Round of 64	1 Oklahoma	L 77–68
Southeast
Southeast	1	Michigan State	Jud Heathcote	Big Ten	Sweet Sixteen	4 Georgia Tech	L 81–80
Southeast	2	Syracuse	Jim Boeheim	Big East	Sweet Sixteen	6 Minnesota	L 82–75
Southeast	3	Missouri	Norm Stewart	Big Eight	Round of 64	14 Northern Iowa	L 74–71
Southeast	4	Georgia Tech	Bobby Cremins	Atlantic Coast	National semifinals	1 UNLV	L 90–81
Southeast	5	LSU	Dale Brown	Southeastern	Round of 32	4 Georgia Tech	L 94–91
Southeast	6	Minnesota	Clem Haskins	Big Ten	Elite 8	4 Georgia Tech	L 93–91
Southeast	7	Virginia	Terry Holland	Atlantic Coast	Round of 32	2 Syracuse	L 63–61
Southeast	8	Houston	Pat Foster	Southwest	Round of 64	9 UC Santa Barbara	L 70–66
Southeast	9	UC Santa Barbara	Jerry Pimm	Big West	Round of 32	1 Michigan State	L 62–58
Southeast	10	Notre Dame	Digger Phelps	Independent	Round of 64	7 Virginia	L 75–67
Southeast	11	UTEP	Don Haskins	Western Athletic	Round of 64	6 Minnesota	L 64–61
Southeast	12	Villanova	Rollie Massimino	Big East	Round of 64	5 LSU	L 70–63
Southeast	13	East Tennessee State	Les Robinson	Southern	Round of 64	4 Georgia Tech	L 99–83
Southeast	14	Northern Iowa	Eldon Miller	Mid-Continent	Round of 32	6 Minnesota	L 81–78
Southeast	15	Coppin State	Ron Mitchell	Mid-Eastern	Round of 64	2 Syracuse	L 70–48
Southeast	16	Murray State	Steve Newton	Ohio Valley	Round of 64	1 Michigan State	L 75–71
West
West	1	UNLV	Jerry Tarkanian	Big West	Champion	3 Duke	W 103–73
West	2	Arizona	Lute Olson	Pacific-10	Round of 32	7 Alabama	L 77–55
West	3	Michigan	Steve Fisher	Big Ten	Round of 32	11 Loyola Marymount	L 149–115
West	4	Louisville	Denny Crum	Metro	Round of 32	12 Ball State	L 62–60
West	5	Oregon State	Jim Anderson	Pacific-10	Round of 64	12 Ball State	L 54–53
West	6	New Mexico State	Neil McCarthy	Big West	Round of 64	11 Loyola Marymount	L 111–92
West	7	Alabama	Wimp Sanderson	Southeastern	Sweet Sixteen	11 Loyola Marymount	L 62–60
West	8	Ohio State	Randy Ayers	Big Ten	Round of 32	1 UNLV	L 76–65
West	9	Providence	Rick Barnes	Big East	Round of 64	8 Ohio State	L 84–83
West	10	Colorado State	Boyd Grant	Western Athletic	Round of 64	7 Alabama	L 71–54
West	11	Loyola Marymount	Paul Westhead	West Coast	Elite 8	1 UNLV	L 131–101
West	12	Ball State	Dick Hunsaker	Mid-American	Sweet Sixteen	1 UNLV	L 69–67
West	13	Idaho	Kermit Davis	Big Sky	Round of 64	4 Louisville	L 78–59
West	14	Illinois State	Bob Bender	Missouri Valley	Round of 64	3 Michigan	L 76–70
West	15	South Florida	Bobby Paschal	Sun Belt	Round of 64	2 Arizona	L 79–67
West	16	Little Rock	Mike Newell	Trans America	Round of 64	1 UNLV	L 102–72

Bracket

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

	First round					Second Round					Regional semifinals					Regional Final
	1	Connecticut	76
	16	Boston University	52
						1	Connecticut	74
	Hartford
						9	California	54
	8	Indiana	63
	9	California	65
											1	Connecticut	71
											5	Clemson	70
	5	Clemson	49
	12	BYU	47
						5	Clemson	79
	Hartford
						4	La Salle	75
	4	La Salle	79
	13	Southern Miss	63
																1	Connecticut	78
																3	Duke	79*
	6	St. John's	81
	11	Temple	65
						6	St. John's	72
	Atlanta
						3	Duke	76
	3	Duke	81
	14	Richmond	46
											3	Duke	90
											7	UCLA	81
	7	UCLA	68
	10	UAB	56
						7	UCLA	71
	Atlanta
						2	Kansas	70
	2	Kansas	79
	15	Robert Morris	71

* – denotes overtime period

Regional Final summary

CBS

Saturday, March 24

box score

#3 Duke Blue Devils 79, #1 Connecticut Huskies 78 (OT)
Pts: A. Abdelnaby 27 Rebs: A. Abdelnaby 14 Asts: B. Hurley 8		Pts: J. Gwynn, N. Henefeld 15 Rebs: N. Henefeld 6 Asts: C. Smith 5 Halftime Score: Duke, 37–30 End of Regulation: 72–72

Brendan Byrne Arena – East Rutherford, New Jersey Attendance: 19,546

Midwest Regional – Dallas, Texas

	First round					Second Round					Regional semifinals					Regional Final
	1	Oklahoma	77
	16	Towson State	68
						1	Oklahoma	77
	Austin
						8	North Carolina	79
	8	North Carolina	83
	9	SW Missouri State	70
											8	North Carolina	73
											4	Arkansas	96
	5	Illinois	86
	12	Dayton	88
						12	Dayton	84
	Austin
						4	Arkansas	86
	4	Arkansas	68
	13	Princeton	64
																4	Arkansas	88
																10	Texas	85
	6	Xavier	87
	11	Kansas State	79
						6	Xavier	74
	Indianapolis
						3	Georgetown	71
	3	Georgetown	70
	14	Texas Southern	52
											6	Xavier	89
											10	Texas	102
	7	Georgia	88
	10	Texas	100
						10	Texas	73
	Indianapolis
						2	Purdue	72
	2	Purdue	75
	15	Northeast Louisiana	63

Regional Final summary

CBS

Saturday, March 24

box score

#4 Arkansas Razorbacks 88, #10 Texas Longhorns 85
Pts: L. Howell 21 Rebs: L. Howell, O. Miller 9 Asts: L. Mayberry 7		Pts: J. Wright, T. Mays 20 Rebs: L. Collie 14 Asts: T. Mays 5 Halftime Score: Arkansas, 43–36

Reunion Arena – Dallas, Texas Attendance: 16,413

Southeast Regional – New Orleans, Louisiana

	First round					Second Round					Regional semifinals					Regional Final
	1	Michigan State	75*
	16	Murray State	71
						1	Michigan State	62
	Knoxville
						9	UC Santa Barbara	58
	8	Houston	66
	9	UC Santa Barbara	70
											1	Michigan State	80
											4	Georgia Tech	81*
	5	LSU	70
	12	Villanova	63
						5	LSU	91
	Knoxville
						4	Georgia Tech	94
	4	Georgia Tech	99
	13	East Tennessee State	83
																4	Georgia Tech	93
																6	Minnesota	91
	6	Minnesota	64*
	11	UTEP	61
						6	Minnesota	81
	Richmond
						14	Northern Iowa	78
	3	Missouri	71
	14	Northern Iowa	74
											6	Minnesota	82
											2	Syracuse	75
	7	Virginia	75
	10	Notre Dame	67
						7	Virginia	61
	Richmond
						2	Syracuse	63
	2	Syracuse	70
	15	Coppin State	48

* – denotes overtime period

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 25

box score

#4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 93, #6 Minnesota Golden Gophers 91
Pts: D. Scott 40 Rebs: K. Anderson 8 Asts: K. Anderson 3		Pts: W. Burton 35 Rebs: R. Coffey 9 Asts: M. Newbern 6 Halftime Score: Minnesota, 49–47

Louisiana Superdome – New Orleans Attendance: 17,782

West Regional – Oakland, California

	First round					Second Round					Regional semifinals					Regional Final
	1	UNLV	102
	16	Arkansas–Little Rock	72
						1	UNLV	76
	Salt Lake City
						8	Ohio State	65
	8	Ohio State	84*
	9	Providence	83
											1	UNLV	69
											12	Ball State	67
	5	Oregon State	53
	12	Ball State	54
						12	Ball State	62
	Salt Lake City
						4	Louisville	60
	4	Louisville	78
	13	Idaho	59
																1	UNLV	131
																11	Loyola Marymount	101
	6	New Mexico State	92
	11	Loyola Marymount	111
						11	Loyola Marymount	149
	Long Beach
						3	Michigan	115
	3	Michigan	76
	14	Illinois State	70
											11	Loyola Marymount	62
											7	Alabama	60
	7	Alabama	71
	10	Colorado State	54
						7	Alabama	77
	Long Beach
						2	Arizona	55
	2	Arizona	79
	15	South Florida	67

* – denotes overtime period

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 25

box score

#1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels 131, #11 Loyola Marymount Lions 101
Pts: S. Augmon 33 Rebs: L. Johnson 18 Asts: A. Hunt 13		Pts: B. Kimble 42 Rebs: B. Kimble 11 Asts: T. Lowery 6 Halftime Score: UNLV, 67–47

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena – Oakland, California Attendance: 14,298

Final Four – Denver, Colorado

	National semifinals					National Championship Game
	E3	Duke	97
	MW4	Arkansas	83
						E3	Duke	73
						W1	UNLV	103
	SE4	Georgia Tech	81
	W1	UNLV	90

Game summaries

CBS

March 31

box score

#1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels 90, #4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 81
Pts: S. Augmon 22 Rebs: M. Scurry 11 Asts: A. Hunt 7		Pts: D. Scott 29 Rebs: J. McNeil 9 Asts: K. Anderson 8 Halftime Score: Georgia Tech 53–46

McNichols Arena – Denver Attendance: 17,675 Referees: Jim Bain, Dick Paparo, Jim Stupin

CBS

March 31

box score

#3 Duke Blue Devils 97, #4 Arkansas Razorbacks 83
Pts: P. Henderson 28 Rebs: C. Laettner 14 Asts: B. Hurley 6		Pts: T. Day 27 Rebs: T. Day 7 Asts: L. Mayberry 6 Halftime Score: Duke, 46–43

McNichols Arena – Denver Attendance: 17,675 Referees: Gerry Donaghy, Jim Burr, Frank Bosone

National Championship

Main article: 1990 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

CBS

April 2

Box score

#1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels 103, #3 Duke Blue Devils 73
Pts: A. Hunt 29 Rebs: L. Johnson 11 Asts: S. Augmon 7		Pts: P. Henderson 21 Rebs: C. Laettner 9 Asts: C. Laettner 5 Halftime Score: UNLV, 47–35

McNichols Arena – Denver Attendance: 17,675 Referees: Ed Hightower, Richie Ballesteros and Tim Higgins

Announcers

CBS and NCAA Productions broadcast all tournament games. CBS

• Jim Nantz and James Brown served as hosts for the first-round games, while Mike Francesca served as analyst for the remaining rounds of the tournament.
• Brent Musburger and Billy Packer – First round (Ohio State–Providence) at Salt Lake City, Utah; Second Round at Austin, Texas and Richmond, Virginia; West Regional at Oakland, California; Final Four at Denver, Colorado. Musburger's final games for CBS.
• Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown – Second Round at Atlanta, Georgia; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
• James Brown and Bill Raftery – Second Round at Hartford, Connecticut and Indianapolis, Indiana; Midwest Regional at Dallas, Texas
• Greg Gumbel and Quinn Buckner – First round (New Mexico State–Loyola-Marymount) and Second Round at Long Beach, California; Southeast Regional at New Orleans, Louisiana
• Brad Nessler and Tom Heinsohn – Second Round at Knoxville, Tennessee
• Tim Brant and Len Elmore – Second Round at Salt Lake City, Utah

ESPN/NCAA Productions

This would be the last year that ESPN would be involved in broadcasting games of the tournament, as CBS took over exclusive coverage of the tournament the following year.

• Bob Carpenter and Clark Kellogg – First round (Indiana–California, Clemson–Brigham Young) at Hartford, Connecticut
• Mike Gorman and Ron Perry – First round (La Salle–Southern Mississippi) at Hartford, Connecticut
• Fred White and Larry Conley – First round (St. John's–Temple, Kansas–Robert Morris) at Atlanta, Georgia
• Ralph Hacker and Dan Belluomini – First round (UCLA–UAB) at Atlanta, Georgia
• Ron Franklin and Bob Ortegel – First round (North Carolina–SW Missouri State, Arkansas–Princeton) at Austin, Texas
• Frank Fallon and Jack Corrigan - First Round (Dayton-Illinois) at Austin Texas
• Tom Hammond and Gary Thompson – First round (Georgetown–Texas Southern, Georgia–Texas) at Indianapolis, Indiana
• Mick Hubert and Jim Gibbons – First round (Xavier–Kansas State) at Indianapolis, Indiana; First round (Arizona–South Florida) at Long Beach, California
• Mike Patrick and Dan Bonner – First round (Missouri–Northern Iowa, Syracuse–Coppin State) at Richmond, Virginia
• Bob Rathbun and Bucky Waters – First round (Minnesota–UTEP) at Richmond, Virginia
• Bob Rathbun and Mimi Griffin – First round (Virginia–Notre Dame) at Richmond, Virginia
• John Sanders and Bruce Larson – First round (UNLV–Arkansas-Little Rock, Oregon State–Ball State) at Salt Lake City, Utah
• John Rooney and Bob Weltlich - First Round (Michigan St-Murray State, LSU-Villanova) at Knoxville, Tennessee
• Brad Nessler and Jack Givens - First Round (USCB-Houston, Georgia Tech-East Tennessee State) at Knoxville, Tennessee
• John Sanders and Len Elmore – First round (Louisville–Idaho) at Salt Lake City, Utah
• Barry Tompkins and Mike Rice – First round (Alabama–Colorado State, Michigan–Illinois State) at Long Beach, California

Tournament notes

• Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer made 11 three-point field goals against Michigan to set the NCAA tournament record which still stands as of 2023. He took 15 three-point attempts.
• Loyola Marymount's 149–115 win over Michigan set a new tournament record for most combined points (264).
• UNLV at the time had the largest accumulated victory margin (112 points), over the entire tournament by a championship team that played 6 games. To date it is the fifth-largest.
• UNLV's 103–73 win over Duke marked the first, (and to date, only), time in the history of the tournament that at least 100 points were scored in the championship game.
• UNLV's 571 points over six games set the record for most points scored by a single team in any one year of the tournament.
• UNLV is the only team in tournament history to average more than 95 points per game, over six games. In six tournament games, they won three by exactly 30 points, while scoring more than 100 points in each 30-point victory.
• UNLV and UCLA in 1965 are the only teams in tournament history to win three games all while scoring at least 100 points in each win. (Loyola Marymount also scored at least 100 points in three games in the 1990 tournament, but lost their last game, where they scored 101 points, to UNLV, by 30 points. UNLV also scored at least 100 points in three victories in the 1977 tournament, but their last one was in the Final Four consolation game.)
• UNLV's 30-point margin of victory in the championship game is also a tournament record. ESPN called it the 36th “worst blowout in sports history.”
• To date, UNLV remains the last team from a non-power conference (AAC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC) to win the national championship, since Louisville in 1986. (Louisville was in The Metro Conference in 1986, which was considered a major basketball conference throughout its history, 1975 - 1995.)
• The championship game was UNLV's eleventh-consecutive win. They would eventually run the win streak to an astounding 45 games. That is the fourth-longest win streak in NCAA Division 1 basketball history, and the longest win streak since the longest one ever, by UCLA, ended in 1974.

See also

• 1990 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1990 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 1990 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 1990 National Invitation Tournament
• National Women's Invitation Tournament
• 1990 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament