1981 NCAA Division I basketball championship game

See also: 1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

1981 NCAA Tournament Championship Game

National championship game
North Carolina Tar Heels Indiana Hoosiers ACC Big Ten (29–7) (25–9) 50 63 Head coach: Dean Smith Head coach: Bob Knight
AP: 6 Coaches: 6 AP: 9 Coaches: 7
1st half 2nd half Total North Carolina Tar Heels 26 24 50 Indiana Hoosiers 27 36 63
Date	March 30, 1981
Venue	The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees	Ken Lauderdale, Lou Moser, & Booker Turner
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, and Al McGuire

The 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game took place on March 30, 1981, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Indiana Hoosiers at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The matchup was the final one of the forty-third consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship single-elimination tournament — commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament — organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is used to crown a national champion for men's basketball at the Division I level.

Because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, there was talk of postponing or cancelling the title game; but once NCAA officials learned that Reagan had made it through surgery and would survive his injuries, the game was played as scheduled. Howard Cosell criticized the NCAA for not postponing the game due to the Reagan assassination attempt.

Indiana defeated North Carolina by a 63–50 score to win their second national title in six years and fourth overall. As of 2024, this remains the only time a team from the Big Ten defeated an ACC team in the championship game.

The 1980–81 season was the last before the NCAA began sponsoring a championship for Division I women's basketball. All future NCAA men's tournaments and championship games would include "Men's" in their official titles.

Participants

It was the first national championship game between the schools. Indiana was seeking its fourth national championship (1940, 1953, 1976) while North Carolina was looking for its second, having last won in 1957.

Indiana Hoosiers

Main article: 1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

• Mideast
  • (3) Indiana 99, (6) Maryland 64
  • (3) Indiana 87, (7) UAB 72
  • (3) Indiana 78, (9) St. Joseph's 46
• Final Four
  • (ME3) Indiana 67, (MW1) LSU 49

North Carolina Tar Heels

Main article: 1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

• West
  • (2) North Carolina 74, (10) Pittsburgh 57
  • (2) North Carolina 61, (3) Utah 56
  • (2) North Carolina 82, (8) Kansas State 68
• Final Four
  • (W2) North Carolina 78, (E1) Virginia 65

Starting lineups

Indiana	Position		North Carolina
† Isiah Thomas 1	G		Jimmy Black
Randy Wittman	G		Mike Pepper
Ted Kitchel	F		James Worthy
Landon Turner	F		Al Wood 1
Ray Tolbert 1	C		Sam Perkins
† 1981 Consensus First Team All-American
Players selected in the 1981 NBA draft  (number indicates round)

Source

Game summary

Source:

NBC

March 30, 1981

#ME3 Indiana Hoosiers 63, #W2 North Carolina Tar Heels 50
Scoring by half: 27-26, 36-24
Pts: Isiah Thomas 23 Rebs: Ray Tolbert 11 Asts: Jim Thomas 8		Pts: Al Wood 18 Rebs: Sam Perkins 8 Asts: Jimmy Black 6

The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Referees: Ken Lauderdale, Lou Moser, & Booker Turner

Starters: Pts Reb Ast F 32 Landon Turner 12 6 1 F 30 Ted Kitchel 0 0 0 G 11 Isiah Thomas 23 2 5 G 24 Randy Wittman 16 4 0 C 45 Ray Tolbert 5 11 0 Reserves: G 20 Jim Thomas 2 4 8 F 34 Steve Risley 5 4 0 Head coach: Bob Knight

Indiana North Carolina 0 Indiana Statistics North Carolina 23/48 (48%) Field goals 20/47 (43%) 17/22 (77%) Free throws 10/16 (63%) 31 Total rebounds 29 14 Assists 12 14 Turnovers 19 8 Steals 9 1 Blocks 2 17 Fouls 23

Starters: Pts Reb Ast F 33 James Worthy 7 6 2 F 30 Al Wood 18 6 2 G 21 Jimmy Black 6 2 6 G 11 Mike Pepper 6 1 0 C 41 Sam Perkins 11 8 1 Reserves: F 44 Matt Doherty 2 4 0 G 24 Jim Braddock 0 0 1 C 45 Chris Brust 0 0 0 C 34 Pete Budko 0 1 0 F 32 Eric Kenny 0 1 0 Head coach: Dean Smith

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Hager, Tom (2012). The Ultimate Book of March Madness: The Players, Games, and Cinderellas that Captivated a Nation. Minneapolis, Minnesota: MVP Books. ISBN 978-0-7603-4323-4.