1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game

1999 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
National Championship Game
Connecticut Huskies Duke Blue Devils (33-2) (37-1) 77 74 Head coach:  Jim Calhoun Head coach:  Mike Krzyzewski AP Coaches 3 3 AP Coaches 1 1 1 2 Total Connecticut 37 40 77 Duke 39 35 74
Date	March 29, 1999
Arena	Tropicana Field
Location	St. Petersburg, Florida
MVP	Richard Hamilton, Connecticut
Favorite	Duke by 9.5
Referee	Tim Higgins, Gerald Boudreaux, Scott Thornley
Attendance	41,340
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Announcers	Jim Nantz (play-by-play) Billy Packer (color) Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian (sideline)

The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1998-99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1999 National Title Game was played on March 29, 1999 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, The 1999 National Title Game was played between the 1999 East Regional Champions, #1-seeded Duke and the 1999 West Regional Champions, #1-seeded Connecticut.

Participants

Connecticut

• West Regional
  • Connecticut (1) 91, UTSA 66
  • Connecticut 78, New Mexico 56
  • Connecticut 78, Iowa 68
  • Connecticut 67, Gonzaga 62
• Final Four
  • Connecticut 64, Ohio State 58

^[1]

Duke

Seeding in brackets

• East
  • Duke (1) 99, Florida A&M (16) 58
  • Duke 97, Tulsa (9) 56
  • Duke 78, Missouri State (12) 61
  • Duke 85, Temple (6) 64
• Final Four
  • Duke 68, Michigan State 62

^[2]

Game summary

CBS

March 29 9:00 pm

Box score

#1 Connecticut Huskies 77, #1 Duke Blue Devils 74
Pts: R. Hamilton 27 Rebs: Ricky Moore, K. Freeman 8 Asts: K. El-Amin 4		Pts: T. Langdon 25 Rebs: E. Brand 13 Asts: W. Avery 5 Halftime Score: Duke, 39-37

Tropicana Field - St. Petersburg, FL Attendance: 41,340 Referees: Tim Higgins, Gerald Boudreaux, Scott Thornley

Game notes

• In the national championship game, Connecticut defeated Duke 77-74 to win their first ever national championship, snapping Duke's 32-game winning streak, and scoring the biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. Duke nonetheless tied the record for most games won during a single season, with 37, which they co-held until Kentucky's 38-win season in 2011-2012(The 2007-08 Memphis team actually broke this record first, but the team was later forced to forfeit their entire season due to eligibility issues surrounding the team).^[3]
• The 1999 National Championship game would be the last time Tropicana Field would host NCAA tournament games. For Duke, they had 2 straight promising seasons end on the Tropicana Field floor, with a 86-84 loss to Kentucky in the 1998 South Regional final, and then the 1999 National Championship game.
• Connecticut was a 9.5 point underdog in this game, and is the biggest point spread underdog to ever win the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game.

References

1. "1999 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket". Databasesports.com. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
2. http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1999
3. "Gold Sheet College Basketball Log". Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.