2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Updated: 5/24/2026, 7:19:28 PM Wikipedia source
The 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2007–08 season. The 70th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2008, and concluded with the championship game on April 7, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. For the first time (and the only time until the 2025 tournament) since seeding began in 1979, all four of the top seeds advanced to the Final Four. These were Memphis, the winner of the South region, UCLA, the winner of the West region making their third consecutive Final Four appearance, Kansas, the winner of the Midwest region, and overall number one seed and East region winner North Carolina, back in the Final Four for the first time since their 2005 national championship. Memphis and Kansas advanced to the national championship game, with Memphis's victory in the semifinals giving them a record-setting 38 for the season, beating the mark set by Duke in 1999 (Kentucky later matched this record in 2012 and 2015). Kansas, however, spoiled their national championship hopes by handing the Tigers their second loss of the season, winning the game in overtime, 75–68. Memphis's entire season was later vacated by the NCAA due to eligibility concerns surrounding freshman guard Derrick Rose. Entering the tournament on March 18, the top ranked team was North Carolina in both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Polls, followed by Memphis, UCLA and Kansas. American University (Patriot), UMBC (America East), Texas–Arlington (Southland), and Portland State (Big Sky) all entered the tournament for the first time in their school's history. Another school, Coppin State, won the MEAC Tournament to become the first 20-loss school to make the field. Georgia, a team that otherwise would not have advanced to the tournament, won the SEC tournament to qualify, and were awarded a seed, the lowest by a major conference team in the tournament. Whereas the 2007 tournament did not see many upsets, the 2008 tournament was full of them. The sub-regional pod played at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, featured four games where a double digit seed won. seeds Drake and Clemson fell to seeds Western Kentucky and Villanova while the seeds in that same pod, Vanderbilt and Connecticut, were defeated by seeds Siena and San Diego. Western Kentucky advanced to the West regional in Phoenix, where they lost to UCLA while Villanova was one of two double digit seeds to advance to the Midwest regional. The other was seed Davidson, who rode the hot shooting of Stephen Curry to defeat Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin before nearly upsetting Kansas in the regional final. The Midwest region alone saw four of its double digit seeds advance, as in addition to Villanova, Siena, and Davidson, seed Kansas State knocked off seed USC. The total tournament attendance of 763,607 set a record for highest total tournament attendance, breaking the record set during the 1999 tournament.
Infobox
Tables
| Conference | School | Appearance | Last bid |
| ACC | North Carolina | 40th | 2007 |
| America East | UMBC | 1st | Never |
| Atlantic 10 | Temple | 26th | 2001 |
| Atlantic Sun | Belmont | 3rd | 2007 |
| Big 12 | Kansas | 37th | 2007 |
| Big East | Pittsburgh | 20th | 2007 |
| Big Sky | Portland State | 1st | Never |
| Big South | Winthrop | 8th | 2007 |
| Big Ten | Wisconsin | 14th | 2007 |
| Big West | Cal State Fullerton | 2nd | 1978 |
| Colonial | George Mason | 5th | 2006 |
| C-USA | Memphis | 21st | 2007 |
| Horizon | Butler | 8th | 2007 |
| Ivy League | Cornell | 3rd | 1988 |
| MAAC | Siena | 4th | 2002 |
| MAC | Kent State | 5th | 2006 |
| MEAC | Coppin State | 4th | 1997 |
| Missouri Valley | Drake | 4th | 1971 |
| Mountain West | UNLV | 16th | 2007 |
| Northeast | Mount St. Mary's | 3rd | 1999 |
| Ohio Valley | Austin Peay | 6th | 2003 |
| Pac-10 | UCLA | 42nd | 2007 |
| Patriot | American | 1st | Never |
| SEC | Georgia | 10th | 2002 |
| Southern | Davidson | 10th | 2007 |
| Southland | Texas–Arlington | 1st | Never |
| Summit | Oral Roberts | 5th | 2007 |
| Sun Belt | Western Kentucky | 20th | 2007 |
| SWAC | Mississippi Valley State | 4th | 1996 |
| WAC | Boise State | 5th | 1994 |
| West Coast | San Diego | 4th | 2003 |
| East Regional – Charlotte | ||||
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | North Carolina | ACC | 32–2 | Automatic |
| 2 | Tennessee | SEC | 29–4 | At-Large |
| 3 | Louisville | Big East | 24–8 | At-Large |
| 4 | Washington State | Pac-10 | 24–8 | At-Large |
| 5 | Notre Dame | Big East | 24–7 | At-Large |
| 6 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 22–11 | At-Large |
| 7 | Butler | Horizon | 29–3 | Automatic |
| 8 | Indiana | Big Ten | 25–7 | At-Large |
| 9 | Arkansas | SEC | 22–11 | At-Large |
| 10 | South Alabama | Sun Belt | 26–6 | At-Large |
| 11 | Saint Joseph's | Atlantic 10 | 21–12 | At-Large |
| 12 | George Mason | CAA | 23–10 | Automatic |
| 13 | Winthrop | Big South | 22–11 | Automatic |
| 14 | Boise State | WAC | 25–8 | Automatic |
| 15 | American | Patriot League | 21–11 | Automatic |
| 16 | Mount St. Mary's | Northeast | 18–14 | Automatic |
| Coppin State | MEAC | 16–20 | Automatic | |
| Midwest Regional – Detroit | ||||
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Kansas | Big 12 | 31–3 | Automatic |
| 2 | Georgetown | Big East | 27–5 | At-Large |
| 3 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 29–4 | Automatic |
| 4 | Vanderbilt | SEC | 26–7 | At-Large |
| 5 | Clemson | ACC | 24–9 | At-Large |
| 6 | USC | Pac-10 | 21–11 | At-Large |
| 7 | Gonzaga | West Coast | 25–7 | At-Large |
| 8 | UNLV | Mountain West | 26–7 | Automatic |
| 9 | Kent State | MAC | 28–6 | Automatic |
| 10 | Davidson | Southern | 26–6 | Automatic |
| 11 | Kansas State | Big 12 | 20–11 | At-Large |
| 12 | Villanova | Big East | 20–12 | At-Large |
| 13 | Siena | MAAC | 22–10 | Automatic |
| 14 | Cal State Fullerton | Big West | 24–8 | Automatic |
| 15 | UMBC | America East | 24–8 | Automatic |
| 16 | Portland State | Big Sky | 23–9 | Automatic |
| South Regional – Houston | ||||
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | Memphis | C-USA | 33–1 | Automatic |
| 2 | Texas | Big 12 | 28–6 | At-Large |
| 3 | Stanford | Pac-10 | 26–7 | At-Large |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | Big East | 26–9 | Automatic |
| 5 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 25–8 | At-Large |
| 6 | Marquette | Big East | 24–9 | At-Large |
| 7 | Miami (FL) | ACC | 22–10 | At-Large |
| 8 | Mississippi State | SEC | 22–10 | At-Large |
| 9 | Oregon | Pac-10 | 18–13 | At-Large |
| 10 | Saint Mary's | West Coast | 25–6 | At-Large |
| 11 | Kentucky | SEC | 18–12 | At-Large |
| 12 | Temple | Atlantic 10 | 21–12 | Automatic |
| 13 | Oral Roberts | Summit | 24–8 | Automatic |
| 14 | Cornell | Ivy League | 22–5 | Automatic |
| 15 | Austin Peay | Ohio Valley | 24–10 | Automatic |
| 16 | Texas–Arlington | Southland | 21–11 | Automatic |
| West Regional – Phoenix | ||||
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type |
| 1 | UCLA | Pac-10 | 31–3 | Automatic |
| 2 | Duke | ACC | 27–5 | At-Large |
| 3 | Xavier | Atlantic 10 | 27–6 | At-Large |
| 4 | Connecticut | Big East | 24–8 | At-Large |
| 5 | Drake | Missouri Valley | 28–4 | Automatic |
| 6 | Purdue | Big Ten | 24–8 | At-Large |
| 7 | West Virginia | Big East | 24–10 | At-Large |
| 8 | BYU | Mountain West | 27–7 | At-Large |
| 9 | Texas A&M | Big 12 | 24–10 | At-Large |
| 10 | Arizona | Pac-10 | 19–14 | At-Large |
| 11 | Baylor | Big 12 | 21–10 | At-Large |
| 12 | Western Kentucky | Sun Belt | 27–6 | Automatic |
| 13 | San Diego | West Coast | 21–13 | Automatic |
| 14 | Georgia | SEC | 17–16 | Automatic |
| 15 | Belmont | Atlantic Sun | 25–8 | Automatic |
| 16 | Mississippi Valley State | SWAC | 17–15 | Automatic |
References
- "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Information"http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/mens/schedules
- "2008 NCAA tournament selections"https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/ncaatourney08/news/story?id=3296729
- NCAA rejects Memphis's final appeal of vacated wins Archived February 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, cbssports , retrihttp://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13098232/ncaa-rejects-memphis-final-appeal-of-vacated-wins?tag=headlines;other
- NCAA Tournament Selection Information from Ticket Solutions: Picking The Field Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machttp://www.ticketsolutions.com/ncaa-selection.asp
- Breaking Down the East Region Archived March 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN Video, retrieved 2008-03-22http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3296941&categoryId=2459792
- ESPN – Texas-Arlington vs. Northwestern State – Recap – March 16, 2008 Archived March 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine,http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280762466
- ESPN – Northern Arizona vs. Portland State – Recap – March 12, 2008 Archived April 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPhttp://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280722502
- Breaking Down the Midwest Region Archived March 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN Video, retrieved 2008-03-22http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3297006&n8pe6c=1&categoryId=2459792
- ESPN – Colgate vs. American University – Recap – March 14, 2008 Archived January 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN,http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280740044
- ESPNhttps://web.archive.org/web/20080313014621/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280692181
- ESPNhttps://web.archive.org/web/20080320235535/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280752239
- ESPNhttps://web.archive.org/web/20080305135452/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280610172
- "Baylor vs. Purdue: Preview"https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/preview?gameId=284000039
- "NCAA rejects Memphis' final appeal of vacated wins"https://web.archive.org/web/20100330113726/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKC_NCAA_MEMPHIS_APPEAL?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=SPORTS
- Mount St. Mary's vs. North Carolina – Recap – March 21, 2008 Archived April 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN, retrhttp://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000047
- Arkansas vs. Indiana – Recap – March 21, 2008 Archived April 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN, retrieved 2008-03-2http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000048
- George Mason vs. Notre Dame – Recap – March 20, 2008 Archived April 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN, retrieved 20http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000050
- Winthrop vs. Washington State – Recap – March 20, 2008 Archived April 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN, retrievedhttp://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000051
- Saint Joseph's vs. Oklahoma – Recap – March 21, 2008 Archived April 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN, retrieved 20http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000054
- Boise State vs. Louisville – Recap – March 21, 2008 Archived April 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, ESPN, retrieved 200http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000055