Marquette won its first NCAA national championship in coach Al McGuire's final game, beating North Carolina 67-59 for the 1977 title. Butch Lee was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring 19 points against the Tar Heels in the national final.
Lee is also remembered for a full-court assist to Jerome Whitehead, whose game-winning shot in the closing seconds helped the Warriors (now Golden Eagles) advance past UNC Charlotte in the Final Four.
Led by the tournament's leading scorer Cedric Maxwell (123 points) — the 49ers made their first Final Four appearance in 1977. UNLV was the fourth participant at the national semifinals and third-place finisher, also making their first appearance.
1977 NCAA tournament: Bracket
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1977 NCAA tournament: Scores
- Regional Quarterfinals
- East Region
- VMI 73, Duquesne 66
- Kentucky 72, Princeton 58
- Notre Dame 90, Hofstra 83
- North Carolina 69, Purdue 66
- Mideast Region
- Michigan 92, Holy Cross 81
- Detroit 93, Middle Tennessee State 76
- Charlotte 91, Central Michigan 86 (OT)
- Syracuse 93, Tennessee 88 (OT)
- Midwest Region
- Marquette 66, Cincinnati 51
- Kansas State 87, Providence 80
- Wake Forest 86, Arkansas 80
- Southern Illinois 81, Arizona 77
- West Region
- UCLA 87, Louisville 79
- Idaho State 83, Long Beach State 72
- Utah 72, St. John's 68
- UNLV 121, San Francisco 95
- East Region
- Regional Semifinals
- East Region
- Kentucky 93, VMI 78
- North Carolina 79, Notre Dame 77
- Mideast Region
- Michigan 86, Detroit 81
- Charlotte 81, Syracuse 59
- Midwest Region
- Marquette 67, Kansas State 66
- Wake Forest 86, Southern Illinois 81
- West Region
- Idaho State 76, UCLA 75
- UNLV 88, Utah 83
- East Region
- Regional Finals
- East Region
- North Carolina 79, Kentucky 72
- Mideast Region
- Charlotte 75, Michigan 68
- Midwest Region
- Marquette 82, Wake Forest 68
- West Region
- UNLV 107, Idaho State 90
- East Region
- Final Four (Atlanta, Georgia)
- National semifinals
- North Carolina 84, UNLV 83
- Marquette 51, Charlotte 49
- National championship
- Marquette 67, North Carolina 59
- Third-place game
- UNLV 106, Charlotte 94
- National semifinals
1977 NCAA tournament: Stats, records
Here are the 1977 NCAA tournament leaders (number of games in parentheses):
Individual scoring
- Cedric Maxwell, Charlotte (5) — 24.6
Individual rebounding
- Phil Hubbard, Michigan (3) — 15.0
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