1981 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records

Indiana won the 1981 NCAA tournament. Get the bracket, scores, records and more below. The Hoosiers defeated North Carolina in the title game for their fourth national championship.

Isiah Thomas was named Most Outstanding Player. This year was also the last instance of the national Third Place Game. Virginia beat LSU.

1981 NCAA tournament: Bracket

Click or tap here for a closer look at the 1981 March Madness bracket.

1981 NCAA tournament: Scores

• First Round
  • East Region
    • No. 9 Villanova 90, No. 8 Houston 72
    • No. 5 VCU 85, No. 12 Long Island 69
    • No. 6 BYU 60, No. 11 Princeton 51
    • No. 10 James Madison 61, No. 7 Georgetown 55
  • West Region
    • No. 8 Kansas State 64, No. 9 San Francisco 60
    • No. 5 Wyoming 78, No. 12 Howard 43
    • No. 11 Northeastern 55, No. 6 Fresno State 53
    • No. 10 Pitt 70, No. 7 Idaho 69 (OT)
  • Mideast Region
    • No. 9 Saint Joseph's 59, No. 8 Creighton 57
    • No. 5 Boston College 93, No. 12 Ball State 90
    • No. 6 Maryland 81, No. 11 Chattanooga 69
    • No. 7 UAB 93, No. 10 Western Kentucky 68
  • Midwest Region
    • No. 8 Lamar 71, No. 9 Missouri 67
    • No. 5 Arkansas 73, No. 12 Mercer 67
    • No. 6 Wichita State 95, No. 11 Southern 70
    • No. 7 Kansas 69, No. 10 Ole Miss 66
• Second Round
  • East Region
    • No. 1 Virginia 54, No. 9 Villanova 50
    • No. 4 Tennessee 58, No. 5 VCU 56 (OT)
    • No. 6 BYU 78, No. 3 UCLA 55
    • No. 2 Notre Dame 54, No. 10 James Madison 45
  • West Region
    • No. 8 Kansas State 50, No. 1 Oregon State 48
    • No. 4 Illinois 67, No. 5 Wyoming 65
    • No. 3 Utah 94, No. 11 Northeastern 69
    • No. 2 North Carolina 74, No. 10 Pitt 57
  • Mideast Region
    • No. 9 Saint Joseph's 49, No. 1 DePaul 48 (OT)
    • No. 5 Boston College 67, No. 4 Wake Forest 64
    • No. 3 Indiana 99, No. 6 Maryland 64
    • No. 7 UAB 69, No. 2 Kentucky 62
  • Midwest Region
    • No. 1 LSU 100, No. 8 Lamar 78
    • No. 5 Arkansas 74, No. 4 Louisville 73
    • No. 6 Wichita State 60, No. 3 Iowa 56
    • No. 7 Kansas 88, No. 2 Arizona State 71
• Regional Semifinals
  • East Region
    • No. 1 Virginia 62, No. 4 Tennessee 48
    • No. 6 BYU 51, No. 2 Notre Dame 50 |
  • West Region
    • No. 8 Kansas State 57, No. 4 Illinois 52
    • No. 2 North Carolina 61, No. 3 Utah 56
  • Mideast Region
    • No. 9 Saint Joseph's 42, No. 5 Boston College 41
    • No. 3 Indiana 87, No. 7 UAB 72
  • Midwest Region
    • No. 1 LSU 72, No. 5 Arkansas 56
    • No. 6 Wichita State 66, No. 7 Kansas 65
• Regional Finals
  • East Region
    • No. 1 Virginia 74, No. 6 BYU 60
  • West Region
    • No. 2 North Carolina 82, No. 8 Kansas State 68
  • Mideast Region
    • No. 3 Indiana 78, No. 9 Saint Joseph's 46
  • Midwest Region
    • No. 1 LSU 96, No. 6 Wichita State 85
• Final Four (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • National Semifinals
    • No. 2 North Carolina 78, No. 1 Virginia 65
    • No. 3 Indiana 67, No. 1 LSU 49
  • Third Place Game
    • No. 1 Virginia 78, No. 1 LSU 74
  • National Championship
    • No. 3 Indiana 63, No. 2 North Carolina 50

1981 NCAA tournament: Upsets

The following double-digit seeds won games:

1981 NCAA tournament: Stats, records

Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games):

Individual scoring

• Al Wood, North Carolina (5) — 21.8 points per game

Individual rebounding

• Cliff Levingston, Wichita State (4) — 13.3 rebounds per game

Team records, notables

• Indiana became the first No. 3 seed to win the national championship.
• This was the last year of the Third Place game at the Final Four. Virginia defeated LSU, 78-74.
• There were three significant upsets on Saturday, March 14, 1981, with late game-winners in each:
  • No. 9 Saint Joseph's beat No. 1 DePaul, 49-48
  • No. 5 Arkansas beat defending national champion No. 4 Louisville, 74-73
  • No. 8 Kansas State beat No. 1 Oregon State, 50-48
• Villanova's 90-72 win against Houston was the 1,000th played game in the NCAA tournament