The 1980 NCAA tournament saw Louisville win its first national title with a 59-54 win against UCLA. The Cardinals' Darrell Griffith earned Most Outstanding Player honors.
UCLA later vacated its appearance. Iowa and Purdue also made the Final Four in Indianapolis.
This year marked the expansion to 48 teams. In the second year where every team was seeded, no No. 1 seed reached the Final Four.
1980 NCAA tournament: Bracket
Click or tap here for a closer look at the 1980 March Madness bracket
1980 NCAA tournament: Scores
- First Round
- East Region
- No. 8 Villanova 77, No. 9 Marquette 59
- No. 5 Iowa 86, No. 12 VCU 72
- No. 6 Iona 84, No. 11 Holy Cross 78
- No. 7 Tennessee 80, No. 10 Furman 69
- Midwest Region
- No. 8 Alcorn State 70, No. 9 South Alabama 62
- No. 5 Missouri 61, No. 12 San Jose State 51
- No. 6 Texas A&M 55, No. 11 Bradley 53
- No. 7 Kansas State 71, No. 10 Arkansas 53
- Mideast Region
- No. 8 Florida State 94, No. 9 Toledo 91
- No. 12 Penn 62, No. 5 Washington State 55
- No. 6 Purdue 90, No. 11 La Salle 82
- No. 7 Virginia Tech 89, No. 10 Western Kentucky 85 (OT)
- West Region
- No. 8 UCLA 87, No. 9 Old Dominion 74
- No. 5 Arizona State 99, No. 12 Loyola Marymount 71
- No. 6 Clemson 76, No. 11 Utah State 73
- No. 10 Lamar 87, No. 7 Weber State 86
- East Region
- Second Round
- East Region
- No. 1 Syracuse 97, No. 8 Villanova 83
- No. 5 Iowa 77, No. 4 NC State 64
- No. 3 Georgetown 74, No. 6 Iona 71
- No. 2 Maryland 86, No. 7 Tennessee 75
- Midwest Region
- No. 1 LSU 98, No. 8 Alcorn State 88
- No. 5 Missouri 87, No. 4 Notre Dame 84 (OT)
- No. 6 Texas A&M 78, No. 3 North Carolina 61 (2OT)
- No. 2 Louisville 71, No. 7 Kansas State 69 (OT)
- Mideast Region
- No. 1 Kentucky 97, No. 8 Florida State 78
- No. 4 Duke 52, No. 12 Penn 42
- No. 6 Purdue 87, No. 3 St. John's 72
- No. 2 Indiana 68, No. 7 Virginia Tech 59
- West Region
- No. 8 UCLA 77, No. 1 DePaul 71
- No. 4 Ohio State 89, No. 5 Arizona State 75
- No. 6 Clemson 71, No. 3 BYU 66
- No. 10 Lamar 81, No. 2 Oregon State 77
- East Region
- Regional Semifinals
- East Region
- No. 5 Iowa 88, No. 1 Syracuse 77
- No. 3 Georgetown 74, No. 2 Maryland 68
- Midwest Region
- No. 1 LSU 68, No. 5 Missouri 63
- No. 2 Louisville 66, No. 6 Texas A&M 55 (OT)
- Mideast Region
- No. 4 Duke 55, No. 1 Kentucky 54
- No. 6 Purdue 76, No. 2 Indiana 69
- West Region
- No. 8 UCLA 72, No. 4 Ohio State 68
- No. 6 Clemson 74, No. 10 Lamar 66
- East Region
- Regional Finals
- East Region
- No. 5 Iowa 81, No. 3 Georgetown 80
- Midwest Region
- No. 2 Louisville 86, No. 1 LSU 66
- Mideast Region
- No. 6 Purdue 68, No. 4 Duke 60
- West Region
- No. 8 UCLA 85, No. 6 Clemson 74
- East Region
- Final Four (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- National semifinals
- No. 2 Louisville 80, No. 5 Iowa 72
- No. 8 UCLA 67, No. 6 Purdue 62
- Third place game
- No. 6 Purdue 75, No. 5 Iowa 58
- National championship
- No. 2 Louisville 59, No. 8 UCLA 54
- National semifinals
1980 NCAA tournament: Upsets
The following double-digit seeds won games:
Team | Score | Opponent |
---|---|---|
FIRST ROUND | ||
No. 12 Penn | 62-55 | No. 5 Washington State |
No. 10 Lamar | 87-86 | No. 7 Weber State |
SECOND ROUND | ||
No. 10 Lamar | 81-77 | No. 2 Oregon State |
1980 NCAA tournament: Stats, records
Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games):
Individual scoring
- Joe Barry Carroll, Purdue (6) — 26.3 points per game
Individual rebounding
- Durand Macklin, LSU (3) — 10.3 rebounds per game
Team records/notables
- The tournament expanded to 48 teams this year, with 24 getting in automatically and the other 24 making it as at-large selections.
- In the second year of the entire tournament getting seeded, this marked the first time no No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. This wouldn't happen again until 2006.
- Texas A&M set a record by scoring 25 points and winning by 17 points in the second overtime against North Carolina. The Aggies won 78-61 in 2OT. Both teams went scoreless in the first overtime.