1981 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
National championship game
North Carolina Tar Heels Indiana Hoosiers
(29–7) (25–9)
50 63
Head coach:
Dean Smith
Head coach:
Bob Knight
1st half2nd half Total
North Carolina Tar Heels 2624 50
Indiana Hoosiers 2736 63
DateMarch 30, 1981
VenueThe Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
RefereesKen Lauderdale, Lou Moser, & Booker Turner[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersDick Enberg, Billy Packer, and Al McGuire

The 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game took place on March 30, 1981 between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Indiana Hoosiers at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The matchup was the final one of the forty-third consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship single-elimination tournament — commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament — organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is used to crown a national champion for men's basketball at the Division I level.[2]

Because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, there was talk of postponing or cancelling the title game; but once NCAA officials learned that Reagan had made it through surgery and would survive his injuries, the game was played as scheduled.[3] Howard Cosell criticized the NCAA for not postponing the game due to the Reagan assassination attempt.

The 1980–81 season was the last before the NCAA began sponsoring a championship for Division I women's basketball. All future NCAA men's tournaments and championship games would include "Men's" in their official titles.

Participants

It was the first national championship game between the schools. Indiana was seeking its fourth NCAA Tournament championship (1940, 1953, 1976) while North Carolina won the NCAA Tournament in 1957.

Indiana

North Carolina

Starting lineups

IndianaPositionNorth Carolina
Isiah Thomas 1GJimmy Black
Randy WittmanGMike Pepper
Ted KitchelFJames Worthy
Landon TurnerFAl Wood 1
Ray Tolbert 1CSam Perkins
1981 Consensus First Team All-American
 Players selected in the 1981 NBA draft  (number indicates round)

Source[4]

Game summary

Source:[5][6]

March 30, 1981
Indiana Hoosiers 63, North Carolina Tar Heels 50
Scoring by half: 27-26, 36-24
Pts: Isiah Thomas 23
Rebs: Ray Tolbert 11
Asts: Jim Thomas 8
Pts: Al Wood 18
Rebs: Sam Perkins 8
Asts: Jimmy Black 6
The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Ken Lauderdale, Lou Moser, & Booker Turner
Starters:PtsRebAst
F 32 Landon Turner 12 6 1
F 30 Ted Kitchel 0 0 0
G 11 Isiah Thomas 23 2 5
G 24 Randy Wittman 16 4 0
C 45 Ray Tolbert 5 11 0
Reserves:
G 20 Jim Thomas 2 4 8
F 34 Steve Risley 5 4 0
Head coach:
Bob Knight
Indiana jersey
Team colours
Indiana
North Carolina jersey
Team colours
North Carolina

IndianaStatisticsNorth Carolina
23/48 (48%)Field goals20/47 (43%)
17/22 (77%)Free throws10/16 (63%)
31Total rebounds29
14Assists12
14Turnovers19
8Steals9
1Blocks2
17Fouls23
Starters:PtsRebAst
F 33 James Worthy 7 6 2
F 30 Al Wood 18 6 2
G 21 Jimmy Black 6 2 6
G 11 Mike Pepper 6 1 0
C 41 Sam Perkins 11 8 1
Reserves:
F 44 Matt Doherty 2 4 0
G 24 Jim Braddock 0 0 1
C 45 Chris Brust 0 0 0
C 34 Pete Budko 0 1 0
F 32 Eric Kenny 0 1 0
Head coach:
Dean Smith

References

Citations
  1. "The Final Four" (PDF). 2014 NCAA Men's Final Four Records. NCAA. 2014. p. 20. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  2. Hager 2012, p. 21.
  3. "Indiana, UNC meet 35 years after Reagan shooting jeopardized title game". FoxSports.com. 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  4. "North Carolina vs. Indiana Box Score, March 30, 1981". Sports Reference. March 30, 1981. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  5. Jeff Borzello. "1981 Men's NCAA basketball tournament". CBSSports.com. CBS Broadcasting Inc. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  6. "North Carolina vs. Indiana Box Score, March 30, 1981". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
Bibliography
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