1980 NCAA Division I basketball championship game
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox NCAABasketballSingleGame
| name = 1980 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
| type = ncg
| image = NCAA primary logo 1980.svg
| date = March 24, 1980
| year = 1979-80
| visitor_school = University of California, Los Angeles
| visitor_name_short = UCLA
| visitor_nickname = Bruins
| visitor_record = 22–9{{refn|The Bruins' five NCAA tournament wins and championship game appearance were later vacated after the NCAA had determined UCLA committed nine violations.{{cite news|title=UCLA Will Not Appeal NCAA Ban: Basketball Team Is on Probation, Ineligible for Tournament|work=Los Angeles Times|date=9 December 1981|id={{ProQuest|152965876}}}}}}
| visitor_conference = Pac-10
| visitor_AP = NR
| visitor_coaches = NR
| visitor_coach = Larry Brown
| visitor_per1 = 28
| visitor_per2 = 26
| home_school = University of Louisville
| home_name_short = Louisville
| home_nickname = Cardinals
| home_record = 32–3
| home_conference = Metro
| home_AP = 2
| home_coaches = 4
| home_coach = Denny Crum
| home_per1 = 26
| home_per2 = 33
| arena = Market Square Arena
| city = Indianapolis, Indiana
| attendance =
| referee =
| MVP = Darrell Griffith, Louisville
| odds = Louisville
| US_network = NBC
| ratings =
| US_announcers = Dick Enberg (play-by-play)
Billy Packer and Al McGuire (color)
| previous = 1979
| next = 1981
}}
The 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1979-80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The game was played on March 24, 1980, at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, and featured the Midwest Regional Champion, #2-seeded Louisville and the West Regional Champion, #8-seeded UCLA.
The Cardinals narrowly defeated the Bruins to win their first national championship in program history.
Participating teams
=UCLA Bruins=
{{Main|1979–80 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team}}
- West
- UCLA (8) 87, Old Dominion (9) 74
- UCLA 77, DePaul (1) 71
- UCLA 72, Ohio State (4) 68
- UCLA 85, Clemson (6) 74
- Final Four
- UCLA 67, Purdue (6) 62
=Louisville Cardinals=
{{Main|1979–80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team}}
- Midwest
- Louisville (2) 71, Kansas State (7) 69 (OT)
- Louisville 66, Texas A&M (6) 55 (OT)
- Louisville 86, LSU (1) 66
- Final Four
- Louisville 80, Iowa (5) 72
Starting lineups
| class="wikitable" | ||
| style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|UCLA Bruins}};" |UCLA | colspan="2" | Position | style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Louisville Cardinals}}"|Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| style="background:#ffcc00" | Michael Holton 3 | colspan=2 style="text-align:center"| G | style="background:#ffcc00" | Jerry Eaves 3 |
| style="background:#ffcc00" | Rod Foster 2 | colspan=2 style="text-align:center"| G | style="background:#ffcc00" | † Darrell Griffith 1 |
| style="background:#ffcc00" | James Wilkes 3 | colspan=2 style="text-align:center"| F | style="background:#ffcc00" | Derek Smith 2 |
| style="background:#ffcc00" | Kiki Vandeweghe 1 | colspan=2 style="text-align:center"|F | Wiley Brown |
| style="background:#ffcc00" | Mike Sanders 4 | colspan=2 style="text-align:center"| C | style="background:#ffcc00" | Rodney McCray 1 |
| colspan="5" align=center|† {{small|1980 Consensus First Team All-American}} | ||
| colspan="5" align=center|{{small|{{color box|#ffcc00|Players selected in an NBA draft}} (number indicates round)}} |
{{small|Source}}{{cite web |title=UCLA vs. Louisville Box Score, March 24, 1980 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1980-03-24-louisville.html |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=January 16, 2023}}
Game summary
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee
| date = March 24
| time =
| report = [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1980-03-24-louisville.html Box Score]
| team1 = #W8 {{strikethrough|UCLA Bruins}}
| score1 = 54
| team2 = #MW2 Louisville Cardinals
| score2 = 59
| overtime =
| Q1 =
| Q2 =
| Q3 =
| Q4 =
| H1 = 28–26
| H2 = 26–33
| OT =
| points1 = Rod Foster 16
| rebounds1 = Kiki Vandeweghe 7
| assist1 = Rod Foster 5
| otherstat1 =
| points2 = Darrell Griffith 23
| rebounds2 = Rodney McCray 11
| assist2 = 3 tied with 3
| otherstat2 =
| place = Market Square Arena - Indianapolis, Indiana
| attendance =
| referee =
| TV = NBC
| series =
}}
Aftermath
UCLA would later be forced to vacate their appearance in the championship game and the 1980 NCAA tournament after players representing the school were declared ineligible by the NCAA.[https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/09/sports/ucla-on-probation-in-basketball.html U.C.L.A. ON PROBATION IN BASKETBALL] – New York Times (UPI) December 9, 1981 The Bruins would not return to the championship game until 1995, where they defeated Arkansas to win their most recent national championship.
Louisville would return to the national championship game six years later, where they upset Duke to win another title. They would also return to the title game in 2013, where they defeated Michigan to win what was their third title. However, Louisville was forced to vacate their third title due to a massive sex scandal involving players on the team, and as a result the Cardinals had four seasons worth of wins wiped from the record books.
References
{{reflist}}
{{NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game navbox}}
{{1980 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball navbox}}
{{College Basketball on NBC}}
NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game
Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games
Category:Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Category:UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Category:College basketball tournaments in Indiana
Category:Basketball competitions in Indianapolis
NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game