Darrell Griffith poured in 23 points in guiding Denny Crum's Louisville Cardinals to their first NCAA crown in school history. The senior Griffith - who was nicknamed Dr. Dunkenstein - teamed with four underclassmen as the "Doctors of Dunk" in knocking off UCLA 59-54 in the final at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
Expansion To 48 Teams
After having 40 teams in 1979, the NCAA Tournament was expanded to 48 teams and went from March 6 to March 24 with the Final Four in Indianapolis, Indiana. The NCAA also dropped its limit of two teams per conference, which would have a big impact on the Final Four.
Louisville No. 2 Seed In Midwest Behind LSU
Denny Crum's Cardinals were seeded No. 2 behind LSU in the Midwest Regional. After receiving a first round bye, Louisville needed overtime to beat Kansas State 71-69 and Texas A&M 66-55. The Cardinals then crushed LSU in the Elite Eight 86-66 to reach the Final Four.
No No. 1s In Final Four
Besides LSU, none of the other No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, something which would not happen again until 2006. Joining Louisville in Indianapolis were No. 20 ranked Purdue - the only other Top 20 team besides Louisville left standing; Iowa and UCLA. None of the other teams would have even reached the NCAAs last season as Purdue finished the Big Ten in third place, Iowa tied for fourth and UCLA was fourth in the PAC-10.
Dr. Dunkenstein Takes Over
In the national semifinals, Dr. Dunkenstein Griffith took over, collecting 34 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks as Louisville downed Iowa 80-72. In the final, Larry Brown's UCLA Bruins actually led by four points with four minutes left. But Louisville scored the final nine points, including Griffith's 18-foot jumper to break a 54-54 and guide the Cardinals to a 59-54 victory. Griffith finished with 23 points while Rodney McCray grabbed 11 rebounds for Louisville.
Confirmation For Crum
The title proved that Crum, who served as a coach under UCLA legend John Wooden, could in fact win the big game after his Louisville Cardinals had failed to take the crown in Final Four appearances in 1972 and 1975.
UCLA Forfeit Runner-Up Status
UCLA would later forfeit its place in the standings after Kiki Vandeweghe and Rod Foster were declared ineligible by the NCAA and should not have been playing. They were reportedly ruled ineligible due to recruiting violations regarding their deals with Sam Gilbert.
