Indiana claimed its fourth NCAA championship and second under Bob Knight by knocking off Dean Smith and North Carolina 63-50 as Hoosiers guard Isiah Thomas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
48 Schools And Final Third Place Game
The NCAA Tournament once again had 48 teams participating, with the tournament being played from March 12 to March 30, 1981 and the Final Four taking place at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the last time in NCAA history that the two semifinals losers played in a game for third place.
Indiana No. 3 Seed In Midwest behind DePaul And Kentucky
Bob Knight's Hoosiers were seeded third in the Midwest Regional behind top seeded and nationally number one ranked DePaul and Kentucky. After a first round bye, Indiana cruised past Maryland 99-64 in the second round and then won 87-72 in the Sweet 16 against UAB, which had knocked off Kentucky in the second round.
DePaul Upset By St. Joseph's
But Indiana would not meet up with DePaul in the Elite Eight but rather St. Joseph's. The Division 1-A's smallest school upset the number one team in the country - which included the likes of national Player of the Year Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings - 49-48 on a last-second layup by John Smith. It would be the last time a No. 1 seed would lose its first game of the tournament. St. Joseph's would then hold off Boston College to reach the Midwest Regional final against Indiana. Knight's men would not, however, underestimate St. Joseph's, blasting past the giant killers 78-46 to advance to Philadelphia.
Comfortable Victory Over LSU To Reach Final
In the national semifinals, Indiana opened up against LSU and the Hoosiers did not waste any time. Knight's men held LSU to just 10 points in the first 17 minutes of the second half in cruising to a 67-49 victory. North Carolina reached the final behind 39 points and 10 rebounds from Al Wood in a 78-65 win over Jeff Lamp and Ralph Sampson and Virginia.
No Repeat UNC Win, Indiana Takes Title
Dean Smith's Tar Heels beat Indiana 65-56 in December as Thomas played so bad that Knight benched him. But the future NBA Hall of Famer would show up for real this time around, collecting 23 points, five assists and four steals in a 63-50 victory. The Hoosiers trailed 27-26 at the break. And less than eight minutes into the second half, the lead was 45-34, deciding the game. Knight's defense did a great job on the UNC front line, holding Sam Perkins, Al Wood and James Worthy to just five points and five rebounds in the second half.
1981 Is NCAA Crown No. 4 For Indiana
The Hoosiers hoisted the NCAA trophy for the fourth time in history, joining 1940, 1953 and the perfect season from 1976.
