1986 NCAA Tournament Review
Louisville Grabs Second Crown With Freshman Ellison Over Duke
Apr 2, 2009
Denny Crum led Louisville to the second NCAA crown in the school's history with freshman center Pervis Ellison leading the way in a 72-69 victory over Duke and a young Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Field Stays At 64 Teams
After changing the number of teams in the field for the past four years, the NCAA kept the number at 64. The tournament ran from March 13 to March 31, 1986 with the Final Four being played in the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.
Louisville No. 2 Seed In West Behind St. John's
The Louisville Cardinals were given a second seed in the Western regional behind No. 1 St. John's. And Crum's men cruised rather comfortably to the Final Four. In the first round, Louisville beat Drexel 93-78. Bradley was the next victim, 82-68 in the second round. In the Sweet 16, the Cardinals overwhelmed North Carolina 94-79. And Louisville bagged an 84-76 Elite Eight win over No. 8 seed Auburn, which had knocked off St. John's in the second round.
First Major Upsets
Some authorities see the 1986 tournament the start of the new era of the NCAAs where upsets are loved and cherished. Two No. 14 seeds won their first round games as Cleveland State beat No. 3 Indiana 83-79 and Arkansas-Little Rock knocked off Notre Dame 90-83. While UALR was then beaten by NC State, Cleveland State's run continued with a 75-69 win over St. Joseph's to become the first No. 14 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen - though they lost there 71-70 against Navy, which lost against Duke in the Elite Eight.
Three Powerhouses And LSU In Dallas
No. 1 ranked Duke was joined in the Final Four by Louisville, the Midwest No. 1 seed Kansas and surprise guest No. 11 LSU, which became the lowest seed to reach the Final Four - a mark which was matched by George Mason in 2006. The Tigers needed double overtime to beat Purdue in the first round then knocked off No. 6 Georgia Tech and then No. 3 Kentucky to win the Southeast Region.
Louisville Handles LSU, Duke Stop Manning
In the national semifinals, Louisville's surge continued with yet another comfortable victory, beating LSU 88-77. In the other semi, top-ranked Duke held Kansas leader Danny Manning to just four points in a 71-67 win to reach the final.
No Answer For Ellison
Coach Krzyzewski's Duke proved a big challenge for Crum's Louisville in the final, leading by six points with seven minutes left. But in the end, the more experienced Cardinals were too much for the Blue Devils, especially Ellison. "Never Nervous" Pervis finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds and Louisville stopped Duke star Johnny Dawkins to just two points in the final 15 minutes. Ellison became the second freshman to be named Most Outstanding Player following Utah's Arnie Ferrin in 1944.
Title Number Two For Louisville
The crown was Louisville's second in school history, adding to the title from 1980.
Record 37 Victories Not Enough
Duke's final record of 37-3 was not enough to win the title. But it did snap Kentucky's mark of 36 victories from 1948 for most wins in a season.
