Jim Calhoun guided Connecticut to the first NCAA championship in school history by holding off Duke 77-74 in its first-ever Final Four appearance. Richard Hamilton was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
64-Team Field
The NCAA field included 64 teams for the 14th consecutive year. The tournament ran from March 11 to March 29, 1999 with the Final Four being played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Final Four was the first - and only - to be held in a baseball-specific venue as Tropicana Field was home to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Tampa Bay Rays).
Connecticut No. 1 Seed In West
Jim Calhoun's Connecticut was given the No. 1 seed in the West region. And the Huskies had few problems in the first three rounds - beating Texas-San Antonio 91-66 in the first round; New Mexico 78-56 in the second round; and Iowa 78-68 in the Sweet Sixteen. In the Elite Eight, Connecticut struggled to hold off No. 10 seed Gonzaga 67-62 to reach the Final Four for the first time.
Gonzaga's Coming Out Party
The 1999 tournament proved to be the coming out party of Gonzaga as a major NCAA player. In just their second NCAA appearance, the tenth-seeded Bulldogs beat No. 7 seed Minnesota in the first round and then upset No. 2 seed and seventh-ranked Stanford in the second round. In the Sweet Sixteen, Gonzaga knocked off sixth seeded Florida before falling to Connecticut in the Elite Eight. Mark Few arrived as coach the next season and Gonzaga has made the NCAA tournament each season since then, reaching the Sweet Sixteen four times in the next 10 years.
Three No. 1s, Ohio State
Joining UConn in the Final Four were fellow No. 1 seeds Michigan State from the Midwest and Duke from the East as well as fourth-seeded Ohio State, which beat South region No. 1 seed Auburn in the Sweet Sixteen before beating No. 3 seed St. John's in the South final. Ohio State reached the semifinals after an 8-22 record last season.
Connecticut, Duke Meet In Highly-Awaited Final
Connecticut moved into the final of its first ever Final Four thanks to a 64-58 win over Ohio State in the national semifinals. And Duke extended its winning streak to 32 games and evened the NCAA record for victories in a season with 37 by beating Michigan State 68-62.
Top Two Teams Tussle In Tampa
UConn and Duke took turns all season as the No. 1 team in the nation, with fans hoping Calhoun's Huskies would face Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils in the final. And the finale proved up to the task - a back-and-forth battle throughout before Connecticut prevailed 77-74. Richard Hamilton poured in 16 of his 27 points in the second half and UConn's defensive ace forced Duke's Trajan Langdon to travel with 10 seconds left and Duke down 75-74.
Calhoun Finally Grabs Title
Calhoun and Connecticut finally brought home the title after much suffering recently as the Huskies three times lost in regional finals before cutting down the nets in St. Petersburg.
Duke Finally Loses Players Early To NBA
Duke had long been the stalwart of four-year players. But that changed after the loss to UConn as Krzyzewski suffered his first three NBA defections with Elton Brand, William Avery and Corey Maggette all departing for NBA riches.
Ohio State Results Vacated
Ohio State was forced to vacate their appearance at the Final Four due to violations by its head coach Jim O'Brien.
