2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
2010 Final Four logo
Season	2009–10
Teams	65
Finals site	Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, Indiana
Champions	Duke (4th title, 10th title game, 15th Final Four)
Runner-up	Butler (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	West Virginia (2nd Final Four) Michigan State (8th Final Four)
Winning coach	Mike Krzyzewski (4th title)
MOP	Kyle Singler Duke
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments «2009 2011»

The 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2009–10 basketball season. It began on March 16, 2010, and concluded with the championship game on April 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, to become champion. It was the first Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium; the RCA Dome and Market Square Arena hosted past Final Fours when the event was held in Indianapolis.

The Final Four consisted of Duke, making their first appearance since 2004, West Virginia, who were making their second appearance and first since 1959, Butler, considered the host school and making their first ever appearance, and Michigan State, the national runner-up from 2009 appearing in the Final Four for the sixth time under head coach Tom Izzo.

When Duke and Butler played each other in the tournament final, it was the first title game between private universities in 25 years (Villanova and Georgetown met in 1985), and the fifth such matchup in history (1942, 1954, and 1955 having been the other years).

Duke defeated Butler 61-59 in the championship game as Gordon Hayward's last second desperation shot clanged off the rim. It was Duke's first national championship since 2001 and fourth overall.

Entering the tournament, the top four seeds were Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, and Syracuse. Kansas entered the tournament as the overall number one seed but were defeated on opening weekend by Northern Iowa, the #9 seed in the Midwest region. Northern Iowa was one of four teams seeded lower than #8 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, joining East Region #11 seed Washington and #12 seed Cornell and South Region #10 seed Saint Mary's.

For the first time since 2006, a #14 seed advanced out of the first round as Ohio defeated Georgetown in the sub-regionals at Dunkin' Donuts Center. The #13 seed in the West Region, Murray State, defeated Vanderbilt marking the second consecutive appearance for the Commodores where they lost as a #4 seed. Murray State very nearly upset Butler in their next game, losing by two.

One of the more exciting games of the tournament was played at the West Regional in Salt Lake City, as #6 Xavier took #2 Kansas State to two overtimes before falling 101-96. Jordan Crawford hit a three-pointer with seconds remaining in the first overtime period to force a second.

Tournament procedure

A total of 65 teams were selected for the tournament. Thirty one of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The automatic bid of the Ivy League, which does not conduct a postseason tournament, went to Cornell, its regular season champion. The remaining 34 teams were granted at-large bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

Two teams play an opening-round game, popularly called the play-in game; the winner of that game advances to the main draw of the tournament and plays a top seed in one of the regionals. The 2010 game was played on March 16 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, as it has been since its inception in 2001. The University of Dayton hosted the game.

All 64 teams are seeded 1 to 16 within their regions; the winner of the play-in game automatically receives a 16 seed. The Selection Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 65. UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero took over as chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee.^[1]

Defending champion North Carolina did not qualify for the tournament, while two schools made their first post-season appearance: Southern Conference champion Wofford and SWAC champion Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Conference USA champion Houston made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years.^[2]

The first and second round games were played at the following sites:^[3]

• March 18 / 20

Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Hosts: Big East Conference and Providence College)

New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Tulane University)

Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Big 12 Conference)

HP Pavilion, San Jose, California (Host: San José State University)

• March 19 / 21

HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York (Hosts: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Canisius College, and Niagara University)

Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida (Host: Jacksonville University)

Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University)

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington (Host: Washington State University)

The 2010 regional sites were:

• March 25 / 27

East Regional, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University)

West Regional, EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)

• March 26 / 28

Midwest Regional, Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

South Regional, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas (Hosts: University of Houston, Rice University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's mandate that one Final Four is held every five years in the city that houses the NCAA's headquarters. With Butler's win in the West Regional final, this marked the first time since 1972 that the host city had a home team in the Final Four (when UCLA went) and the first time that a host school played in the Final Four since Louisville did so in 1959.

Qualifying teams

East Regional – Syracuse Seed School Conference Record Berth type #1 Kentucky SEC 32–2 Tournament Winner #2 West Virginia Big East 27–6 Tournament Winner #3 New Mexico Mountain West 29–4 At-large #4 Wisconsin Big Ten 23–8 At-large #5 Temple Atlantic 10 29–5 Tournament Winner #6 Marquette Big East 22–11 At-large #7 Clemson ACC 21–10 At-large #8 Texas Big 12 24–9 At-large #9 Wake Forest ACC 19–10 At-large #10 Missouri Big 12 22–10 At-large #11 Washington Pac-10 24–9 Tournament Winner #12 Cornell Ivy League 27–4 Regular season Champion #13 Wofford Southern 26–8 Tournament Winner #14 Montana Big Sky 22–9 Tournament Winner #15 Morgan State MEAC 27–9 Tournament Winner #16 East Tennessee State Atlantic Sun 20–14 Tournament Winner

West Regional – Salt Lake City Seed School Conference Record Berth type #1 Syracuse Big East 28–4 At-large #2 Kansas State Big 12 26–7 At-large #3 Pittsburgh Big East 24–8 At-large #4 Vanderbilt SEC 24–8 At-large #5 Butler Horizon 28–4 Tournament Winner #6 Xavier Atlantic 10 24–8 At-large #7 BYU Mountain West 29–5 At-large #8 Gonzaga West Coast 26–6 At-large #9 Florida State ACC 22–9 At-large #10 Florida SEC 21–12 At-large #11 Minnesota Big Ten 21–13 At-large #12 UTEP C-USA 26–6 At-large #13 Murray State Ohio Valley 30–4 Tournament Winner #14 Oakland Summit 26–8 Tournament Winner #15 North Texas Sun Belt 24–8 Tournament Winner #16 Vermont America East 25–9 Tournament Winner

Midwest Regional – St. Louis Seed School Conference Record Berth type #1 Kansas Big 12 32–2 Tournament Winner #2 Ohio State Big Ten 27–7 Tournament Winner #3 Georgetown Big East 23–10 At-large #4 Maryland ACC 23–8 At-large #5 Michigan State Big Ten 24–8 At-large #6 Tennessee SEC 25–8 At-large #7 Oklahoma State Big 12 22–10 At-large #8 UNLV Mountain West 25–8 At-large #9 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 28–4 Tournament Winner #10 Georgia Tech ACC 22–12 At-large #11 San Diego State Mountain West 25–8 Tournament Winner #12 New Mexico State WAC 22–11 Tournament Winner #13 Houston C-USA 19–15 Tournament Winner #14 Ohio Mid-American 21–14 Tournament Winner #15 UC Santa Barbara Big West 20–9 Tournament Winner #16 Lehigh Patriot 22–10 Tournament Winner

South Regional – Houston Seed School Conference Record Berth type #1 Duke ACC 29–5 Tournament Winner #2 Villanova Big East 24–7 At-large #3 Baylor Big 12 25–7 At-large #4 Purdue Big Ten 27–5 At-large #5 Texas A&M Big 12 23–9 At-large #6 Notre Dame Big East 23–11 At-large #7 Richmond Atlantic 10 26–8 At-large #8 California Pac-10 23–10 At-large #9 Louisville Big East 20–12 At-large #10 Saint Mary's West Coast 26–5 Tournament Winner #11 Old Dominion CAA 26–8 Tournament Winner #12 Utah State WAC 27–7 At-large #13 Siena MAAC 27–6 Tournament Winner #14 Sam Houston State Southland 25–7 Tournament Winner #15 Robert Morris Northeast 23–11 Tournament Winner #16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff SWAC 17–15 Tournament Winner Winthrop Big South 19–13 Tournament Winner

Bracket

Results to date ^[4]

* – Denotes overtime period

All times in U.S. EDT.

Opening Round Game – Dayton, Ohio

Winner advanced as 16th seed in South Regional vs. (1) Duke.

	Opening Round Game March 16
	16a	Arkansas-Pine Bluff	61
	16b	Winthrop	44

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

	First round March 18–19					Second round March 20–21					Regional semifinals March 26					Regional finals March 28
	1	Kansas	90
	16	Lehigh	74
						1	Kansas	67
	Oklahoma City
						9	Northern Iowa	69
	8	UNLV	66
	9	Northern Iowa	69
											9	Northern Iowa	52
											5	Michigan State	59
	5	Michigan State	70
	12	New Mexico State	67
						5	Michigan State	85
	Spokane
						4	Maryland	83
	4	Maryland	89
	13	Houston	77
																5	Michigan State	70
																6	Tennessee	69
	6	Tennessee	62
	11	San Diego State	59
						6	Tennessee	83
	Providence
						14	Ohio	68
	3	Georgetown	83
	14	Ohio	97
											6	Tennessee	76
											2	Ohio State	73
	7	Oklahoma State	59
	10	Georgia Tech	64
						10	Georgia Tech	66
	Milwaukee
						2	Ohio State	75
	2	Ohio State	68
	15	UC Santa Barbara	51

West Regional – Salt Lake City, Utah

	First round March 18–19					Second round March 20–21					Regional semifinals March 25					Regional finals March 27
	1	Syracuse	79
	16	Vermont	56
						1	Syracuse	87
	Buffalo
						8	Gonzaga	65
	8	Gonzaga	67
	9	Florida State	60
											1	Syracuse	59
											5	Butler	63
	5	Butler	77
	12	UTEP	59
						5	Butler	54
	San Jose
						13	Murray State	52
	4	Vanderbilt	65
	13	Murray State	66
																5	Butler	63
																2	Kansas State	56
	6	Xavier	65
	11	Minnesota	54
						6	Xavier	71
	Milwaukee
						3	Pittsburgh	68
	3	Pittsburgh	89
	14	Oakland	66
											6	Xavier	96
											2	Kansas State	101**
	7	BYU	99**
	10	Florida	92
						7	BYU	72
	Oklahoma City
						2	Kansas State	84
	2	Kansas State	82
	15	North Texas	62

East Regional – Syracuse, New York

	First round March 18–19					Second round March 20–21					Regional semifinals March 25					Regional finals March 27
	1	Kentucky	100
	16	East Tennessee State	71
						1	Kentucky	90
	New Orleans
						9	Wake Forest	60
	8	Texas	80
	9	Wake Forest	81*
											1	Kentucky	62
											12	Cornell	45
	5	Temple	65
	12	Cornell	78
						12	Cornell	87
	Jacksonville
						4	Wisconsin	69
	4	Wisconsin	53
	13	Wofford	49
																1	Kentucky	66
																2	West Virginia	73
	6	Marquette	78
	11	Washington	80
						11	Washington	82
	San Jose
						3	New Mexico	64
	3	New Mexico	62
	14	Montana	57
											11	Washington	56
											2	West Virginia	69
	7	Clemson	78
	10	Missouri	86
						10	Missouri	59
	Buffalo
						2	West Virginia	68
	2	West Virginia	77
	15	Morgan State	50

South Regional – Houston, Texas

	First round March 18–19					Second round March 20–21					Regional semifinals March 26					Regional finals March 28
	1	Duke	73
	16	Arkansas-Pine Bluff	44
						1	Duke	68
	Jacksonville
						8	California	53
	8	California	77
	9	Louisville	62
											1	Duke	70
											4	Purdue	57
	5	Texas A&M	69
	12	Utah State	53
						5	Texas A&M	61
	Spokane
						4	Purdue	63*
	4	Purdue	72
	13	Siena	64
																1	Duke	78
																3	Baylor	71
	6	Notre Dame	50
	11	Old Dominion	51
						11	Old Dominion	68
	New Orleans
						3	Baylor	76
	3	Baylor	68
	14	Sam Houston State	59
											3	Baylor	72
											10	Saint Mary's	49
	7	Richmond	71
	10	Saint Mary's	80
						10	Saint Mary's	75
	Providence
						2	Villanova	68
	2	Villanova	73*
	15	Robert Morris	70

Final Four

	National Semifinals April 3					National Championship Game April 5
	M5	Michigan State	50
	W5	Butler	52
						W5	Butler	59
						S1	Duke	61
	E2	West Virginia	57
	S1	Duke	78

Game summaries

Midwest Region

First round

The biggest upset of the first day came in Providence, Rhode Island, where the 14th-seeded Ohio Bobcats defeated 3 seed Georgetown in convincing fashion, 97–83, for their first tournament win since 1983, when Ohio ousted Illinois State in the first round of that tournament. Armon Bassett scored 32 points for the Bobcats, who shot 57 percent from the field and made 13 of 23 3-pointers.^[5][6] They advanced to face Tennessee, the sixth seed in the region. The Volunteers held off 11 seed San Diego State, 62–59, on head coach Bruce Pearl's 50th birthday. J. P. Prince and Melvin Goins scored 15 points each for Tennessee.^[7]

In Oklahoma City, Ali Farokhmanesh drilled a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds remaining to lift ninth-seeded Northern Iowa over the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. It was the Panthers' first tournament win since 1990.^[8] UNI advanced to face the Kansas Jayhawks. The top seed withheld an effort by Lehigh, trailing the 16th seed early in the game and leading by just 6 at halftime before pulling away midway in the second half for a 90–74 win.^[9]

On the second day of play, the 10 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets did not make a single field goal in the final 8:19 of play, but sank 13 free throws to hold off No. 7 Oklahoma State, 64–59, in Milwaukee. Gani Lawal led Georgia Tech with 14 points.^[10] The Yellow Jackets advanced to play Ohio State, who defeated UC Santa Barbara 68–51. Buckeye star Evan Turner struggled from the field, shooting 2 of 13 and scoring 9 points, and the Gauchos put up a fight playing from behind most of the game.^[11]

Rounding out the Midwest bracket were Maryland and Michigan State in Spokane, Washington. The Terrapins beat Houston 89–77 behind a career-high 21 points and 17 rebounds from freshman Jordan Williams,^[12] while the Spartans edged New Mexico State, 70–67. The end of the game included a controversial lane violation call on Aggies player Troy Gillenwater with 18.6 seconds left that allowed MSU to reshoot a missed free throw and extend its lead to 3.^[13]

Second round

Northern Iowa stunned the nation by knocking off top overall seed Kansas, 69–67. Leading by just one in the final minute of play, Ali Farokhmanesh clinched the victory for the second time in as many games with a 3-point basket that ESPN's Pat Forde called "the greatest early-round shot in NCAA tournament history."^[14] The win was significant for several reasons: it marked the Panthers' first trip ever to the Sweet 16, and was the first time in six years a No. 1 seed was eliminated in the round of 32. It was also the first time since 1962 that a team from the Missouri Valley Conference defeated a top seed in the tournament.^[15] Meanwhile, the Michigan State Spartans lost guard Kalin Lucas to a leg injury late in the first half of its game with Maryland. Michigan State extended its halftime lead of 9 to 16 in the second half before falling behind by 1 late after succumbing to Maryland's relentless pressure defense and some spectacular plays by Greivis Vásquez. But Korie Lucious kept MSU from losing the game, hitting a 3-pointer as time ran out to lift his team past the Terrapins, 85–83.^[16] Lucas' injury proved to be a torn Achilles tendon, putting the junior out of action for up to six months.^[17]

For the third time in four years, Tennessee made it to the regional semifinals with their 83–68 win over Ohio. J. P. Prince scored 18 points for the Volunteers, while Scotty Hopson added 17.^[18] In Milwaukee, Ohio State's Evan Turner bounced back from his off-night in the first round, nearly recording a triple-double (24 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists) as the Buckeyes downed Georgia Tech 75–66.^[19]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Michigan State's Durrell Summers, after scoring 80 points on 54 field goal attempts, was named the region's Most Outstanding Player.^[20]

West Region

First round

For the second time in three years, the Vanderbilt Commodores were victims of the upset, losing to Murray State on a Danero Thomas shot with time expiring, 66–65, in San Jose, California. Like 2008, when they lost to Siena, Vandy was seeded fourth against the Racers.^[21] Murray State advanced to face fifth-seeded Butler, who defeated UTEP, 77–59, after trailing 33–27 at the half. Shelvin Mack led the Bulldogs with 25 points.^[22]

Meanwhile, the Florida Gators rallied from a 13-point deficit in Oklahoma City to send their game with BYU to two overtimes. But Florida player Chandler Parsons missed chances to win the game at the end of regulation and the first overtime, and BYU's Jimmer Fredette sealed the 99–92 win with a pair of threes in the second overtime. Fredette finished with 37 points, the eighth time that year he'd scored over 30.^[23] BYU's advanced to play Kansas State, who had little trouble with the North Texas Mean Green, winning 82–62.^[24]

Five years after Vermont upset Syracuse, the two teams met again in the Big Dance, this time in Buffalo, New York. Unlike the 2005 game, however, Syracuse was able to shut down the Catamounts, winning 79–56. Five players scored in double digits for the Orange.^[25] They advanced to play Gonzaga. The Bulldogs had an 18-point led against Florida State, but the Seminoles cut it to five with 2:21 remaining. The Zags survived FSU's comeback, however, by making 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal a 67–60 win.^[26]

The last two slots in the West went to Pittsburgh and Xavier. It was a close game between Pittsburgh and Oakland in Milwaukee until Grizzlies forward Derick Nelson received an elbow from Gary McGhee of the Panthers, opening a cut over his left eye that began spurting blood. Immediately after Nelson's departure, Pitt went on a 19–2 run. The Panthers held Oakland to 33 percent in their 89–66 victory.^[27] As for Xavier, they beat Minnesota, 65–54. Jordan Crawford, the Xavier player who made national headlines the previous summer when he dunked on LeBron James during a training camp held by the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar,^[28] scored 28 points for the Musketeers, 17 of those came in the second half.^[29]

Second round

Murray State had another chance at an upset against Butler, but a 3-point play by Bulldog Ronald Nored dashed those hopes, along with Gordon Hayward deflecting a Racers pass. Butler won 54–52.^[30] The Bulldogs' next opponent, top-seeded Syracuse, rolled over Gonzaga, 87–65, with Wes Johnson scoring a career best 31 points and pulling 14 rebounds.^[31]

2 seed Kansas State fell behind to BYU early, trailing 10–0 to start the game. But the Wildcats would pull ahead with 4:21 to go in the first half and never relinquished the lead after that, advancing to the next round with an 84–72 win. K-State's Jacob Pullen had a career-high 34 points.^[32] And third-seeded Pitt was eliminated by Xavier, 71–68. Jordan Crawford had 27 points for the Musketeers.^[33]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

In what Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com called "one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16," Kansas State downed Xavier, 101–96, in double overtime in Salt Lake City.^[34] The Musketeers' Terrell Holloway made three free throws with 5 seconds remaining in regulation to pull Xavier even with the Wildcats. Down 3 again with the first overtime winding down, Jordan Crawford nailed a 35-foot shot to extend the game further. Jacob Pullen then hit a pair of threes in the second overtime to push K-State over the top.^[35]

Syracuse became the second number-one seed to fall, as Butler claimed its first-ever trip to the Elite Eight. The 63–59 win brought the Bulldogs within one win of playing the Final Four in their home city. Trailing by four with 5:23 left, Butler held the Orange scoreless for nearly five minutes, while scoring 11 points of their own, including a 3-point shot by Willie Veasley that bounced high off the rim before hitting the backboard and eventually falling through the net. The win marked Butler's 23rd in a row.^[36]

Regional final (Elite Eight)

The West All-Regional team was made of regional MVP Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack of Butler, Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen of Kansas State, and Jordan Crawford of Xavier.^[37]

East Region

First round

In New Orleans, Ishmael Smith scored a 17-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left in overtime as Wake Forest defeated Texas, 81–80. The Longhorns, who had been ranked number one as recently as January, but fell to an 8 seed in the tournament, twice trailed by double digits before rallying, then held an eight-point lead before falling.^[38] Wake Forest advanced to face top-seeded Kentucky, who breezed past East Tennessee State, 100–71.^[39]

A basket by Quincy Pondexter with 1.7 seconds remaining helped the Washington Huskies past Marquette, 80–78, in San Jose. Washington had trailed by 15 with over 13 minutes to go in the second half.^[40] The Huskies advanced to face New Mexico, who beat the Montana Grizzlies, 62–57. Roman Martinez scored 19 points for the Lobos, while Darington Hobson had 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists despite playing with a sprained left wrist.^[41]

Ivy League champion Cornell joined the parade of double-digit seeds advancing to the second round with a dominating performance over Temple, 78–65, in Jacksonville, Florida. Louis Dale, Ryan Wittman and Jeff Foote, all seniors for the Big Red, scored 21, 20 and 16 points respectively, and Cornell shot 56 percent from the field overall, making 8 of their first 10 shots and shooting 68 percent in the first half. It was the first tournament win in Big Red history.^[42] The Wisconsin Badgers, who Cornell drew next, managed to avoid getting upset itself, beating Wofford in a low-scoring affair, 53–49. A pair of free throws from Jon Leuer with 4.2 seconds on the clock sealed the win for Badgers. Leuer had 20 points on the day.^[43]

One year after reaching the Elite Eight, 10th-seeded Missouri knocked off No. 7 Clemson, 86–78, in Buffalo. The Missouri Tigers' defense forced 20 turnovers and stole the ball 15 times in the win, while Kim English and Keith Ramsey had 20 points each offensively.^[44] Mizzou advanced to play West Virginia, who started its opening round game trailing Morgan State, 12–3. But the 2 seed hit 8 of its next 11 shots to take the lead for good en route to a 77–50 win.^[45]

Second round

Washington looked nothing like the No. 11 seed in the East, dismantling third-seeded New Mexico, 82–64. With 18 points from Quincy Pondexter and 15 from Isaiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning each, the Huskies played their uptempo style to a 12-point lead at halftime that grew to 23 midway through the second half. Washington made the Sweet 16 for the third time since 2005.^[46] West Virginia reached the Sweet 16 after beating Missouri, 68–59. Da'Sean Butler had 28 points for the Mountaineers, while the Tigers were plagued by poor shooting from the field and at the line.^[47]

It was another blowout for the Kentucky Wildcats as they beat Wake Forest, 90–60. Four players scored in double figures for UK as they built an early cushion, then padded it to 31 points by the second half.^[48] The Wildcats became the next hurdle in Cornell's Cinderella season, which continued with an 87–69 pasting of No. 4 Wisconsin. Thanks to 26 points from Louis Dale, another 24 from Ryan Wittman, and a 61 percent shooting effort overall—the highest percentage ever allowed by the Badgers in Bo Ryan's nine-year tenure in Madison^[49]—the Big Red became the first team from the Ivy League to reach the round of 16 in more than 30 years.^[50]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

The clock struck midnight for 12 seed Cornell and 11 seed Washington. Kentucky put an end to the Big Red's Cinderella run with a 62–45 win in Syracuse, New York. The game started promising for Cornell, as they took a 10–2 lead to the delight of the partisan-Big Red crowd. But a talented Wildcats squad spoiled the party after that with 16 points from DeMarcus Cousins, 12 rebounds from Patrick Patterson and 8 assists from John Wall.^[51] West Virginia's 69–56 defeat of the Huskies set up the only 1 vs. 2 regional final in the tournament. The Mountaineers' Kevin Jones led all scorers with 18 points, as West Virginia recorded its 30th win, the most in school history.^[52]

Regional final (Elite Eight)

South Region

First round

Second-seeded Villanova survived a scare in Providence, needing overtime to beat Robert Morris, 73–70. Scottie Reynolds was kept from the starting lineup for undisclosed reasons (Coach Jay Wright said he wanted to make a "teaching point"), and even though he scored 20 points, he only made 2 of 15 shots from the field. Mezie Nwigwe had a chance to send the game to a second overtime for the Colonials, but missed a 3-pointer as time ran out.^[53] Villanova plays Saint Mary's of California in the second round. The Gaels beat Richmond, 80–71, advancing for the first time in over 50 years.^[54]

Contributing to the Big East Conference's woes on day one of the tournament was Notre Dame's 51–50 loss to Old Dominion in New Orleans. The Fighting Irish opened the second half with a 30–22 lead before the Monarchs went on a 9–0 run to take the lead. The game remained close until the end, when Notre Dame's Carleton Scott attempted a 3-point basket that ended up rattling around the rim before falling out. A putback from Luke Harangody at the buzzer was not enough for the Irish.^[55] Old Dominion advanced to face Baylor in the round of 32. In a close game with Sam Houston State, the Bears used an 8–0 run in the final minutes to take the 68–59 victory.^[56]

Arkansas-Pine Bluff won the play-in game on March 16, 2010, by beating Winthrop, 61–44. But they proved to be no match for the No. 1-seed Duke Blue Devils, who blew the Golden Lions out, 73–44, in Jacksonville. Kyle Singler had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Duke, who led 39–20 at the break.^[57] Duke advanced to face California in the second round. The Golden Bears rode a rollercoaster with Louisville, leading the Cardinals by 18 before having their lead cut to 6, then pulling back out to a 14-point advantage before Louisville brought it back to within 4. But Cal ended the game with a 15–4 run to win, 77–62.^[58]

Finally, in Spokane, the fourth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers had a go of it with upset specialist Siena, trailing the Saints 32–29 at halftime before racing to a 14-point lead to open the second half. Siena would pull within 3 with just over a minute remaining, but Purdue held on for the 72–64 win, spoiling the predictions of some fans and even President Barack Obama that Siena would make the Boilers their latest victim.^[59] They advanced to play Texas A&M, who defeated Utah State, 69–53, behind 19 points from freshman Khris Middleton.^[60]

Second round

After barely beating Robert Morris in the first round, Villanova could not withstand the Gael storm from St. Mary's. Omar Samhan scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the No. 10 seed took down Nova, 75–68. Afterwards, Samhan called the game his "best win ever." Wildcat Scottie Reynolds remained in his funk to end the season, netting just 8 points.^[61] Trailing by as many as 14 in the first half and 38–28 at halftime, Old Dominion went on a 9–0 run against Baylor at the start of the second half, then took the lead, 49–47, on free throws from Kent Bazemore. But Baylor would close the door on the upset bid with an 8–1 run to end the game, winning 76–68. The Bears' LaceDarius Dunn led all scorers with 26 points, while 7-foot center Josh Lomers had eight rebounds to go with his career high 14 points.^[62]

Chris Kramer's layup with 4.2 seconds left in overtime gave Purdue a 63–61 win over Texas A&M. Kramer finished with 17 points as the Boilermakers came back from a 7-point deficit at halftime.^[63] They advanced to face Duke in the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils beat California, 68–53, behind 20 points from Nolan Smith, 17 points from Kyle Singler and 14 points and 13 rebounds from Brian Zoubek. This was the 19th time under head coach Mike Krzyzewski Duke reached the round of 16.^[64]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Duke defeated Baylor 78–71, in front of a practically home crowd for Baylor in Houston, Texas. Nolan Smith was named game MVP with 29 points, while Lance Thomas also had a career high 8 offensive rebounds.

Final Four

On April 3, 2010, Butler Bulldogs, playing in their hometown, faced off against the Michigan State Spartans. In a tough, physical game, the Bulldogs, despite going more than 11 minutes without a field goal, were able to hang on after forcing Michigan State into 16 turnovers and holding the Spartans to zero fast-break points. The Bulldogs also out-rebounded Michigan State on the offensive glass, 11 to 8. With the victory, Butler became the fourth team in NCAA tournament history to hold its first five opponents under 60 points.

On April 3, 2010, Duke, the #1 seed from the South and West Virginia Mountaineers, the #2 seed from the East, squared off in the second of the Final Four games. Duke showed its full potential in the game, hitting 52.7 percent of its shots (and 52 percent of its three-pointers) while shredding West Virginia's 1-3-1 zone trap. Duke led 39–31 at the half and maintained its red-hot shooting in the second half. The highlight of the game came when Nolan Smith missed a contested, fast-break layup, but Kyle Singler and Miles Plumlee combined to slam home the rebound to give Duke a 14-point lead. Plumlee was credited with the dunk. Kyle Singler scored 21 points for the Blue Devils and Nolan Smith added 19 points and six assists. With the victory, Duke advanced to its 10th NCAA Championship game.

National championship

On April 5, 2010, Butler and Duke faced off in what The New York Times called "the most eagerly awaited championship game in years".^[65] Butler became the first team to play in the championship game in its home city since UCLA in 1968.

Duke jumped out to a quick 6–1 lead to start the game, but Butler rallied back, taking a 12–11 lead at the 12:28 mark of the first half. At the under eight-minute TV timeout, Butler held a 20–18 lead. After the timeout, Duke went on an 8–0 run to take a 26–20 lead. Butler coach Brad Stevens then called a timeout. With starters Matt Howard and Ronald Nored on the bench in foul trouble, backup center Avery Jukes came up big for Butler. Jukes hit two three-pointers and a made tip-in en route to 10 first half points, tying his single-game season high. At half time, Duke's lead stood at 33–32.^[66]

The second half was played very closely, with neither team taking a lead larger than two points until a Brian Zoubek layup put Duke up 47–43 with 12:27 remaining. Butler stayed close, keeping within 5 points the rest of the way. With 3:16 to play, Duke took a 60–55 lead on two made free throws by Nolan Smith. Butler missed its next shot, but forced a missed shot and turned Duke over after an offensive rebound. Matt Howard made a layup for Butler to make it a 60–57 game with 1:44 remaining. Smith missed a layup for Duke and Howard got another layup after collecting an offensive rebound on a missed three-pointer by Shelvin Mack. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski then called a time out. Kyle Singler missed an open jump shot with 36 seconds remaining, giving Butler a chance to take the lead. Butler was unable to initiate their offense and Stevens called a timeout to set up a play. They were then forced to call their last timeout when they were unable to get the ball in-bounds. Gordon Hayward then missed a short fade-away jumper. Zoubek came down with the rebound, forcing Butler to foul with 3.6 seconds remaining. Zoubek made the first foul shot and then intentionally missed the second, knowing Butler had no timeouts remaining. Hayward was forced to throw up a desperation shot from half court. The ball bounced off the backboard and then the rim.^[66] According to analysis by ESPN, Hayward's aim was off by three inches, or less than one degree, on the x-axis.^[67] Because a made three-point shot would have resulted in a loss for Duke, some pundits criticized Krzyzewski for his decision to have Zoubek miss the second free throw intentionally. Other pundits, however, ran various analysis that indicated that it was statistically the correct call.^[68]

The 61–59 victory earned Krzyzewski his fourth national championship crown, his second in ten years.^[66] The game was the most watched finale in more than 10 years, pulling in average of 23.9 million viewers in the United States.^[69] Kyle Singler earned Most Outstanding Player honors with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG
Big East	8	8–8	.500	4	2	1	1	0 !–
Big 12	7	9–7	.563	5	2	2	0 !–	0 !–
ACC	6	9–5	.643	4	1	1	1	1
Big Ten	5	9–5	.643	4	3	1	1	0 !–
Mountain West	4	2–4	.333	2	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
SEC	4	6–4	.600	2	2	2	0 !–	0 !–
Atlantic 10	3	2–3	.400	1	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
C–USA	2	0–2	.000	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
Pac-10	2	3–2	.600	2	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
WAC	2	0–2	.000	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
WCC	2	3–2	.600	2	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
Colonial	1	1–1	.500	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
Horizon	1	5–1	.833	1	1	1	1	1
Ivy	1	2–1	.667	1	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
MAC	1	1–1	.500	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
MVC	1	2–1	.667	1	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
Ohio Valley	1	1–1	.500	1	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
SWAC	1	1–1**	.500	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–
One and done teams*	13	0–13	.000	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–	0 !–

*The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, MAAC, MEAC, Northeast, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Summit, and Sun Belt conferences went 0–1.

**Arkansas-Pine Bluff won the Opening Round game.

The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, and CG respectively stand for the Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and Championship Game.

Media

Television

For the 29th consecutive year, CBS Sports again televised a majority of the event, with the exception of the opening round game, which was televised by ESPN, and first round games played in the late afternoon, which CBS College Sports Network aired so CBS affiliates could break for local and network news.^[70] The championship game scored a Nielson rating of 16.0.

• Studio: Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis
• Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson (as sideline reporter for the Final Four and NCAA Championship game) – First and Second Round at Jacksonville, FL; South Regional at Houston, TX; Final Four at Indianapolis, IN
• Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas – First and Second Round at New Orleans, LA; East Regional at Syracuse, NY
• Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery – First and Second Round at Providence, RI; Midwest Regional at St. Louis, MO
• Gus Johnson and Len Elmore – First and Second Round at Buffalo, NY; West Regional at Salt Lake City, UT; championship game on international broadcast
• Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner – First and Second Round at Oklahoma City, OK
• Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel – First and Second Round at Milwaukee, WI
• Tim Brando and Mike Gminski – First and Second Round at Spokane, WA
• Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel – First and Second Round at San Jose, CA

In addition to the main CBS affiliates, many stations opened digital subchannels for additional coverage. Also, on these four occasions, CBS opened the coverage to additional channels to settle conflicts:

• On March 26, during the regional semifinals, South Bend, Indiana affiliate WSBT-TV aired the Purdue-Duke telecast, while its digital subchannel, independent station SBT2, carried Michigan State vs. Northern Iowa. Part of the South Bend market (including the city of Benton Harbor) is located within the state of Michigan.
• On March 25, also within the Sweet 16, the game between Xavier and Kansas State was seen on WKRC-TV and the game between Kentucky and Cornell was seen on WKRC-DT2, also known as "The CW Cincinnati," at the same time. Xavier is located in the city of Cincinnati, while much of the Cincinnati DMA is located within the state of Kentucky. The fan and alumni bases for the University of Kentucky are substantial in the Cincinnati area, and the Wildcats play occasional home games at U.S. Bank Arena.
• On March 19, the first-round game between Clemson and Missouri was shown on WSPA-TV while the game between Wofford and Wisconsin was on WYCW at the same time. Both Clemson and Wofford are located in the upstate area of South Carolina.
• On March 18, the first-round game between North Texas and Kansas State was seen on KTVT, while at the same time Baylor vs. Sam Houston State was shown on KTXA. UNT is in the Dallas/Fort Worth media market (Denton, Texas); Waco, Texas, where Baylor is located, is in a separate DMA. However, some DFW stations are available via cable TV in Waco, and it is believed that more alumni of BU live in the Metroplex than anywhere else. (For similar reasons, KTVT agreed to air the late-afternoon Texas A&M vs. Utah State game on 3/19 after earlier planning not to do so.)

WSPA and WYCW are in a duopoly owned by Media General, and KTVT and KTXA are in a duopoly owned by CBS Corporation.

Radio

Westwood One again broadcast the tournament.

Opening Round Game

• Dave Ryan and Dave Odom – at Dayton, OH

First and Second Round

• Wayne Larrivee and Pete Gillen – First and Second Rounds at Milwaukee, WI
• Bob Papa and John Thompson – First and Second Rounds at Providence, RI
• Dave Sims and P. J. Carlesimo – First and Second Rounds at Spokane, WA
• Kevin Kugler and Will Perdue – First and Second Rounds at New Orleans, LA
• Ted Robinson and Bill Frieder – First and Second Rounds at San Jose, CA
• Mark Champion and Kyle Macy – First and Second Rounds at Buffalo, NY
• Brad Sham and Reid Gettys – First and Second Rounds at Oklahoma City, OK
• Gary Cohen and Kevin Grevey – First and Second Rounds at Jacksonville, FL

Regionals

• Kevin Harlan and John Thompson – Midwest Regional at St. Louis, MO
• Kevin Kugler and Pete Gillen – South Regional at Houston, TX
• Ian Eagle and P. J. Carlesimo – East Regional at Syracuse, NY
• Ted Robinson and Bill Frieder – West Regional at Salt Lake City, UT

Final Four

• Kevin Kugler, John Thompson and Bill Raftery – at Indianapolis, IN

John Tautges again served as host of the broadcasts.

Local Radio

Date	Teams	Flagship station	Play-by-play announcer	Color analyst(s)
2010	Duke	WDNC	Bob Harris	John Roth

International broadcasters

Broadcasters used the CBS feed unless stated otherwise.

•  Philippines: Live/delayed on Basketball TV
•  Australia: Live/delayed on ONE HD
•  Canada: SUN TV in Toronto simulcast CBS broadcasts. The Score Television Network on cable combined CBS broadcasts with its own studio team and used the international feed for the championship game.

Courts

After experimenting with custom-made courts during the previous year's tournament, the NCAA began importing custom-made identical portable courts and Spalding backboard supports (if needed) to all tournament sites in 2010. The custom court began with the 1986 Final Four and was expanded for identical courts in 2007 for the regional semi-final and final round sites, before being used for all sites starting in 2010.

See also

• 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
• 2010 National Invitation Tournament
• 2010 College Basketball Invitational
• 2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament
• 2010 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
• 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament

References

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Tournaments 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Structure Selection process Opening Round Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game Venues Venues Champions & awards Champions Most Outstanding Player Media & culture Bracketology Broadcasting Tournament Final Four March Madness pools "One Shining Moment" Records & statistics All-time team records Bids by school Bids by school and conference Consecutive appearances Final Four appearances by school Final Four participants Final Four appearances by coach Upsets

2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments Conference ACC America East Atlantic 10 Atlantic Sun Big 12 Big East Big Sky Big South Big Ten Big West CAA Conference USA Great West Horizon MAAC MEAC Mid-American Missouri Valley Mountain West Northeast Ohio Valley Pac-10 Patriot SEC Southern Southland SWAC Sun Belt The Summit League WAC West Coast National NCAA NIT CBI CIT

Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball 2009–10 NCAA Champions 2 Nolan Smith 5 Mason Plumlee 12 Kyle Singler (MOP) 20 Andre Dawkins 21 Miles Plumlee 30 Jon Scheyer 34 Ryan Kelly 42 Lance Thomas 55 Brian Zoubek Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski Assistant Coaches Chris Collins Steve Wojciechowski Nate James