The 1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. A total of 63 games were played. This Final Four was the first—and so far, only—to be held in a baseball-specific facility, as Tropicana Field is home to the Tampa Bay Rays (then known as the Devil Rays). The Final Four consisted of Connecticut, making their first ever Final Four appearance; Ohio State, making their ninth Final Four appearance and first since 1968; Michigan State, making their third Final Four appearance and first since their 1979 national championship; and Duke, the overall number one seed and making their first Final Four appearance since losing the national championship game in 1994. In the national championship game, Connecticut defeated Duke 77–74 to win their first ever national championship, snapping Duke's 32-game winning streak, and scoring the biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. Duke nonetheless tied the record for most games won during a single season, with 37, which they co-held until Kentucky's 38-win seasons in 2011–12 and 2014–15. The 2007–08 Memphis team actually broke this record first, but the team was later forced to vacate their entire season due to eligibility issues surrounding the team. Richard "Rip" Hamilton of Connecticut was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was a significant victory for the program, as it cemented Connecticut's reputation as a true basketball power after a decade of barely missing the Final Four. This tournament is also historically notable as the coming-out party for Gonzaga as a rising mid-major power. Gonzaga has made every NCAA tournament since then, and is now generally considered to be a high-major program despite its mid-major conference affiliation. Due to violations committed by Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien, the Buckeyes were forced to vacate their appearance in the 1999 Final Four.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1999 tournament: First and Second Rounds Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 28 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while two were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Ivy League and Pac-10). Five conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Arkansas State (Sun Belt), Florida A&M (MEAC), Kent State (MAC), Samford (TAAC), and Winthrop (Big South).

Automatic qualifiers

Listed by region and seeding

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Bids by conference

Bracket

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Regional Final summary

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

Regional Final summary

South Regional – Knoxville, Tennessee

Regional Final summary

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

Game summaries

First Round

Second Round

Regional Semifinals

Regional Final

Final Four

St. Petersburg, Florida

# - Ohio State vacated 34 games, including all NCAA Tournament wins from the 1998–99 season due to the Jim O’Brien scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Ohio State removing the wins from its own record.

Game summaries

Final four

National Championship

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports

Commentary teams

Radio

Westwood One

First and Second Rounds

Regionals

Final Four and National Championship

Local Radio

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Additional notes