2008 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs easily took Game 3 at home with Manu Ginóbili carrying the Spurs after two terrible games at L.A, making 5 3-pointers and finishing with 30 points; Tony Parker and Tim Duncan added 42 more. In Game 4 the Lakers never trailed (the Spurs missed several opportunities to take the lead) and led comfortably late, but a furious run by the Spurs and several mistakes by the Lakers (Bryant attempting a running fallaway with plenty of time on the shot clock, Gasol missing 2 free throws) gave San Antonio a chance to tie or win with seconds left. On a disputed no-call, Derek Fisher jumped up and collided with Brent Barry, but no foul was called and Barry missed a last second 3. The NBA later ruled that a foul should have been called on Fisher when he collided with Barry.


2008 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
Heading home up 3–1 in the series, the Lakers trailed in the first quarter by 17, but were able to cut the lead to six by halftime. Again, Bryant stepped up by scoring 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, enabling the Lakers to surge ahead and seal the series, helping them to reach the NBA Finals for the 5th time in 9 seasons and the first time in the post-Shaq era.


2008 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
The Lakers were able to reach the NBA Finals again as the #1 seed. The last time this happened to the team was during the 1999–2000 season, where they beat the Indiana Pacers 4–2. They also improved to 4–0 against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals.


2008 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E1) Boston Celtics
This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning eight of the first ten meetings.


2008 NBA playoffs, Ratings
TNT's coverage of the 2008 NBA Playoffs was strong in audience delivery, with the playoff averages showing year-over-year growth among households (+15%), viewers (+14%), adults 18–34 (+25%), adults 18–49 (+22%), adults 25–54 (+24%), men 18–34 (+30%), women 18–34 (+5%), men 18–49 (+23%) and men 25–54 (+22%).


2008 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 2008 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Tom O'Brien. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953, and has participated in that conference's Atlantic Division since 2005. The Wolfpack played its home games in 2008 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


2008 NCAA Bowling Championship
The 2008 NCAA Bowling Championship was the fifth annual tournament to determine the national champion of women's NCAA collegiate ten-pin bowling. The tournament was played in Omaha, Nebraska during April 2007.


2008 NCAA Bowling Championship
Maryland–Eastern Shore defeated Arkansas State in the championship match, 4 games to 2, to win their first national title.


2008 NCAA Bowling Championship, Qualification
Since there is only one national collegiate championship for women's bowling, all NCAA bowling programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship, which consisted of a modified double-elimination style tournament. Two more matches, comprising Round 5, were played this year.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 30 through June 25, 2008 and was part of the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 286 teams on May 26, 2008. Thirty teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and 34 teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee. Thirty-eight of the 64 selected teams participated in the 2007 tournament.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2008 tournament culminated with 8 teams advancing to the College World Series at historic Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska on June 14.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The Fresno State Bulldogs beat the Georgia Bulldogs in the best-of-three championship series to win the NCAA Men's Division I Baseball Championship. Fresno State became the lowest seeded team (4th in the Regionals) to win the National Championship in NCAA history, and the fifth consecutive baseball team to win the title that was not one of the eight national seeds. They were considered a "Cinderella" team throughout the tournament. This was only the third national championship of any kind in school history, following the 1968 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament and the 1998 NCAA Division I Softball National Champions.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Fresno State sophomore third baseman Tommy Mendonca won the Most Outstanding Player Award. Tommy hit four home runs and had 11 RBIs and also made a number of spectacular plays in the field.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The first day of the 2008 CWS was moved to Saturday (June 14) from the traditional Friday. Also, if all games were needed in the first double-elimination round, it would take eight days to complete rather than seven. The NCAA cited the need to be more flexible in the super-regional round in case of inclement weather. It also allowed for greater potential ticket revenue, in part because the extra "if-necessary" day would now be ticketed separately if both games are played.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Bids, Automatic bids
Conference champions from 30 Division I conferences earned automatic bids to regionals. The remaining 34 spots were awarded to schools as at-large invitees.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals and Super Regionals, Regional schedule
Regional rounds were held Friday, May 30 through Monday, June 2. Each regional followed a similar format, with 2 games played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and one on Monday if needed.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals and Super Regionals, Regional schedule
Best-of-three super regionals were held Friday, June 6 through Monday, June 9. Four series were played Friday-Sunday and four series were played Saturday-Monday.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals and Super Regionals, Brackets, Cary Super Regional
Hosted by North Carolina at USA Baseball National Training Complex


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Record by conference
The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, CS, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series Teams, National Semifinals, Championship Series, and National Champion.


2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Television/radio/online coverage, Super Regionals
Mike Gleason and Will Kimmey made up the studio team (in Bristol, Connecticut) for both regional and super-regional rounds.


2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 70th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 28th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.


2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 24, 2008, the combined meet was the fifth of eight consecutive meets hosted by Indiana State University at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 6 kilometers (3.73 miles).


2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team championship was again won by Oregon (93 points), the Ducks' second consecutive and sixth overall. The women's team championship was won by Washington (79 points), the Huskies' first.


2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The two individual champions were, for the men, Galen Rupp (Oregon, 29:03.2) and, for the women, Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech, 19:28.1). It was Kipyego's record third consecutive title.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Three human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS Standings. At the end of the season, the BCS Standings determine who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, Coaches Poll
The final Coaches Poll of the 2008 season (technically taking place in 2009) was notable in that the winner of the BCS Championship Game was not the unanimous number 1. While the coaches are obligated to vote the winner of that game, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham voted his team number 1 after they defeated favored Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl and completed the only undefeated season (13–0).


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, BCS Standings
The Bowl Championship Series determined the two teams that competed in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The regular season began on August 28, 2008 and ended on December 6, 2008. The postseason concluded on January 8, 2009 with the BCS National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida, which featured the top two teams ranked by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS): the No. 2 Florida Gators and No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners. Florida defeated Oklahoma by a score of 24–14 to win their second BCS title in three years and third overall national championship in school history. The Utah Utes were selected national champions by Anderson & Hester after beating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, finishing the season as the nation's only undefeated team.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Rule changes
The NCAA football rules committee made rule changes for 2008, including the following:


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference and program changes
Western Kentucky upgraded from Division I FCS and played the 2008 season as a transitional Division I FBS member.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference champions, Conference championship games
Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Bowl games, Bowl Championship Series
After the completion of the regular season and conference championship games, seven teams had secured BCS berths: ACC champion Virginia Tech, Big East champion Cincinnati, Big Ten champion Penn State, Big 12 champion Oklahoma, Pac-10 champion USC, SEC champion Florida, and Mountain West champion Utah, who qualified as the highest-ranked BCS non-AQ conference champion. With Oklahoma and Florida being selected to play in the championship, Texas and Alabama assumed their conference's berths in the Fiesta and Sugar Bowls, respectively.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Bowl games, Bowl Championship Series
The remaining at-large berth was awarded to Ohio State, who were selected despite being ranked No. 10 by the BCS, behind No. 9 Boise State. No. 7 Texas Tech did not receive an at-large bid because the Big 12 had already been awarded the maximum of two BCS selections per conference.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Bowl games, Bowl Challenge Cup standings
* Does not meet minimum game requirement of three teams needed for a conference to be eligible.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Awards and honors, Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.


2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Final rankings
* - The AFCA requires that their voters make the winner of the BCS Championship at the number one position in the final poll. ≠ - Kyle Whittingham, head coach of Utah, broke the AFCA requirement and voted his team number one on his ballot.


2008 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
The 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings are from the Sports Network media poll and the coaches poll. This is for the 2008 season.


2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, the 2008 season of college football for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), began on August 28, 2008, and concluded on December 19, 2008, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, where the Richmond Spiders defeated the Montana Grizzlies to win the NCAA Division I Football Championship.


2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Rule changes for 2008
The NCAA football rules committee made several rule changes for 2008, and includes the following:


2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Rule changes for 2008
In addition to the rules changes, this was the first season in which a standard provision of NCAA rules allowed FCS teams to schedule 12 regular-season games (not counting conference championship games). In years when the period starting with the Thursday before Labor Day and ending with the final Saturday in November contains 14 Saturdays, FCS programs may play 12 games instead of the regular 11.


2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Postseason, Gridiron Classic
The Gridiron Classic is an annual game between the champions of the Northeast Conference and the Pioneer Football League that has been held since December 2006.


2008 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 2008 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the 28th women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college field hockey team in the United States. The Maryland Terrapins won their sixth championship, defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the final. The semifinals and championship were hosted by the University of Louisville at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.


2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Richmond Spiders and the Montana Grizzlies. It was played on December 19, 2008, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Richmond, 24–7.


2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2008 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, Richmond Spiders
Richmond finished their regular season with a 9–3 record (6–2 in conference), after starting their season 4–3 through their first seven games. The Spiders defeated Eastern Kentucky, second-seeded Appalachian State, and third-seeded Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was Richmond's first appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game.


2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, Montana Grizzlies
Montana finished their regular season with an 11–1 record (7–1 in conference). As the fourth-seed in the tournament, the Grizzlies defeated Texas State, Weber State (who had given Montana their only defeat during the regular season), and top-seeded James Madison to reach the final. This was Montana's sixth appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game, having previously won in 1995 and 2001, and having lost in 1996, 2000, and 2004.


2008 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 2008 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 43rd NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 26th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas near the campus of the host school, the University of Arkansas. In total, thirty-two different men's and women's indoor track and field events were contested from March 14 to March 15, 2008.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2007-08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 2008 national title game was played on April 7, 2008 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The 2008 national title game was played between the 2008 South Regional Champions, #1-seeded Memphis, and the 2008 Midwest Regional Champions, #1-seeded Kansas.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
All four #1 seeds were in the Final Four for the first time in NCAA Tournament history and, for the second consecutive year, the national title game was played between two #1 seeds.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Kansas
Kansas entered the 2008 NCAA Tournament as the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional. In the 1st round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas dominated Portland State with an 85-61 victory. In the 2nd round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas beat UNLV 75-56 to advance to the Sweet 16. In the Sweet 16 of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas beat Villanova 72-57 to advance to the Elite Eight. In the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas was able to overcome Stephen Curry's 25 points to beat Davidson 59-57 and advance to the 2008 Final Four. In the 2008 Final Four, Brandon Rush scored 25 points to beat North Carolina 84-66 to advance to the 2008 national title game. North Carolina was coached by former Kansas head coach Roy Williams, it was the first time Williams had coached against Kansas since leaving after the 2002-03 season.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Memphis
Memphis entered the 2008 NCAA Tournament as the #1 seed in the South Regional. In the 1st round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Memphis had a 15-2 run that eventually led to an 87-63 victory over Texas-Arlington. In the 2nd round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Joey Dorsey had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead Memphis to a 77-74 victory over Mississippi State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 3rd consecutive year.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Memphis
In the Sweet 16 of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Memphis finally proved that they were the top seed in their region by routing Michigan State with a 92-74 victory. Memphis' 85-67 victory over Texas advanced the Tigers to the 2008 Final Four, sending coach John Calipari to the Final Four for the first time since 1996 with UMass. In the 2008 Final Four, Derrick Rose scored 25 points to beat UCLA 78-63 and advance to the 2008 National Title Game.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Memphis
Memphis was the first team in NCAA history to have 38 wins in a season, though those wins were later vacated.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game Summary, 1st Half
Darrell Arthur's 8 points and Mario Chalmers's five points in the 1st 11-and-a-half minutes gave Kansas a 22-15 lead with 8:30 remaining in the 1st half. Then, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 7 points in 4 minutes to tie the game at 28-28. A Brandon Rush 3-point play and a Darrell Arthur 2-point jumper gave Kansas a 33-28 lead at halftime.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game Summary, 2nd half
Antonio Anderson got off to a hot start in the 2nd half to give Memphis a 36-35 lead. Then, with 13:35 remaining, Darnell Jackson scored 4 points in the next 30 seconds to give Kansas a 43-40 lead. Then, Derrick Rose would score 4 points in the next 2 minutes to cut the Kansas lead to 45-44. With 8:30 remaining with a 47-46 deficit, Derrick Rose got the show going with 10 points in the next 4 minutes to take a 56-49 lead.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game Summary, 2nd half
After Robert Dozier made a pair of free throws to give Memphis a 60-51 lead with 2 minutes remaining, Kansas began a furious comeback. It started with Darrell Arthur making a 2-point jumper and Sherron Collins making a 3-pointer to cut the Memphis lead to 60-56. A pair of Mario Chalmers free throws and a Darrell Arthur basket cut the Memphis lead to 62-60. With 10 seconds left, Derrick Rose missed the first of his two free throws and made the second to give Memphis a 63-60 lead.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game Summary, 2nd half
With 2.1 seconds left, Mario Chalmers made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 63. Robert Dozier had a chance to win it, but his desperation halfcourt heave bounced off the backboard, and the game went to overtime for the seventh time in the national title game's history, and the first time since the 1997 National Title Game, when Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79 in overtime.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game Summary, Overtime
In the first 2-and-a-half minutes of overtime, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, and Darnell Jackson each made a basket to give Kansas a 69-63 lead. In the next 1-and-a-half minutes of overtime, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 5 points to cut the Kansas lead to 71-68 with 1 minute remaining. Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins each made a pair of free throws to give Kansas a 75-68 overtime victory over Memphis and Kansas' first national championship since 1988.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Aftermath
Memphis would have its entire season vacated due to problems with Derrick Rose's SATs. On March 30, 2009, John Calipari became the head coach at Kentucky.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's 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 2007–08 basketball season. The 70th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2008, and concluded on April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
For the first time (and only time through the 2021 tournament) since seeding began in 1979, all four of the top seeds advanced to the Final Four. These were Memphis, the winner of the South region, UCLA, the winner of the West region making their third consecutive Final Four appearance, Kansas, the winner of the Midwest region, and overall number one seed and East region winner North Carolina, back in the Final Four for the first time since their 2005 national championship.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Memphis and Kansas advanced to the national championship game, with Memphis's victory in the semifinals giving them a record-setting 38 for the season, beating the mark set by Duke in 1999 (Kentucky later matched this record in 2012 and 2015). Kansas, however, spoiled their national championship hopes by handing the Tigers their second loss of the season, winning the game in overtime, 75–68. Memphis's entire season was later vacated by the NCAA due to eligibility concerns surrounding freshman guard Derrick Rose.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Entering the tournament on March 18, the top ranked team was North Carolina in both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Polls, followed by Memphis, UCLA and Kansas.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
American University (Patriot), UMBC (America East), Texas–Arlington (Southland), and Portland State (Big Sky) all entered the tournament for the first time in their school's history. Another school, 2007–08 Coppin State Eagles men's basketball team won the MEAC Tournament to become the first 20-loss school ever to make the field. Georgia, a team that otherwise would not have advanced to the tournament, won the SEC tournament to qualify, and were awarded a #14 seed, the lowest-ever by a major conference team in the tournament.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Whereas the 2007 tournament did not see many upsets, the 2008 tournament was full of them. The sub-regional pod played at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida featured four games where a double digit seed won. #5 seeds Drake and Clemson fell to #12 seeds Western Kentucky and Villanova while the #4 seeds in that same pod, Vanderbilt and Connecticut, were defeated by #13 seeds Siena and San Diego. Western Kentucky advanced to the West regional in Phoenix, where they lost to UCLA while Villanova was one of two double digit seeds to advance to the Midwest regional.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The other was #10 seed Davidson, who rode the hot shooting of Stephen Curry to defeat Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin before nearly upsetting Kansas in the regional final. The Midwest region alone saw four of its double digit seeds advance, as in addition to Villanova, Siena, and Davidson #11 seed Kansas State knocked off #6 seed USC.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The total tournament attendance of 763,607 set a record for highest total tournament attendance, breaking the record set during the 1999 tournament.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Tournament procedure
The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship is an annual single-elimination tournament featuring 65 teams representing all Division I Conferences in the nation. A "play-in" game determined which of the two lowest seeds would play in the first round of 64 against a top seed team. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65 within four regionals of 16 teams; Mount St. Mary's, as the winner of the play-in game, automatically received a 16 seed.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2008 tournament:


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
For the third time, the Alamodome and the city of San Antonio hosted the Final Four, something it also did in 2018. The tournament featured five new buildings and two new host cities. For the first time ever, the tournament was played within the city of Detroit at Ford Field, the Detroit Lions' home stadium. Previous games in the Detroit area had been played at the Pontiac Silverdome and The Palace of Auburn Hills, both in the suburbs.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
For the first, and to date only, time, the tournament was held in the state of Arkansas at the Alltel Arena, located in North Little Rock and the state's second largest indoor venue after Bud Walton Arena on the campus of the University of Arkansas. For the first time since 1977, the tournament returned to Nebraska's largest city, this time at the new Qwest Center Omaha, the off-campus home of the Creighton Bluejays. The tournament also returned to Houston for the first time since 1986, this time at Reliant Stadium, the Houston Texans' home stadium.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
This marked the fifth different venue in the city of Houston to host games, a record tied in 2017 by Indianapolis, but which will be overtaken by Houston once more in 2020 when the Toyota Center is scheduled to host games. And finally, the Charlotte Bobcats Arena became the third arena in the city of Charlotte to host games, replacing the Charlotte Coliseum and Bojangles' Coliseum. To date, this tournament also marks the most recent appearance of the BJCC Arena (now known as Legacy Arena), a ten-time host to tournament games.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams, Listed by grouping and seeding
A total of 31 teams received automatic bids for winning their conference tournament championship. Since the Ivy League does not hold a tournament, its regular season champion received the automatic bid. This left 34 at-large bids to be decided from the rest of the field by the NCAA Selection Committee. The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, March 16. Coppin State was the first team to make the tournament with 20 losses. Maryland-Baltimore County, American, Texas–Arlington, and Portland State all received their first tournament bids in school history. Four teams returned after absences from the NCAA Tournament of 20 years or more—Drake (last appearing in 1971), Cal State Fullerton (1978), Cornell (1988), and Baylor (1988).


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams, Listed by grouping and seeding
# Both USC and Memphis later vacated all wins from the season, leaving their official records at 0–11 and 0–1, respectively.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket, Opening Round Game – Dayton, Ohio
Winner advances to 16th seed in East Regional vs. (1) North Carolina.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, First round
Top seed North Carolina defeated the play-in game winner Mount St. Mary's 113–74. Their high scoring tied the mark for second most in North Carolina tournament history, aided by Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson's 21 points each. They met Arkansas in the second round, a ninth seed who defeated eighth-seed Indiana 86–72. Indiana had struggled with several tough losses late in the season after a coaching scandal. Sonny Weems had a career-high 31 points despite Indiana having two AP All-Americans, D.J. White and Eric Gordon.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, First round
Fifth seed Notre Dame advanced to the second round with a 68–50 win over 12th seed George Mason. George Mason had two starters from the 2006 final four team, but were unable to come back after a surge by the Irish early in the first half. In the same pod, fourth seeded Washington State defeated 13th-seed Winthrop 71–40, holding them to 11 points in the second half and leaving them far behind after a 25–1 run.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, First round
In Birmingham, Alabama, the sixth seed Oklahoma defeated 11-th seeded St. Joseph's 72–64, led by David Godbold, a senior not normally known as a team leader who surprised many with his 25 points. Later in the evening, third seeded Louisville defeated WAC champion and 14th seed Boise State 79–61, sending the Broncos home for the second straight time. They had defeated Boise St. in the 1994 tournament as well, the last time the WAC team came to the tournament.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, First round
In the afternoon session at Birmingham, seventh seeded Butler defeated 10th seed South Alabama in an 81–61 blowout, setting a school record for 30 wins in one season, and number two seed Tennessee survived a brief scare at the hands of 15th-seeded American, 72–57. American's star player, Garrison Carr, led his team with 26 points, tying the game at 40 with 11 minutes to go before Tennessee went on a 10–0 run to score the win.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, Second round
Washington State, the region's fourth seed, was first to earn a spot in the Charlotte, North Carolina East Regional by handily beating fifth-seeded Notre Dame, 61–41 in Denver, Colorado. The rout came as a shock to many sportscasters, who expected Notre Dame's offense, which was averaging about 80 points a game, to outdo the Cougars. Instead, Notre Dame shot 24% from the field, their worst offensive effort since 1983 and the fifth-worst in the history of the NCAA tournament's opening rounds. Washington State's win brought them to their first-ever trip to the Sweet 16.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, Second round
Top-seeded North Carolina will challenge the Cougars after defeating Arkansas, the ninth seed, 108–77. The win marked only the third time the Tar Heels had won their first two tournament games by more than 20 points. The other two UNC teams to do this, in 1993 and 2005, went on to win the championship. With the win, North Carolina also set a school record for wins in a season, with 34. Second-seeded Tennessee survived an upset bid from number seven seed Butler, winning in overtime 76–71.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, Second round
Butler was behind throughout regulation, but managed to keep the game close and bring it to overtime, where they gained their first lead, 68–66, about 2 minutes into overtime. Some key defensive stands and free throws by the Volunteers, however, pulled them ahead. They will play third seed Louisville, who beat sixth seed Oklahoma, 78–48. Sooner star Blake Griffin had trouble scoring against Louisville's double-teams, and Louisville's 30-point win was the school's best tournament win since 1968.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
Top-seeded North Carolina defeated fourth seeded Washington State 68–47. Washington State was held to 47 points, the least allowed by a Tar Heel team in the tournament since 1946. Tyler Hansbrough struggled in the first half, but North Carolina's other players stepped to give the team a 14-point lead at halftime. In the second half, he led the team with 16 points, contributing to what was at one point in the half a 26-point lead. Third-seeded Louisville went on to face the Tar Heels in the East finals after defeating the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, 79–60. Earl Clark scored 17 points, 13 of them coming in the second half, and had 12 rebounds to lead the Cardinals. The Volunteers were held to 34% shooting and Louisville coach Rick Pitino improved to 8–0 in Regional semifinal games.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, East Region, Regional final (Elite Eight)
In the East Regional finals in their home state, against third-seed Louisville, Tyler Hansbrough of the top-seeded Tar Heels carried the team with a 28-point performance, including five straight points after the Cardinals tied UNC midway through the second half to lead UNC to an 83–73 win. The Cardinals came close as the game neared its end, but a Ty Lawson 3 broke a 59–59 tie. Defensive stands combined with 8 for 8 free throw shooting down the stretch gave the Tar Heels the victory. Hansbrough was named the East Region's Tournament MVP.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, First round
The Midwest Region featured upsets knocking off the fourth through seventh seeds. Among these was the first upset of the tournament with 11th seed Kansas State's win over the sixth seeded Southern California Trojans 80–67 in Omaha, Nebraska. The media had focused a lot of attention on the freshman stars of both teams, the Wildcats' Michael Beasley and the Trojans' O. J. Mayo.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, First round
In reality, while Beasley and Mayo did well, it was the other K-State players who made the difference, applying a strong defense to the Men of Troy's attack and coming up with the school's first tournament win since 1988. Also in the Midwest Region, #10 seed Davidson defeated seventh seeded Gonzaga 82–76 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Stephen Curry led the Wildcats with 40 points, 30 of them in the second half. His 40 points are the fifth most in NCAA tournament history, and gave Davidson their first tournament win since 1969.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, First round
In the same region, 13th seed Siena upset fourth seed Vanderbilt 83–62 in Tampa, Florida. Future Harlem Globetrotter Tay Fisher made all six of his 3-point attempts, the Saints never trailed and became the first MAAC team to advance since 2004. The Midwest's first-round play ended with 12th seed Villanova's upset of fifth seed Clemson, 75–69, also in Tampa. Behind by eighteen late in the first half, the Wildcats came back, taking the lead at about the twelve-minute mark and holding it for the win.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, First round
The Wildcats have won more games as an underdog in the tournament since seedings began in 1979 than any other team. With Villanova's win, the Forum saw a tournament record four upsets in one day. Earlier in the day, WKU, San Diego, and Siena defeated Drake, UConn, and Vanderbilt, to set the record.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, First round
Earlier that day in Omaha, ninth seed Kent State tied an NCAA Tournament record for scoring lows with their 10 points in one half against UNLV. Eighth-seed UNLV won the game 71–58. Top seed Kansas defeated 16th seed Portland State 85–61, thoroughly dominating both inside and outside with the win. Second-seed Georgetown defeated fifteenth seed Maryland-Baltimore County 66–47 in their first-round game, holding them to 31% shooting as compared to their 51%, and third seed Wisconsin stopped an upset threat from 14th seed Cal State Fullerton. The Titans' Josh Akognon scored 31 points, tying a career high, and Fullerton held the lead early in the second half, but were unable hold the lead under the Badgers' offensive pressure.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, Second round
The third-seeded Badgers from the University of Wisconsin defeated Kansas State, 72–55 to become the first school to advance to Detroit, Michigan and the Midwest Regional. KSU freshman star Michael Beasley was again dominant with 23 points and 14 rebounds, though he struggled in the second half with only six points due to the Badger defense. Top-seeded Kansas also advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating eighth-seed UNLV 75–56. Four Jayhawks scored in double figures and the team shot 58% from the field while holding the Rebels to 26.7%.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, Second round
The following afternoon, the 12th-seeded Villanova Wildcats defeated the 13th-seeded Siena Saints in a 12-seed versus 13-seed Cinderella match-up by a score of 84–72 to reach their third Sweet 16 in four years. The Wildcats took an early lead and never trailed the entire game. Tenth-seeded Davidson became the second double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen hours after Villanova's victory, ousting second-seeded Georgetown 74–70, to play Wisconsin in the other regional semifinal. Davidson won on the back of another tour-de-force performance in the second half by Stephen Curry. Curry singlehandedly outscored the Hoyas over the final 14:24, putting up 25 points to Georgetown's 22.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, Regional Semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
Stephen Curry scored 33 points to lead Davidson to a 73–56 victory over Wisconsin. Davidson, the 10-seed, advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since the 1969 tournament. Curry became only the fourth player in history to score 30 or more points in his first three tournament games. The Wisconsin defense, best in the nation at points allowed with 53.9, remained close until early in the second half, when some key steals and Davidson threes pulled the Wildcats far ahead.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, Regional Semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
In the night game, top-seeded Kansas defeated # 12 Villanova, 72–57. The Jayhawks went on a 14–2 run early and never faltered—Villanova never getting within six. Brandon Rush, Russell Robinson, and Mario Chalmers each scored 16, 15, and 14 points, respectively.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Midwest Region, Regional final (Elite Eight)
Kansas completed the first all top-seeded Final Four in NCAA Tournament history as they defeated 10th seeded Davidson 59–57. The outcome remained in doubt down to the final seconds. Kansas' Sherron Collins missed a shot with 21 seconds left, giving Davidson the final shot. Sophomore star Stephen Curry was double teamed, couldn't find a shot, and passed to Jason Richards, whose three-point shot missed. It was head coach Bill Self's first regional final win. The Wildcats' 25-game winning streak, the longest in the nation, was broken with the loss. Davidson's Stephen Curry scored 25 points and was chosen as the Midwest Region's Most Outstanding Player.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, First round
Top seed Memphis took on Texas–Arlington, the region's 16th seed, and went on to win their opening-round contest, 87–63, in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Memphis went on to meet Mississippi State, an eight seed which came back from 13-down early in the second half against Oregon to rally for the win, 76–69. Fifth-seed Michigan State handily defeated # 12 Temple, 72–61, and fourth-seed Pittsburgh defeated 13th seed Oral Roberts 82–63, leaving the Golden Eagles behind after an 18–0 run in the first half.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, First round
Sixth-seeded Marquette won its first tournament game since 2003 with a 74–66 win over #11 Kentucky in Anaheim. Kentucky got to within two points with 22 seconds remaining, but two Marquette free throws and a late steal handed the Wildcats an early tournament loss. They met third seed Stanford in the next round, who handily defeated 14th-seeded Cornell 77–53, never trailing the entire game, and never allowing the Big Red to get closer than 18 points in the second half. Miami (Florida), the seventh seed, defeated 10th seed Saint Mary's (California) 78–64, led by Jack McClinton and his 38 points. Their next opponent was second seed Texas, who never trailed in their 74–54 win over 15th seed Austin Peay, a game with four Longhorns scoring in double-figures.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, Second round
Third-seeded Stanford saw Brook Lopez make the difference in overtime with a basket with 1.3 seconds left to beat Marquette 82–81 and advance to Houston, Texas. Stanford coach Trent Johnson was ejected in the first half, and Stanford had to fight a six-point deficit at halftime to come back for the win. Michigan State became the first lower seed to win in the region, with a 65–54 victory over Pittsburgh.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, Second round
The game was extremely physical and hard-fought, with the Panther coming back from 10 down to take the lead in the middle of the second half, only to see it vanish in the final minutes with help from eight straight points from the Spartan's Drew Neitzel. The Spartans would go on to play Memphis, the region's top seed after the Tigers beat eighth seed Mississippi State, 77–74. In their game, Memphis had four players scoring in double figures in what was a physical, defensive game—unlike what the games the Tigers were used to playing.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, Second round
Mississippi State gave them a late scare by coming to within two with four seconds left, but a free throw by Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis followed by a missed three on Mississippi's end gave the Tigers the win. Texas, the second seed, played the Cardinal in their home state after a 75–72 victory over seventh-seed Miami (Florida). Leading 66–50 with 4:15 left in the game, the Longhorns saw their lead melt in the face of a strong Hurricane rally and a hostile Arkansas crowd. Two key free throws by A. J. Abrams with 9.5 seconds left carried them to a three-point lead which held to the end of regulation.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
Tens of thousands of Texas fans turned out to Reliant Stadium in Houston and saw the second seeded Longhorns defeat the number three seeded Stanford Cardinal, 82–62. The unlikely defensive star of the game was Texas' Dexter Pittman. Normally not even a starter, Pittman was effective on the court, throwing his size against the tall Lopez twins, high-scorers at Stanford. On the offensive end, D. J. Augustin scored twenty-three points to combine with Damion James' 18 for the win.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
Stanford made things close at about the 13 minute mark of the second half, bringing it to within one at 52–51, but Texas went on a 16–2 run and turned the game into a rout. Later in the day, top-seeded Memphis defeated fifth seed Michigan State, 92–74. Memphis entered the game as the favorite but with several commentators pointing to them as the top seed most likely to lose. Instead, the Tigers went into halftime with a 30-point lead. Derrick Rose led his team with 27 points, and Chris Douglas-Roberts followed with 25, while Spartan star Drew Neitzel was held to just six.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, South Region, Regional final (Elite Eight)
Top seeded Memphis defeated the Texas Longhorns to earn the third pass into the Final Four for the first time in 23 years with a convincing 85–67 win. Memphis spread the floor and used every man on the field to win. Texas star D J Augustin scored 16 points, but struggled with four turnovers in the second half. Derrick Rose won the Region's Most Outstanding Player award. This Memphis win would later be vacated as the result of Memphis' NCAA Rules Violations.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, First round
In the West Region, with a pod in Tampa as well, WKU entering as the 12th seed, defeated fifth seeded Drake in overtime 101–99. Drake had come back from sixteen down in the final eight minutes, bringing the game to overtime, and were ahead with 5.7 seconds left. Ty Rogers' three-pointer at the buzzer, the NCAA record-setting 30th three-point basket gave the Hilltoppers the walk-off victory. Also in the West, 13th seeded San Diego upset fourth seed Connecticut 70–69 in another overtime game.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, First round
The Huskies struggled throughout the game, compounded by the loss of leading scorer A.J. Price to a torn ACL, and De'Jon Jackson's long jumper with 1.2 seconds remaining in the bonus period pulled the Toreros ahead for their first-ever tournament victory, and handed UConn their earliest egress from the tournament since 1979 as well as the first under coach Jim Calhoun.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, First round
As regards to close games and record-breakers, West Region 15th seed Belmont nearly upset second-seeded Duke in Washington, D.C., but a Gerald Henderson layup with 11.9 seconds left, together with a steal off the inbounds by DeMarcus Nelson in the final seconds, lifted the Blue Devils to victory. This would have been only the fifth time a 15 seed beat a 2 seed. The top seeded UCLA Bruins set several records in their win against 16th-seeded Mississippi Valley State at Anaheim, California, holding them to 29 points in a 70–29 victory. This was the lowest score in the first round in tournament history, and the lowest overall since 1946, before the shot clock rule was introduced. The Delta Devils' 19.7% shooting set another record for lowest shooting percentage in a game in tournament history.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, First round
Elsewhere in the West, third seed Xavier avoided an upset by 14th-seeded Georgia, coming back from nine down at the half to win 73–61. They were to play sixth-seeded Purdue next, who scored their 10th-straight first-round win by defeating the 11th seeded Baylor 90–79. Brigham Young, an eighth seed, lost to ninth-seeded Texas A&M 67–62. The Cougars suffered early, not scoring until about the 14-minute mark, but managed to bring the game to a tie at the half. Twenty-six points by Aggie forward Josh Carter, however, made the difference in Texas A&M's win. Lastly, West Virginia, seventh seed in the region, defeated 10th seed Arizona 75–65, scoring 11 three-point shots. With the win, the Mountaineers broke Arizona's streak of twenty straight 20-win seasons, previously the longest streak in the nation.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Second round
Seventh-seeded West Virginia began the second round of the tournament by defeating Duke, the second seed, 73–67. The Mountaineers trailed until about eight minutes into the second half, when they took a 43–40 lead. They outrebounded the Blue Devils 47–27, which, combined with several three-point shots, aided in the win. This loss marked Duke's second consecutive loss before the Sweet Sixteen round. West Virginia's Sweet Sixteen opposition in Phoenix, Arizona was #3 Xavier, who defeated Purdue, 85–78.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Second round
Xavier trailed as late as the 5:30 mark of the second half, but a widespread showing of talent from the Musketeers proved too difficult to stop, as four Xavier players scored in double figures, with two more tied at eight points each. Later that day, the top-seeded UCLA Bruins defeated ninth-seeded Texas A&M, 51–49. The Bruins trailed by as much as ten early in the first half, but slowly chipped away at the lead as the half progressed. The winning basket was scored with 9.5 seconds left on a lay-up by Darren Collison.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Second round
Texas A&M had one final chance to tie it, but Donald Sloan's drive to the basket was stopped by two UCLA players (pictures show that they both appear to be grabbing Sloan, in what could have been a foul called on UCLA). The ensuing dunk by UCLA's Russell Westbrook was later waved off by officials as occurring after time had expired, making the final score 51–49. The Bruins then played WKU, a #12 seed who beat #13 seed San Diego by a 73–62 score.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Second round
San Diego trailed by as much as 15 in the second half, but an 18–2 run gave them a one-point lead with 6-and-a-half minutes remaining. WKU, however, managed to pull ahead once again for the win, making this tournament only the third in history to feature at least two 12-or-lower seeds in the Sweet 16.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
Xavier, the third seed in the West, defeated seventh seed West Virginia, 79–75 in overtime thanks to two B.J. Raymond three-pointers in the final 78 seconds. Raymond scored all eight of his points in the bonus round after being held scoreless in regulation, and poor free-throw shooting by the Mountaineers, missing four out of six free throws, sealed the victory. Josh Duncan led the Musketeers in scoring with a career-high 26 points, followed by Joe Alexander's 18 points and 10 rebounds.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
Xavier led by as much as 18 during the game, but trailed six late in OT, counting on Raymond's threes to give them the victory. Number one seed UCLA would play the Musketeers in the final, after outlasting 12th seeded WKU, 88–78. WKU came to within four late in the game, taking advantage of several sloppy Bruin mistakes. Kevin Love led UCLA with 29 points and 14 rebounds, aided by James Keefe's 18 points and 12 rebounds and Russell Westbrook's 14 and 11.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
Trailing 41–20 at the half, WKU came out of the locker room determined to win, as evidenced by Hilltopper star Tyrone Brazelton's 31 points, 25 of which came in the second half. A. J. Slaughter missed a crucial three-point shot that would have brought them to within one, and a UCLA run left them nine points behind only two minutes later.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, West Region, Regional final (Elite Eight)
UCLA was the first team to advance to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, the third straight year and the 18th time in school history they have done it, with a 76–57 victory over Xavier. Kevin Love led the Bruins with 19 points and ten rebounds, tied as high scorer with Darren Collison. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Brown led the Musketeers with 13 points. Overall, Xavier was held to 36% shooting from the floor while UCLA shot 56.8%. Love was picked as the West Region's MOP.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Final Four
For the first time (and currently the only time) since the current seeding system started in 1979, all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Final Four, Memphis vs. UCLA
Memphis became the first team ever to win 38 games in one season by defeating UCLA 78–63 (Kentucky would match that record in 2012 and 2015). Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored a game-high of 28 points, combined with Derrick Rose to score a total of 53 of Memphis' 78 points. UCLA star Kevin Love was held to 12 points, and the Bruins lost their second straight Final Four game. Memphis had lost to Ohio State in the Alamodome in the 2007 tournament, and had made it a goal to win in the arena in this year's tournament. This win would later be vacated as a result of a Memphis NCAA Rules Infraction.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Final Four, Kansas vs. North Carolina
The second semifinal was a highly anticipated matchup between North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams and the team he had coached for 15 years before leaving to go to UNC. The game itself could be divided up as if it were three different games. The Jayhawks took a 40–12 lead in the first 15 minutes, causing CBS analyst Billy Packer to declare that the game was over. North Carolina narrowed the deficit to 17 at halftime on a 15–4 run and opened the second half on a 23–10 run to close to within 4 points with 11 minutes to play.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Final Four, Kansas vs. North Carolina
After the teams traded baskets for a few minutes, Kansas pulled away, closing on a 20–7 run for an 84–66 victory. After Kansas went out to the 40–12 lead, North Carolina never held the ball with a chance to take the lead. Brandon Rush led the Jayhawks with 25 points. AP Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough scored 17 points and had 9 rebounds, both below his season averages. The Tar Heels were led by Wayne Ellington's 18 points.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
The National Championship Game pitted Memphis against Kansas. The head coaches (KU's Bill Self and Memphis' John Calipari) had both been on the coaching staff of Kansas' 1986 Final Four team. Neither had garnered a national championship to this point in their head coaching careers. Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts had been the leading scorer in the tournament, averaging 23.6 points per game. Memphis became the first team currently from a conference other than the six majors to play in the championship game since 1998. Utah advanced to the championship game in 1998, and UNLV was the last team from a non-major conference to win the national title in 1990.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
On the day of the game, the betting lines set by Las Vegas casinos Las Vegas Hilton, Station Casinos, and The Mirage made Memphis the favorite by a spread of 2 points.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
The first half was back-and-forth as Kansas led for 7:37 minutes and Memphis led for 6:51 minutes. Kansas led 33–28 at halftime, the first second-half deficit that Memphis faced in the entire tournament. Memphis scored the first five points of the second half to tie the score at 33 with 18:57 left in regulation. After that Kansas maintained a small lead from the 16:04 mark until Memphis retook the lead with 8:11 remaining. Memphis then went on a 10–0 run to build a seven-point lead with 5:10 remaining and increased it to nine points with 2:12 remaining in regulation.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
Kansas strategically fouled Memphis—an extremely poor free throw shooting team all season—which missed four of its final five free throws in regulation while Kansas furiously scored 12 points in the final two minutes of regulation. During that stretch Kansas made 100% of their shots going 2 for 2 from two-point range, 2 for 2 from three-point range and 2 for 2 from the free throw line.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
When Memphis failed to foul, which arguably would have all but assured a victory for the Tigers, Kansas guard Mario Chalmers hit a three-point basket with 2.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 63, sending the game into overtime. Kansas fans now refer to this shot as Mario's Miracle. At the end of regulation, the Jayhawks had led the score a total of 17:55 minutes and Memphis 15:51 minutes.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
In overtime, Kansas scored the first six points en route to a 75–68 win. They continued the blistering stretch they started in regulation, going 4 of 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line in overtime. It was KU's third NCAA title since the modern tournament began in 1939 (fifth national title overall, including two Helms decisions). It was also the first national championship for the program since the 1988 team.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
This was the 7th overtime National Championship Game in NCAA Division I tournament history and first since 1997. It also represented the first national title for the Big 12 Conference.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, National Championship Game
This national championship appearance by Memphis would later be vacated as a result of NCAA rules infractions.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC respectively stand for the Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, Championship Game, and National Champion.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
Sixteen conferences—America East Conference, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Ivy League, MAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southland, SWAC, Summit League and WAC—went 0–1.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Television, CBS Sports
For the 27th consecutive year, CBS Sports telecast the tournament, and for the 18th consecutive year, broadcast every game in the main bracket from the first round to the championship, as Jim Nantz and Billy Packer called the Final Four. ESPN carried the 64th-seed Opening Round game between Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's on March 18, with Brent Musburger, Steve Lavin and Erin Andrews serving as the announcing team, as the network has done the Opening Round game since 2002.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Television, CBS Sports
Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. For the first time since the rights were acquired, the host team spent the entire tournament at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and did not travel to the Final Four site. CBS cited budget cutbacks ordered by the parent company, CBS Corporation. This would be Billy Packer's 35th and final tournament as a broadcaster, ending a streak that began in 1975; in July 2008, it was announced that Kellogg would replace Packer as Nantz's color man in 2009.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Television, CBS Sports
Several affiliates showed additional games on digital subchannels, and once, the Los Angeles area had simultaneous telecasts on two stations: On March 20, UCLA vs. Mississippi Valley State was shown on KCBS and Cal State Fullerton vs. Wisconsin was on independent station KDOC at the same time. (KCBS has a duopoly with KCAL, but KCAL was unavailable because of a third basketball game, one between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.)


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Television, CBS College Sports Network
Sibling cable network CBS College Sports Network (now known as CBS Sports Network) picked up one CBS TV broadcast on each of the first two days of the tournament. It aired the Stanford-Cornell contest from Anaheim on March 20, and the St. Joseph's-Oklahoma game on March 21.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Television, CBS College Sports Network
Unlike CBS Sports on the broadcast side, CBS College Sports Network did send a team to San Antonio, with Blackburn anchoring coverage and hosting the postgame highlights show, called the NCAA March Madness Highlights Show. Earlier, Greg Amsinger had hosted the postgame program from the network's studios at Chelsea Piers in lower Manhattan. Analysts included Steve Lappas, Greg Anthony, and Jay Williams.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Radio
Radio broadcasts were once again being handled again by CBS subsidiary Westwood One, hosted by Tommy Tighe.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Radio, Final Four
Kugler called his first Final Four replacing Harlan, with Raftery and Thompson on color commentary and Jim Gray as sideline reporter.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Other media
DirecTV once again offered NCAA Mega March Madness as a pay-per-view package for one payment of US$69. This allowed access to all tournament games in the first three rounds of the main draw not shown on the local CBS station in the viewer's area. This package was exclusive to DirecTV and not available to Dish Network, fiber optic, or cable subscribers.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Media, Other media
Online, CBSSports.com and NCAA.com teamed up for NCAA March Madness on Demand. Computer users with broadband connections were able to watch all tournament games from the first round to the championship game for free, thanks to advertiser support from Coca-Cola, AT&T Mobility, Pontiac, and various other companies. The ads were not the same as those shown on television, and there was a separate halftime show hosted by Jason Horowitz joined by analysts including St. John's head basketball coach Norm Roberts.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament: qualifying teams
This is a list of qualifying teams for the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. A total of 65 teams entered the tournament. Thirty of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The automatic bid of the Ivy League, which does not conduct a post-season tournament, went to its regular season champion. The remaining 34 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. All teams are seeded 1 to 16 within their regionals, while the Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament: qualifying teams, Qualifying teams
Team names are those used on ESPN.com scoreboards and team pages.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament: qualifying teams, Qualifying teams, Automatic bids
Automatic bids to the tournament were granted for winning a conference championship tournament, except for the automatic bid of the Ivy League given to the regular season champion. Seeds listed were seeds within the conference tournaments. Runners-up in bold face were given at-large berths.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship was a golf tournament contested from May 28 to May 31, 2008, at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana. It was the 70th NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, and was hosted by Purdue University. The team championship was won by the UCLA Bruins who captured their second national championship by one stroke over the defending champion Stanford Cardinal in stroke play. The individual national championship was won by Kevin Chappell, also from UCLA.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Venue
The tournament was played on the Kampen Course of the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. This was the third NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship hosted by Purdue University on their campus golf courses in West Lafayette, Indiana; Purdue previously hosted in 1952 and 1961. The Kampen Course was redesigned in 1998 by golf course architect Pete Dye.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 28, 2008, and ended with the championship game on April 12.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Boston College, coached by Jerry York, won its third national title with a 4–1 victory in the championship game over Notre Dame, coached by Jeff Jackson.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Nathan Gerbe, junior forward for Boston College, scored five goals in the final two games and was named the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
This was the first tournament in 47 years to have two teams from the same conference play in the opening round. This occurred due to the glut of WCHA teams that received 2nd- and 3rd-seeds in the regional divisions.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament procedure
The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams representing all six Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 16 within four regionals of 4 teams. The winners of the six Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament procedure
In setting up the tournament, the Championship Committee seeks to ensure "competitive equity, financial success and likelihood of playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site." A team serving as the host of a regional is placed within that regional. The top four teams are assigned overall seeds and placed within the bracket such that the national semifinals will feature the No. 1 seed versus the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed versus the No. 3 seed should the top four teams win their respective regional finals.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament procedure
Number 1 seeds are also placed as close to their home site as possible, with the No. 1 seed receiving first preference. Conference matchups are avoided in the first round; should five or more teams from one conference make the tournament, this guideline may be disregarded in favor of preserving the bracket's integrity.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament procedure
The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following were the sites for the 2008 regionals:


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, March 23. Six teams from the WCHA qualified for the tournament, a record for the number of teams from one conference.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Brackets
The number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was held from May 10 through May 26, 2008. This was the 38th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Sixteen NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The first round of the single-elimination tournament was played on May 10 and May 11 at the home field of the top-seeded team. The quarterfinals were held on May 17 and May 18 on two separate neutral fields: the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, and Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, New York. The tournament culminated with the semifinals and finals held on Memorial Day weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The championship weekend, which included the Division II and Division III championships, was hosted by Harvard University and the Eastern College Athletic Conference. The championship was won by Syracuse University, beating Johns Hopkins University 13–10, in front of a title game record crowd of 48,970 fans.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Qualifying teams
The Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Committee was responsible for selecting the teams that competed in the championship tournament. The qualifying teams, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, May 4, 2008. Seven conferences received automatic bids to the tournament for its top team. The remaining nine teams were selected as "at large" bids by the committee.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Qualifying teams
Five conferences held a conference tournament championship to award the conferences' bid. Canisius earned an automatic bid by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship. This marks the first time that Canisius College has gained entry to the National Championship tournament. Colgate earned an automatic bid by winning its first-ever Patriot League championship. Hofstra earned an automatic bid by winning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship,Notre Dame earned an automatic bid by winning Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) championship, and UMBC earned an automatic bid by winning America East Conference championship.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Qualifying teams
Two conferences award their bids based on regular season conference records. Loyola earned an automatic bid by winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship with a 6–1 conference record. The Ivy League's automatic bid was awarded to Cornell. Cornell and Brown had identical conference records, but due to a victory by Cornell in head to head competition earlier in the season the tiebreaker was given to Cornell.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Qualifying teams
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) conference tournament champion was Duke. However, the ACC does not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament because a conference must have at least six members competing (for 2 years) in order to be awarded an automatic bid.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Qualifying teams
The following teams were awarded at-large bids by the NCAA Selection Committee: Duke (ACC), Virginia (ACC), Syracuse (Independent), North Carolina (ACC), Johns Hopkins (Independent), Maryland (ACC), Denver (GWLL), Navy (Patriot), and Ohio State (GWLL).


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, First Round
The first round of the 2008 championship tournament saw upsets, an overtime game, and the NCAA career points record broken.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, First Round
Unseeded Ohio State bested #8 Cornell 15–7. The opening goal of this game was scored by Ohio State goaltender Stefan Schroder, who ran the length of the field to put one past the Big Red netminder. Navy upset #4 seeded North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a final score of 8–7 on the strong play of the Midshipmen defense and the four goal effort of Tim Paul, who was honored with Nike Player of the Week honors. Notre Dame, who was hosting its first NCAA Tournament game, topped Colgate in a contest that was settled in overtime.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, First Round
In a victory over Loyola, Duke's Matt Danowski broke the NCAA career points record, eclipsing Joe Vasta's mark. Syracuse ended Canisius's first ever appearance in the tournament early with a 20–3 victory. Johns Hopkins was led by Paul Rabil's four goals in a 10–4 win over Hofstra. Virginia's Garrett Billings third goal of the game with 6:50 left in the game sealed the Cavaliers win over UMBC. Maryland beat GWLL's Denver 10–7.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were held at two separate locations the weekend of May 17 and May 18. On Saturday, 17,017 people attended the quarterfinals at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. This set an attendance record for the most people to attend the quarterfinal round of the lacrosse championships. Fans in attendance saw Johns Hopkins defeat Navy 10–4. Navy was held without a goal for both the second and third quarters. The other game played in Annapolis was Maryland versus Virginia, which went into overtime. Ben Rubeor scored the game-winning goal in the extra period to send the Cavaliers to the semifinals.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Quarterfinals
On Sunday, at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field, Syracuse defeated Notre Dame 11–9 on the play of midfielder Dan Hardy who recorded four points, including three goals and the game winning score. Also, Duke routed Ohio State 21–10 on the offensive efforts of Zack Greer who recorded a career-high eleven points on six goals and five assists.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four
On Saturday, May 24, 48,224 fans were spectators for the 2008 Division I Final Four doubleheader held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The first game featured Syracuse versus Virginia, and the second was a rematch of last year's championship game between Johns Hopkins and Duke.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Syracuse vs. Virginia
In the first game of the Final Four doubleheader, Syracuse defeated Virginia 12–11 in a double overtime thriller.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Syracuse vs. Virginia
Virginia commanded the first half of the contest due in part to extra-man opportunities resulting from penalties by Syracuse. In the second quarter, the Cavaliers went on a run of five unanswered goals and entered half-time with a 6–3 lead, and the game's momentum. The game remained in Virginia's favor through the third quarter, prior to the Orange fourth quarter comeback.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Syracuse vs. Virginia
Syracuse's Mike Leveille scored five goals, including a goal with 3:00 remaining in the game to send the game into overtime, and the eventual game-winner in the second overtime period to propel the Orange into the Championship game. Syracuse's come-from-behind victory included scoring six of the final eight goals of the contest.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Syracuse vs. Virginia
Syracuse's Junior midfielder Matt Abbott, known more for his groundball and clearing game, tallied three goals in the second half for his first career hat trick to spark to second half rally. Extra possessions earned by face-off specialist Danny Brennan, including both opportunities in the overtime periods and 70% total for the game, helped the Orange stage the comeback. While, Syracuse goalkeeper John Galloway settled down in the second half and made a number game saving stops as regulation time expired.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Syracuse vs. Virginia
Virginia scoring was led by Danny Glading with three goals and one assist, while Garret Billings scored two goals. Ben Rubeor, a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, was held to one point on an assist.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Johns Hopkins vs. Duke
Johns Hopkins defeated Duke 10–9 in the second game of the Final Four doubleheader. The heavily favored Duke team, who had beaten the Blue Jays earlier in the season 17–6, were handed only their second loss of the season.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Johns Hopkins vs. Duke
Hopkins controlled the deliberate tempo of the game, and held a 4–2 lead going into halftime. After scoring first after halftime, Hopkins saw Duke pull even with three goals in 45 seconds during the third quarter, including back-to-back goals just 7 seconds apart.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Johns Hopkins vs. Duke
In fourth quarter, the speed of the game accelerated as Duke began to push offensively. Johns Hopkins goaltender Michael Gvozden was up to the task. He recorded 7 of his 17 saves in the fourth quarter, including one as time expired to seal the victory.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Final Four, Johns Hopkins vs. Duke
Hopkins was led by Senior Kevin Huntley who netted four goals in the contest.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Championship: Syracuse vs. Johns Hopkins
On Memorial Day, Monday May 26, Syracuse defeated Johns Hopkins in the national championship game 13–10 in front of 48,970 fans at Gillette Stadium. This game set the attendance record for the NCAA lacrosse championship game and for any NCAA outdoor championship. This marks the 10th victory in a national championship game for the Syracuse program. This is John Desko's, Syracuse's Head coach, fourth championship in his ten-year career at Syracuse.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Championship: Syracuse vs. Johns Hopkins
The Orange were led by midfielder Dan Hardy with a team-high three goals, fifth-year Senior face-off specialist Danny Brennan who scored his first career goal, and attackman Mike Leveille, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honoree and 2008 Tewaaraton Trophy winner, who recorded three points on one goal and two assists.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Championship: Syracuse vs. Johns Hopkins
Syracuse goalkeeper John Galloway became the first true freshman goaltender in NCAA history to record 16 wins in one season, and just the fourth to win an NCAA title.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Game summaries, Championship: Syracuse vs. Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins' Paul Rabil played an outstanding game leading his team with career-high six goals and one assist in the losing effort. In addition, Blue Jay netminder Michael Gvozden made 20 saves, the most saves in a Championship game since Maryland's Brian Dougherty in 1995.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup for the final four teams was held at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. All the other games were played at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The final was held on December 14, 2008.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The bracket was announced November 17, 2008. The tournament started on November 21. The first round was played on November 21 and 22, and the second round on the 25th and 26th. The third round was played on November 29 and 30. The Regional Finals were played on December 6. Maryland won the 2008 College Cup, defeating North Carolina, 1–0, in the final. This was Maryland's third College Cup and second since 2005.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Goal scorers
Bold indicates player's team played in the final4 GoalsAndrew Wiedeman- California3 GoalsGraham Zusi- MarylandSverre Wegge Gundhus- St. John'sChris Leer- UC DavisNirav Kadam- UNC GreensboroCody Arnoux- Wake ForestZack Schilawski- Wake Forest2 GoalsTony Cascio- ConnecticutSeth Sinovic- CreightonJohn Mellencamp- IndianaKirk Urso- North CarolinaOliver Kupe- NorthwesternIrving Garcia- UC IrvineZak Boggs- South FloridaJoel Gustafsson- St. John'sSam Cronin- Wake ForestAndrew Hoxie- William and Mary1 GoalMatt Tutich- AkronShawn Chin- Boston CollegeEdvin Worley- Boston CollegeJin Oh- Boston UniversityChris Deal- CaliforniaDemitrius Omphroy- CaliforniaDavis Paul- CaliforniaRyan Anderson- Cal PolyDori Arad- ConnecticutAndrei Gotsmanov- CreightonChris Schuler- CreightonEber Martinez- George MasonAndre Akpan-


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Goal scorers
HarvardJohn Stamatis- HarvardBaggio Husidic- Illinois-ChicagoMatt Spiess- Illinois-ChicagoAndy Adlard- IndianaEric Alexander- IndianaKevin Alston- IndianaBrad Ring- IndianaOfori Sarkodie- IndianaNedim Hrustric- JacksonvilleRamak Safi- JacksonvilleStefan Runeman- JacksonvilleTony Taylor- JacksonvilleAaron Clapham- LouisvilleZachary Hernan- LouisvilleRyan McDonald- LouisvillePhil Bannister- Loyola (Md.) Jeremy Hall- MarylandOmar Gonzalez- MarylandCasey Townsend- MarylandRodney Wallace- MarylandPeri Marosevic- MichiganJake Stacy- MichiganMichael Callahan- North CarolinaGarry Lewis- North CarolinaBilly Schuler- North CarolinaBrian Shriver- North CarolinaGeoff Fallon- NorthwesternJack Traynor- Notre DameJordan Seabrook- South FloridaNelson Becerra- St. John'sTafadzwa Chiduku- St. John'sKyle Hayes- St. LouisAustin Neil- TulsaJose Parada- TulsaSule Anibaba- UC DavisLance Patterson- UC DavisIrving Garcia- UC IrvineRafael Macedo- UC IrvineAmani Walker- UC IrvineMartin Hedevag- UC Santa BarbaraMichael Tetteh- UC Santa BarbaraTebatso Manyama- UNC GreensboroCorey Maret- UNC GreensboroLyle Adams- Wake ForestCorben Bone- Wake ForestJamie Franks- Wake ForestLuke Norman- Wake ForestMarcus Tracy- Wake ForestAlan Koger- William and MaryRafael Araujo- Winthrop


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 2008 at the Weyerhaeuser Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington at the 85th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Arizona topped the team standings, finishing 94 points ahead of Texas. It was the Wildcats' first team national title.


2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested at the 87th annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team champions of men's and women's Division I collegiate outdoor track and field in the United States.


2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
This year's meet, the 27th with both men's and women's championships, was held June 11–14, 2008 at Drake Stadium at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.


2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Florida State won the men's title, the Seminoles' second (their 2007 title was vacated by the NCAA).


2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
LSU won the women's title, the Lady Tigers' record fourteenth title and first since 2003.


2008 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was held from May 15 through June 4, 2008. 64 NCAA Division I college softball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2008 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.


2008 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, National seeds
9. LSU10. Oklahoma11. Northwestern12. Stanford13. Tennessee14. Long Beach State15. Georgia16. Fresno State


2008 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Women's College World Series, Participants
† Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.


2008 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The 2008 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships were the 62nd annual men's and 26th annual women's championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


2008 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The tournaments were played concurrently during May 2008 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.


2008 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
Defending team champions Georgia defeated Texas in the men's championship, 4–2, to claim the Bulldogs' sixth team national title.


2008 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
UCLA defeated California in the women's championship, 4–0, to claim the Bruins' first team national title.


2008 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, Host sites
This year's tournaments were played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the 2007–08 national champion of women's NCAA Division I college basketball. It commenced on March 22, 2008, and concluded when the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers defeated the Stanford University Cardinal 64–48 on April 8, 2008 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The preliminary rounds largely followed the seeding, with every number one and number two seed advancing to the regional finals. In the Greensboro and Oklahoma City Regionals, the top seeds Connecticut and Tennessee won respectively to head to the Final Four. Connecticut had to beat Big East rival Rutgers to make the advance. Tennessee' Candace Parker was injured in the game against Texas A&M and had to leave twice, and be fitted with a sleeve to stabilize her shoulder. She still scored 26 points in a game which was won by only eight.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the other two regionals, the two seeds prevailed. In the New Orleans Regional, LSU beat North Carolina to reach the Final Four for the fifth consecutive time, tying a record set by Connecticut between 2000 and 2004. In the Spokane Regional, Stanford beat the top seed Maryland to go to their first Final Four since 1997, but one that would be the first of a five-year string of consecutive Final Four appearances.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
Connecticut and Stanford met in one semifinal. They had played each other earlier in the season at the Paradise Jam held in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in November. The Huskies had won that game 66–54, but the team had been at full strength. Subsequent to that game Mel Thomas and Kalana Greene both starters, had season ending injuries. Connecticut cut a Stanford lead to a single point, 47–46 when Candice Wiggins hit two three-pointers to start a 10–0 run. Wiggins would go on to score 25 points in the game and would be named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association national player of the year. The Cardinal went on to win the game, and advance to the national championship.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The game between SEC foes Tennessee and LSU didn't win style points, and was described by the New York Times as "one of the ugliest games played this or any season". Tennessee led early opening up a ten-point lead at 37–27, but LSU responded with a 10–0 run to tie the game. With seconds left in the game LSU hit two free throws to take a one-point lead. Tennessee inbounded the ball to Candace Parker who passed it inside to Nicky Anosike, but her shot was deflected to Alexis Hornbuckle, who had missed seven of her field goal attempts. With under one second remaining, Hornhuckle caught the deflection and hit the winning basket. The Lady Vols won 47–46, as the two teams combined scores set an NCAA record for the fewest points scored in a semifinal game.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
LSU fell to 0-5 in the Women's Final Four. Combined with the 0-6 mark of the men's team, LSU's 0-11 all-time combined Final Four mark is the worst for schools which have made multiple appearances in both the men's and women's Final Fours.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
After the drama of a one-point game in the semifinal, the final game was anti-climactic. The Lady Vols pulled out to a 30–19 lead, and the Stanford Cardinal were unable to close the gap. The win gave Tennessee their second consecutive national championship and a career total of 982 wins, the most of any coach in basketball, men's or women's, along with eight national championships for coach Pat Summitt.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Subregionals
Once again, the system was the same as the Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, with the exception that only 64 teams received bids, and there was no play-in game. Automatic bids were secured by 31 conference champions and 33 at-large bids.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Subregionals
The subregionals, which once again used the "pod system", keeping most teams at or close to the home cities, were held from March 22 to March 25 at these locations:


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Subregionals
This was the fourth and final year that eight sites hosted subregional games. The committee, in September 2007, voted to return to the 16-site format for the early rounds starting with the 2009 tournament.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals
The regions (once again named after the host cities, a practice begun in 2005) were held from March 29 to April 1 in the following regions:


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals
The regional winners advanced to the Final Four, held April 6 and 8, 2008 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, in Tampa, Florida, hosted by the University of South Florida. USF and the Tampa Bay Times Forum also hosted a first and second round Men's Tournament subregional on March 21 and 23. Also, akin to the men's tournament, at the regional sites, the NCAA installed floors that were custom made for the first time.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA tournament. Of these thirty-one automatic bids, a total of 30 teams receive automatic bids for winning their conference tournament championship. The Ivy League does not hold a tournament, so its regular season champion receives the automatic bid. Because Cornell, Dartmouth, and Harvard finished in a tie for first place, Ivy League rules called for a two-game stepladder playoff. Dartmouth defeated Harvard in the first game and went on to face Cornell for the automatic bid, which Cornell won 64-47.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – at-large
Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-two cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from nine of the conferences.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from thirty states, plus Washington, D.C. Texas had the most teams with six bids. Twenty states did not have any teams receiving bids.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bracket
Data sourceNOTE: All initials used are the same in the official NCAA Bracket in External Links listed below.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
Nineteen conferences — Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, Sun Belt Conference, Summit League, WAC and West Coast Conference — went 0-1.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 27th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland during May 2008. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 16 teams were invited to participate.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
Northwestern defeated Penn 10–6 to win their fourth overall, as well as fourth straight, national championship. This would subsequently become the fourth of Northwestern's seven national titles in eight years (2005–2009, 2011–12).


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The leading scorer for the tournament was Hilary Bowen from Northwestern (23 goals). Bowen was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament field
A total of 16 teams were invited to participate. 8 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 8 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament field, Seeds
1. Northwestern2. Penn3. Maryland4. Virginia5. Syracuse6. Georgetown7. Boston U. 8. Princeton


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 2008 Women's College Cup) was the 27th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina from December 5–7, 2008 while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country from November 14–29.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
North Carolina defeated Notre Dame in the final, 2–1, to win their nineteenth national title. This was a rematch of the 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2006 tournament finals, all won by the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels (25–1–2) were coached by Anson Dorrance.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Casey Nogueira from North Carolina, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Carrie Drew from Notre Dame. Nogueira and Drew, alongside nine other players, were named to the All-Tournament Team.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The tournament's leading scorers were KayAnne Gummersall from Duke (4 goals, 1 assist), Kerri Hanks from Notre Dame (4 goals, 1 assist), Casey Nogueira from North Carolina (2 goals, 5 assists), and McCall Zerboni from UCLA (4 goals, 1 assist).


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Format
Just as before, the final two rounds, deemed the Women's College Cup, were played at a pre-determined neutral site. All other rounds were played on campus sites at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The only exceptions were the first two rounds, which were played at regional campus sites. The top sixteen teams hosted four team-regionals on their home fields (with some exceptions, noted below) during the tournament's first weekend.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2008 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the 27th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted by the Ohio State University at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Arizona topped the team standings for the first time, finishing 136 points (484–348) ahead of two-time defending champions Auburn. This was the Wildcats' first women's team title. Arizona also captured the 2008 men's title.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 4, 2008 with 64 teams and concluded on December 20, 2008 when Penn State defeated Stanford, 3 sets to 0, in Omaha, Nebraska for the program's third NCAA title.


2008 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
With the win, Penn State repeated as national champions and won their NCAA record 64th consecutive match, becoming only the fourth team in NCAA history to finish the season undefeated, as they went 38-0 and joined Southern California as the only repeat NCAA national champions to go undefeated.