1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

The 1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 American schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the National Champion of Men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 12, 1977, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 28 in Atlanta. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third-place game. This was the final tournament in which teams were not seeded.

Marquette, coached by Al McGuire, won the national title with a 67–59 victory in the final game over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Butch Lee of Marquette was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Publicly announcing his retirement during the middle of the season, McGuire retired as head coach immediately after the game. UNLV and UNC Charlotte were third and fourth place, respectively. Marquette's seven losses were a record at the time for the most losses in a season by a national champion, exceeded four years later in 1981 by Indiana with nine.

Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1977 tournament:

First round
 * March 12
 * East Region
 * The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League)
 * Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
 * Midwest Region
 * Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma)
 * Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska (Hosts: Creighton University, Missouri Valley Conference)
 * West Region
 * ASISU Minidome, Pocatello, Idaho (Hosts: Idaho State University, Big Sky Conference)
 * McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona (Host: University of Arizona)
 * March 13
 * Mideast Region
 * LSU Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University)
 * Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University Bloomington)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
 * March 17 and 19
 * East Regional, Cole Field House, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park)
 * Mideast Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
 * Midwest Regional, Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Big 8 Conference)
 * West Regional, Marriott Center, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)
 * March 26 and 28
 * The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech)

Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period

East region
Cole Field House – College Park, Maryland First round games were played at Raleigh, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 12.

West region
Most of the excitement surrounding the Western Regional was the anticipated matchup between top-five-ranked teams UCLA and UNLV. Jerry Tarkanian had lost three times in the tournament to UCLA while he was at Long Beach State, including a heartbreaking 57–55 loss in the 1971 West Regional final in which Long Beach led by eleven in the second half. Many felt this UNLV team gave him the best opportunity to beat his longtime nemesis. But he never got the chance as UCLA was stunned in the regional semi final by unranked Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference. This was the first time since 1963 that UCLA made the tournament but failed to get to the Final Four. Down by a point at halftime, UNLV went on to easily beat Idaho State 107–90.

Marriott Center – Provo, Utah First round games were played at Pocatello, Idaho and Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, March 12.

Mideast region
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Kentucky First round games were played at Bloomington, Indiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday, March 13.

Midwest region
Myriad Convention Center – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma First round games were played at Omaha, Nebraska and Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday, March 12.

Final Four
Omni Coliseum – Atlanta, Georgia

Announcers
Dick Enberg, Curt Gowdy, and Billy Packer - Final Four at Atlanta, Georgia; For the Final Four, Dick Enberg and Billy Packer called the first game while Packer teamed with Curt Gowdy for the second game. For the Championship Game, Curt Gowdy called the play-by-play while Dick Enberg and Billy Packer did the color commentary.
 * Dick Enberg and Billy Packer - First Round at Pocatello, Idaho (UCLA-Louisville); First Round at Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Syracuse-Tennessee); East Regional Semifinals at College Park, Maryland; West Regional Final at Provo, Utah
 * Curt Gowdy and John Wooden - First Round at Bloomington, Indiana (Michigan-Holy Cross); Mideast Regional Semifinals at Lexington, Kentucky; East Regional Final at College Park, Maryland
 * Jim Simpson and Tom Hawkins - First Round at Tucson, Arizona (UNLV-San Francisco); Mideast Regional Final at Lexington, Kentucky
 * Jay Randolph and Gary Thompson - Midwest Regional Final at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Marquette-Wake Forest)