1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1984 and ended with the Final Four in Lexington, Kentucky on April 1, 1985. The Villanova Wildcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 66–64 victory over the defending champion, top-ranked Georgetown Hoyas. It was the second time in three seasons that the national champion had 10 losses.

Season headlines

 * The 1985 NCAA Tournament was the first to feature a 64-team field, expanding from 53 teams the year before.
 * Three teams from the Big East Conference (Georgetown, St. John's, and Villanova) advanced to the NCAA tournament's Final Four. It was he first team that three teams from the same conference reached the Final Four.
 * Georgetown was the first defending champion to return to the Final Four since the 1975–76 UCLA Bruins did it in the 1976 NCAA Tournament.
 * Basketball analysts consider Villanova's defeat of Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game to be the one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. Villanova made 22 of 28 field goal attempts for a field goal percentage of 78.6 percent, a record for an NCAA championship game. Villanova won its first national championship and became the first unranked team to win the national championship.
 * Xavier McDaniel of Wichita State became the first player to lead the United States in scoring and rebounding in the same season.

Major rule changes
Beginning in 1984–85, the following rules changes were implemented:
 * The coaching box was introduced, whereby a coach and all bench personnel had to remain in the 28 ft coaching box unless seeking information from the scorers’ table.

Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.

Major player of the year awards

 * Wooden Award: Chris Mullin, St. John's
 * Naismith Award: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
 * Associated Press Player of the Year: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
 * UPI Player of the Year: Chris Mullin, St. John's
 * NABC Player of the Year: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
 * Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Chris Mullin, St. John's
 * Adolph Rupp Trophy: Chris Mullin, St. John's
 * Sporting News Player of the Year: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown

Major coach of the year awards

 * Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bill Frieder, Michigan
 * UPI Coach of the Year: Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
 * Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
 * NABC Coach of the Year: John Thompson, Georgetown
 * CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year: Dale Brown, LSU
 * Sporting News Coach of the Year: Lou Carnesecca, St. John's

Other major awards

 * Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Bubba Jennings, Texas Tech
 * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ed Pinckney, Villanova
 * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Chris Mullin, St. John's (3-time recipient)

Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.