1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1990 and ended with the Final Four at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 1, 1991. The Duke Blue Devils won their first NCAA national championship with a 72–65 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.

Season headlines

 * In the 1991 NCAA tournament, a No. 15 seed defeated a No. 2 seed for the first time in tournament history, when Richmond topped Syracuse 73–69 in a first-round game.
 * UNLV was the first team since the 1975–76 Indiana Hoosiers to enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten. The Runnin' Rebels reached 34–0 (and 45 straight wins dating to the previous season) before losing 79–77 to Duke in the national semifinals.
 * Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State became the first head coach to take four different teams to the NCAA tournament. He had done it previously with Creighton in 1974, Arkansas in 1977, and Kentucky in 1986.
 * North Carolina's Dean Smith became the first head coach to take a school to the NCAA tournament's Final Four in four different decades. He coached North Carolina to the Final Four 11 times between 1967 and 1997.
 * Duke won its first national championship in its ninth (and fourth consecutive) Final Four appearance.

Major rule changes
Beginning in 1990–91, the following rule changes were implemented:
 * Players fouled in the act of shooting a missed three-pointer received three free throws instead of the previous two.

Pre-season polls
The top 25 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.

Major player of the year awards

 * Wooden Award: Larry Johnson, UNLV
 * Naismith Award: Larry Johnson, UNLV
 * Associated Press Player of the Year: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU
 * UPI Player of the Year: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU
 * NABC Player of the Year: Larry Johnson, UNLV
 * Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Larry Johnson, UNLV
 * Adolph Rupp Trophy: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU
 * Sporting News Player of the Year: Larry Johnson, UNLV

Major coach of the year awards

 * Associated Press Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State
 * UPI Coach of the Year: Rick Majerus, Utah
 * Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Randy Ayers, Ohio State
 * NABC Coach of the Year: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
 * Naismith College Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State
 * CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State
 * Sporting News Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino, Kentucky

Other major awards

 * Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Keith Jennings, East Tennessee State
 * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Mark Macon, Temple
 * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Malik Sealy, St. John's
 * USBWA National Freshman of the Year: Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest

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