Marquette won its first NCAA national championship in coach Al McGuire's final game, beating North Carolina 67-59 for the 1977 title.  Butch Lee was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring 19 points against the Tar Heels in the national final.

Lee is also remembered for a full-court assist to Jerome Whitehead, whose game-winning shot in the closing seconds helped the Warriors (now Golden Eagles) advance past UNC Charlotte in the Final Four.

Led by the tournament's leading scorer Cedric Maxwell (123 points) — the 49ers made their first Final Four appearance in 1977. UNLV was the fourth participant at the national semifinals and third-place finisher, also making their first appearance.

1977 NCAA tournament: Bracket

Click or tap here for a printable bracket.

1977 NCAA tournament: Scores

• Regional Quarterfinals
  • East Region
    • VMI 73, Duquesne 66
    • Kentucky 72, Princeton 58
    • Notre Dame 90, Hofstra 83
    • North Carolina 69, Purdue 66
  • Mideast Region
    • Michigan 92, Holy Cross 81
    • Detroit 93, Middle Tennessee State 76
    • Charlotte 91, Central Michigan 86 (OT)
    • Syracuse 93, Tennessee 88 (OT)
  • Midwest Region
    • Marquette 66, Cincinnati 51
    • Kansas State 87, Providence 80
    • Wake Forest 86, Arkansas 80
    • Southern Illinois 81, Arizona 77
  • West Region
    • UCLA 87, Louisville 79
    • Idaho State 83, Long Beach State 72
    • Utah 72, St. John's 68
    • UNLV 121, San Francisco 95
• Regional Semifinals
  • East Region
    • Kentucky 93, VMI 78
    • North Carolina 79, Notre Dame 77
  • Mideast Region
    • Michigan 86, Detroit 81
    • Charlotte 81, Syracuse 59
  • Midwest Region
    • Marquette 67, Kansas State 66
    • Wake Forest 86, Southern Illinois 81
  • West Region
    • Idaho State 76, UCLA 75
    • UNLV 88, Utah 83
• Regional Finals
  • East Region
    • North Carolina 79, Kentucky 72
  • Mideast Region
    • Charlotte 75, Michigan 68
  • Midwest Region
    • Marquette 82, Wake Forest 68
  • West Region
    • UNLV 107, Idaho State 90
• Final Four (Atlanta, Georgia)
  • National semifinals
    • North Carolina 84, UNLV 83
    • Marquette 51, Charlotte 49
  • National championship
    • Marquette 67, North Carolina 59
  • Third-place game
    • UNLV 106, Charlotte 94

1977 NCAA tournament: Stats, records

Here are the 1977 NCAA tournament leaders (number of games in parentheses):

Individual scoring

• Cedric Maxwell, Charlotte (5) — 24.6

Individual rebounding

• Phil Hubbard, Michigan (3) — 15.0