National player of the year Shane Battier led the Blue Devils to their third national championship after defeating the Arizona Wildcats 82-72. Battier collected 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots, while Mike Dunleavy Jr. netted 21 points. Although Arizona trailed by just two at halftime, the Blue Devils dominated the final five minutes of play, even holding Arizona scoreless for the remaining 2:50 seconds. The Blue Devils' Mike Krzyzewski tied Bob Knight, his college coach at Army, with three national championships and his ninth title game appearance.

Arizona dominated defending champ Michigan State 80-61 and earned their first trip to the title game since they won it all in 1997. The Wildcats extended their winning streak to 11, as both Jason Gardner and Richard Jefferson had big nights with 21 and 17 points respectively. Arizona ended up losing against Duke 82-72 in the championship game three days later.

Duke trailed 11 points at the half but were able to pick up the pace and speed past Maryland in a 95-84 heartbreaker. Shane Battier's 25 points Jason Williams' 23 helped Duke win their 34th game of the season and book a trip to the title game where they beat the Arizona Wildcats and walked away national champs.

Playing as the No. 1 team in the nation, Arizona beat Illinois in a 87-81 battle that advanced the Wildcats to their first Final Four appearance since winning the National Championship in 1997. The Fighting Illini were able close the gap to within three points with less than 2 minutes left in the game, however, the Wildcats held on and extended their winning streak to ten.

David Thomas' career-high 19 points helped the Michigan State Spartans rack up their third consecutive Final Four berth after beating Temple 69-62. Despite Kevin Lyde's 21 points and Lynn Greer 's 20, the Owls trailed the Spartans the entire game. Michigan State went on to the next round where they fell to Arizona 80-61.

For the first time in school history, Maryland reached the Final Four after beating top-seed Stanford 87-73. The Terrapins' speed and solid outside attack was highlighted by Lonny Baxter's 24 points and Juan Dixon's 14 points in the second half alone. Despite four players shooting in the double figures, Stanford could not stop Maryland from heading to the next round and taking on the eventual 2001 national champions Duke Blue Devils.

Jason Williams' 28 points and Shane Battier's fourth consecutive double-double led the Blue Devils to their 13th Final Four appearance ever. The Trojans' David Bluthenthal and Sam Clancy tried to keep the night interesting with a combined 36 points and 24 rebounds, however, Duke prevailed and took one step closer to clinching the 2001 national championship.

Arizona came back from a sluggish first half to beat Ole Miss 66-56. The Wildcats emerged from their first-half shooting slump on the heels of Loren Woods and Richard Jefferson, who ended up with a combined 31 points and 22 rebounds. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1998 where they edged out the Fighting Illini.

Temple's stingy defense, coupled with Lynn Greer's 21 points, propelled the Owls past Penn State 84-72. The win marked Temple coach John Chaney's 5th Sweet 16 win in as many games. Chaney and his crew went on to the Elite Eight where they lost to Michigan State in a close 69-62 battle.

Michigan State muscled its way to a decisive 77-62 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Spartans out-rebounded the Bulldogs 47-28 while Charlie Bell and Andre Hutson shot a combined 40 points. The Bulldogs headed home after making their third straight appearance in the Sweet 16, while Michigan State went on to the Final Four after beating Temple in the Elite Eight.

Frank Williams shot a career-high 30 points as the Fighting Illini won decisively over the Kansas Jayhawks. Illinois dominated the entire second half, however, Nick Collision, the Jayhawks' top scorer, kept things interesting with 23 points and 7 rebounds. The win earned Illinois their first trip to the Elite Eight in over a decade where they squared off against the Arizona Wildcats.

Stanford set a school record with 31 wins after beating the Cincinnati Bearcats 78-65. All-American Casey Jacobsen's career-high 27 points also ensured that Stanford maintained a perfect away-game record of 19-0. The win secured the Cardinal a spot in the Elite Eight where they took on a determined Maryland squad.

Jason Williams tied his career-high point total with 34, including 19 straight in the second half to lead Duke to a 73-64 win over UCLA. Naismith Award winner Shane Battier added 24 points and 11 boards to help move the Blue Devils once step closer to becoming the 2001 national champs.

Lonny Baxter's 26 points and 14 rebounds helped Maryland win the "Battle of the Beltway" against the Georgetown Hoyas and advance to the Elite Eight. The 76-66 win marked Maryland coach Gary Williams' first trip to the Elite Eight in his 23-year coaching career. The Terrapins went on to win in the next round but were stopped short of a title shot when they lost to Duke 95-84.

USC advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1954 after beating Kentucky 80-76. Kentucky freshman Jason Parker sparked a 22-3 run that threatened USC's victory, however, David Bluthenthal's three 3-pointers and clutch free throws helped seal the game and secure the Trojans a spot against top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight. Bluthenthal finished with 27 points and 3 rebounds on the night, while Kentucky's Jason Parker and Keith Bogans combined forces for a total of 45 points.