Indiana Beats Syracuse in Final Four

The 1987 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball.

It began on March 12, 1987, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A total of 63 games were played.
Indiana, coached by Bob Knight, won the national title with a 74-73 victory in the final game over Syracuse, coached by Jim Boeheim. Keith Smart of Indiana, who hit the game-winner in the final seconds, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The tournament also featured a "Cinderella team" in the Final Four, as Providence College, led by a then-unknown Rick Pitino, made their first Final Four appearance since 1973. This was also the last tournament in which teams were allowed to have home court advantage: Syracuse (2E) and Arizona (10W) both opened the tournament playing on their home courts.

Indiana collected the fifth NCAA championship in school history with a 74-73 win against Syracuse as Keith Smart delivered the winning jumper with five seconds left to help down the Orangemen and star freshman Derrick Coleman.