The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament has been around since 1939, and has seen thousands of games since then. Some games — like Loyola Marymount's 149-115 win over Michigan in 1990 — see an unbelievable amount of scoring. Others... don't.
MORE RECORDS: The highest scoring games in NCAA March Madness history
So, what is the lowest scoring game in NCAA tournament history? That honor would belong to a matchup between Pittsburgh and UNC in 1941, where the Panthers took down the Tar Heels 26-20 in what we can only call the defensive battle of the century. The score at halftime of that one was a steamy 12-8 in favor of North Carolina, but Pitt went on an 18-8 run for... the entirety of the second half, which the Tar Heels could not overcome.
Here is the list of the five lowest scoring games in full NCAA tournament history.
| Total | Team A | Team A points | Team B | Team B points | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Pittsburgh | 26 | UNC | 20 | 1941 |
| 59 | Duquesne | 30 | W. Kentucky | 29 | 1940 |
| 66 | Wisconsin | 36 | Pittsburgh | 30 | 1941 |
| 69 | Indiana | 39 | Duquesne | 30 | 1940 |
| 70 | USC | 38 | Colorado | 32 | 1940 |
But when the competition thins in the Final Four, the scoring heats up again.
The lowest scoring game in the Final Four wouldn't even hit the top eight lowest scoring tournament games. Oh, and the Dartmouth-Utah championship game in 1944, those 82 points included an overtime period. Yeah.
| Total | Team A | Team A points | Team B | Team B points | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Wisconsin | 39 | Washington St. | 34 | 1941 |
| 79 | Ohio St. | 33 | Oregon | 46 | 1939 |
| 80 | Georgetown | 34 | Wyoming | 46 | 1943 |
| 82 | Dartmouth | 40 | Utah | 42 | 1944 |
| 82 | Oklahoma St. | 36 | Kentucky | 46 | 1949 |
