In the 1983 tournament, the Houston Cougars were the top seed in the Midwest, and the North Carolina State Wolfpack were the No. 6 seed in the West Region. Here's how the two teams advanced to the 1983 Final Four in Albuquerque.
First round
Midwest: No. 1 Houston — bye
West: No. 6 N.C. State 69, No. 11 Pepperdine 67 (2OT)
Second round
Midwest: Houston 60, No. 8 Maryland 50
West: N.C. State 71, No. 3 UNLV 70
Region semifinals
Midwest: Houston 70, No. 4 Memphis State 63
West: N.C. State 75, No. 10 Utah 56
Region finals
Midwest: Houston 89, No. 3 Villanova 71
West: N.C. State 63, No. 1 Virginia 62
Final Four semifinals
Houston 94, Louisville (Mideast No. 1) 81
N.C. State 67, Georgia (East No. 4) 60
Championship game
North Carolina State 54, Houston 52
Championship Game boxscore
At Albuquerque, N.M.
N.C. STATE 54, HOUSTON 52
North Carolina State
Player Min. FG-A FT-A Reb. A PF Pts.
Thurl Bailey 39 7-16 1-2 5 0 1 15
Lorenzo Charles 25 2-7 0-0 7 0 2 4
Cozell McQueen 34 1-5 2-2 12 1 4 4
Dereck Whittenburg 39 6-7 2-2 5 1 3 14
Sidney Lowe 40 4-9 0-1 0 8 2 8
Alvin Battle 4 0-1 2-2 1 1 1 2
Terry Gannon 18 3-4 1-2 1 2 3 7
Ernie Myers 1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 200 23-59 8-11 34 13 16 54
Houston
Player Min. FG-A FT-A Reb. A PF Pts.
Clyde Drexler 25 1-5 2-2 2 0 4 4
Larry Michaeux 18 2-6 0-0 6 0 1 4
Akeem Olajuwon 38 7-15 6-7 18 1 1 20
Alvin Franklin 35 2-6 0-1 0 3 0 4
Michael Young 30 3-10 0-4 8 1 0 6
Benny Anders 17 4-9 25 2 1 2 10
Reid Gettys 20 2-2 0-0 2 2 3 4
David Rose 7 0-1 0-0 1 0 2 0
Bryan Williams 10 0-1 0-0 4 1 3 0
Totals 200 21-55 10-19 44 9 16 52