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Most Points Scored in March Madness: Single Game, Highest Scoring Games, Tournament Records
- Loyola Marymount Lions
- Michigan Wolverines
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Wyoming Cowboys
- UNLV Runnin' Rebels
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons
- Tulsa Golden Hurricane
- UCLA Bruins
- Duke Blue Devils
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Long Beach State Beach
There’s a reason the NCAA tournament is referred to as March Madness. Because there’s no shortage of wild, unexpected outcomes.
Of course included in those are shocking upsets—the moments where David knocks Goliath out and captivates the nation—but those aren’t the only things that make for some madness in March.
What about Herculean efforts by players and teams on the scoreboard? The games where a single player puts a program on his back and racks up points in bunches.
Or what about the unexpected shootout between two teams desperately trying to advance? Sure, defense wins championships, but high-scoring duels are something special to watch.
Those are the players, teams and moments we’re going to break down.
Most Points Scored in a Single March Madness Game
The record for points scored in a single men’s NCAA tournament game is a whopping 264, which was set on March 18, 1990.
A second-round matchup between the Loyola Marymount Lions and Michigan Wolverines was an explosion of points, resembling something out of a video game.
But let’s take a step back and look at how these two teams got there.
Michigan was led by head coach Steve Fisher, who was in his first full season at the helm of the Wolverines. The year prior saw Fisher take over for departing coach Bill Frieder, leading the Wolverines to a national championship.
Loyola Marymount came into the NCAA tournament just weeks after Hank Gathers collapsed and passed away due to a heart condition during the West Coast Conference tournament. Gathers was an absolute star for the Lions, who was the second player in the history of college basketball to lead the country in points scored and rebounds in a single season in 1989.
The Wolverines and Lions met at Long Beach Arena, which was just 30 or so miles away from LMU’s campus. So, as one would imagine, the crowd was all-in for the Lions. But, Michigan was the No. 3 seed and favored to win as the defending champs.
Some lights-out 3-point shooting (and exceptionally porous defense) from LMU resulted in a fireworks-filled first half. The Lions led 65–58 after the first 20 minutes.
Just nine minutes into the second half and LMU hits the 100-point mark. The Lions set a record this season, scoring 100+ points in 27 of 30 games.
LMU set the NCAA single-game points record (128) with nearly five minutes remaining. But the Lions kept scoring.
When it was all said and done, LMU blew the doors off of Michigan, 149–115.
Most Points Scored by a Single Player in NCAA Tournament Game
The most points scored in a March Madness game by a single player is 61, which was accomplished by Notre Dame’s Austin Carr in 1970.
Carr averaged 36.4 points during his 74-game collegiate career before being selected first overall in the 1971 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But his most explosive game came on March 7, 1970.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were squaring off with the Ohio Bobcats and Carr’s man (John Canine) hit his first six shots. This prompted Irish coaches to heckle Carr on the bench, inquiring if he had any interest in playing defense.
It’s tough to say if Carr was interested in defense, but he was certainly interested in playing offense.
Carr finished with 25-of-44 shooting, hitting 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. The game was played before the three-point line was instituted. Had the game been played today, Carr would have scored 70 points.
Carr remains the only player to score 60+ in a tournament game. However, plenty of players have had explosive scoring performances in March.
Player | Points | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
Austin Carr | 61 | Notre Dame | 1970 |
Bill Bradley | 58 | Princeton | 1965 |
Oscar Robertson | 56 | Cincinnati | 1958 |
Austin Carr | 52 | Notre Dame | 1970 |
Austin Carr | 52 | Notre Dame | 1971 |
David Robertson | 50 | Navy | 1987 |
Elvin Hayes | 49 | Houston | 1968 |
Hal Lear | 48 | Temple | 1956 |
Austin Carr | 47 | Notre Dame | 1971 |
Dave Corzine | 46 | DePaul | 1978 |
Most Points Scored in a Single NCAA Tournament
Glen Rice’s 184 points during the 1989 NCAA tournament remains the record. Rice led Michigan to the national championship that season before he became a three-time NBA All-Star with the Charlotte Hornets.
Rice scored 23 points in the first round against Xavier; 36 points against South Alabama in the second round; 34 against North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen; 32 against Virginia in the Elite Eight; 28 against Illinois in the Final Four; and 31 against Seton Hall in the national championship.
Highest-Scoring NCAA Tournament Games of All Time
Year | Total Points | Winning Team (PTS) | Losing Team (PTS) |
|---|---|---|---|
1990 | 264 | No. 11 Loyola Marymount (149) | No. 3 Michigan (115) |
1988 | 234 | No. 10 Loyola Marymount (119) | No. 7 Wyoming (115) |
1990 | 232 | No. 1 UNLV (131) | No. 11 Loyola Marymount (101) |
1989 | 220 | No. 5 Arkansas (120) | No. 12 Loyola Marymount (101) |
1988 | 216 | No. 2 UNC (123) | No. 10 Loyola Marymount (97) |
2005 | 214 | No. 7 West Virginia (111) | No. 2 Wake Forest (105) |
1994 | 207 | No. 12 Tulsa (112) | No. 5 UCLA (102) |
1992 | 206 | No. 1 Duke (104) | No. 2 Kentucky (103) |
2007 | 206 | No. 5 Tennessee (121) | No. 12 Long Beach State (86) |
1987 | 206 | No. 1 UNC (109) | No. 9 Michigan (97) |
Read more about March Madness
Nathan Cunningham is a writer for Sports Illustrated and Minute Media. Throughout his career, he has written about collegiate sports, NFL Draft, Super Bowl champions, and more. Nathan has also been featured in FanSided and 90Min. Nathan loves colorful uniforms, mascots and fast-break pull-up 3-pointers. He graduated from BYU in 2016 with a degree in journalism.