The 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was a tournament involving 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2008–09 basketball season. It began on March 17, 2009, and concluded with the championship game on April 6 at Ford Field in Detroit, , where North Carolina defeated Michigan State to become champion. The 2009 tournament marked the first time a Final Four had a minimum seating capacity of 70,000. The University of Detroit Mercy hosted the Final Four, which was the 71st edition.