1951 NCAA Basketball Tournament

The 1951 NCAA Basketball Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 20, 1951, and ended with the championship game on March 27 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A total of 18 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

1951 NCAA Basketball Tournament
Teams16
Finals siteWilliams Arena
Minneapolis, Minnesota
ChampionsKentucky Wildcats (3rd title, 3rd title game,
4th Final Four)
Runner-upKansas State Wildcats (1st title game,
2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachAdolph Rupp (3rd title)
MOPBill Spivey (Kentucky)
Attendance110,645
Top scorerDon Sunderlage Illinois
(83 points)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
«1950 1952»

Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp, won the national title with a 68–58 victory over Kansas State, coached by Jack Gardner.

This NCAA tournament was the first with a 16-team field. Only the championship and third place games were held in Minneapolis, while the semifinals were held in the respective regional sites; similar to previous years. A true "Final Four" (semifinals and final at same location) debuted the following year.

The twelve-team National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was held the previous week in New York City at Madison Square Garden, with its championship on Saturday, March 17. Four teams competed in both tournaments, including NIT champion BYU;[1][2][3] they lost in the quarterfinal round, by ten points to Kansas State.[4][5] The three other teams were Arizona, North Carolina State, and St. John's.

Locations

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1951 tournament:

First round
March 20
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina
March 21 and 22
Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri

Regionals
March 22 and 24
East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
March 23 and 24
West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri

Championship Game
March 27
Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The city of Minneapolis became the fifth host city, and Williams Arena the fifth host arena, of the National Championship game. It was the third college venue to do so, after Patten Gym in 1939 and Hec Edmundson Pavilion in 1949. For the ninth and twelfth straight years, Madison Square Garden and the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium hosted the East and West regionals, respectively. The two other arenas would also host the Sweet Sixteen games; while the Municipal Auditorium did so on consecutive days, Madison Square Garden shared duties for these games with a new venue, Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh. It was the first games held in the state of North Carolina, and the second time a Southern school hosted games after Tulane University did in 1942. Reynolds would go on to host games a dozen times over a thirty-year stretch.

Teams
RegionTeamCoachFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
EastColumbiaLou RossiniSweet SixteenIllinoisL 79–71
EastConnecticutHugh GreerSweet SixteenSt. John'sL 63–52
EastIllinoisHarry CombesThird PlaceOklahoma A&MW 61–46
EastKentuckyAdolph RuppChampionKansas StateW 68–58
EastLouisvillePeck HickmanSweet SixteenKentuckyL 79–68
EastNC StateEverett CaseRegional Fourth PlaceSt. John'sL 71–59
EastSt. John'sFrank McGuireRegional Third PlaceNC StateW 71–59
EastVillanovaAlex SeveranceSweet SixteenNC StateL 67–62
West
WestArizonaFred EnkeSweet SixteenKansas StateL 61–59
WestBYUStan WattsRegional Fourth PlaceWashingtonL 80–67
WestKansas StateJack GardnerRunner-upKentuckyL 68–58
WestMontana StateBrick BreedenSweet SixteenOklahoma A&ML 50–46
WestOklahoma A&MHenry IbaFourth PlaceIllinoisL 61–46
WestSan Jose StateWalt McPhersonSweet SixteenBYUL 68–61
WestTexas A&MJohn FloydSweet SixteenWashingtonL 62–40
WestWashingtonTippy DyeRegional Third PlaceBYUW 80–67

Bracket
First round Second round National Semifinals National Final
            
Illinois 79
Columbia 71
Illinois 84
NC State 70
NC State 67
Villanova 62
Illinois 74
EAST REGION
Kentucky 76
Kentucky 79
Louisville 68
Kentucky 59
St John's 43
St John's 63
Connecticut 52
Kentucky 68
Kansas State 58
Kansas State 61
Arizona 59
Kansas State 64
BYU 54
BYU 68
San Jose State 61
Kansas State 68
WEST REGION
Oklahoma A&M 44
Oklahoma A&M 50
Montana State 46
Oklahoma A&M 61
Washington 57
Washington 62
Texas A&M 40

National Third Place Game
National Third Place
   
Illinois 61
Oklahoma A&M 46

Regional Third Place Games

Source:[6]

See also

References
  1. Miller, Hack (March 18, 1951). "BYU smashes Dayton in finale, 62-43". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. C1.
  2. Grimsley, Will (March 18, 1951). "Brigham Young cops invitational hoop title, 62-43". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
  3. Miller, Hack (March 18, 1951). "BYU gets nod in NCAA cage opener". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A11.
  4. Miller, Hack (March 24, 1951). "Kansas State dumps cold Cougars, 64-54". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A5.
  5. "Kansas State whips BYU, 64-54". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 24, 1951. p. 10.
  6. "1951 NCAA Basketball Tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
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