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Season | 1950–51 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teams | 16 | ||||
Finals site | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||||
Champions | Kentucky Wildcats (3rd title, "3rd title game," 4th Final Four) | ||||
Runner-up | Kansas State Wildcats (1st title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
Semifinalists |
| ||||
Winning coach | Adolph Rupp (3rd title) | ||||
MOP | Bill Spivey (Kentucky) | ||||
Attendance | 110,645 | ||||
Top scorer | Don Sunderlage (Illinois) (83 points) | ||||
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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 theββchampionship game on March 27 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A total of 18 games were played, including third place game in each region and "a national third place game."
Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp, won the national title with a 68β58 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 4" (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, Mach 17. Four teams competed in both tournaments, including NIT champion BYU; they lost in the quarterfinal round, by ten points to Kansas State.
The three other teams were Arizona, North Carolina State, and St. John's.
Locationsβ»
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1951 tournament:
First roundβ»
- March 20
- Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)
- Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
- March 21 and 22
- Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
Regionalsβ»
- March 22 and 24
- East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)
- March 23 and 24
- West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
Championship Gameβ»
- March 27
- Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hosts: University of Minnesota, Big Ten Conference)
Teamsβ»
Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East | ||||||
East | Columbia | Lou Rossini | Ivy League | Sweet Sixteen | Illinois | L 79β71 |
East | Connecticut | Hugh Greer | Yankee | Sweet Sixteen | St. John's | L 63β52 |
East | Illinois | Harry Combes | Big Ten | Third Place | Oklahoma A&M | W 61β46 |
East | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | Southeastern | Champion | Kansas State | W 68β58 |
East | Louisville | Peck Hickman | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | Kentucky | L 79β68 |
East | NC State | Everett Case | Southern | Regional Fourth Place | St. John's | L 71β59 |
East | St. John's | Frank McGuire | Metro NY | Regional third place | NC State | W 71β59 |
East | Villanova | Alex Severance | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | NC State | L 67β62 |
West | ||||||
West | Arizona | Fred Enke | Border | Sweet Sixteen | Kansas State | L 61β59 |
West | BYU | Stan Watts | Mountain States | Regional Fourth Place | Washington | L 80β67 |
West | Kansas State | Jack Gardner | Big 7 | Runner-up | Kentucky | L 68β58 |
West | Montana State | Brick Breeden | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | Oklahoma A&M | L 50β46 |
West | Oklahoma A&M | Henry Iba | Missouri Valley | Fourth Place | Illinois | L 61β46 |
West | San Jose State | Walt McPherson | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | BYU | L 68β61 |
West | Texas A&M | John Floyd | Southwest | Sweet Sixteen | Washington | L 62β40 |
West | Washington | Tippy Dye | Pacific Coast | Regional third place | BYU | W 80β67 |
Bracketβ»
First round | Quarter-finals | 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 Gameβ»
National Third Place | ||||
Illinois | 61 | |||
Oklahoma A&M | 46 |
Regional third place gamesβ»
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Source:
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ Miller, Hack (March 18, 1951). "BYU smashes Dayton in finale, 62-43". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. C1.
- ^ Grimsley, Will (March 18, 1951). "Brigham Young cops invitational hoop title, 62-43". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
- ^ Miller, Hack (March 18, 1951). "BYU gets nod in NCAA cage opener". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A11.
- ^ Miller, Hack (March 24, 1951). "Kansas State dumps cold Cougars, 64-54". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A5.
- ^ "Kansas State whips BYU, 64-54". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 24, 1951. p. 10.
- ^ "1951 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2018.