Edition of US college 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.
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 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 ;[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 (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 )
Regionals
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 Game
March 27
Williams Arena , Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hosts: University of Minnesota , Big Ten Conference )
Teams
Bracket
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 Game
National Third Place
Illinois
61
Oklahoma A&M
46
Regional third place games
East Regional third place
St John's
71
NC State
59
West Regional third place
Washington
80
BYU
67
Source: [6]
See also
References
^ 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 .
1950–51 NCAA championships