1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teams | 16 | ||||
Finals site |
Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||||
Champions |
Kentucky Wildcats (3rd title, 3rd title game, 4th Final Four) | ||||
Runner-up |
Kansas State (1st title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
Semifinalists |
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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 Men's Division I 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 in the final game over Kansas State, coached by Jack Gardner.
The tournament was the first to introduce 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. In this sense, the 1951 tournament did not feature a true "Final Four." This would have to wait until the 1952 tournament.
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
Teams
Region | Seed | Team | Coach | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East | ||||||
East | n/a | Columbia | Lou Rossini | Sweet Sixteen | Illinois | L 79-71 |
East | n/a | Connecticut | Hugh Greer | Sweet Sixteen | St. John's | L 63-52 |
East | n/a | Illinois | Harry Combes | Third Place | Oklahoma A&M | W 61-46 |
East | n/a | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | Champion | Kansas State | W 68-58 |
East | n/a | Louisville | Peck Hickman | Sweet Sixteen | Kentucky | L 79-68 |
East | n/a | North Carolina State | Everett Case | Regional Fourth Place | St. John's | L 71-59 |
East | n/a | St. John's | Frank McGuire | Regional Third Place | North Carolina State | W 71-59 |
East | n/a | Villanova | Alex Severance | Sweet Sixteen | North Carolina State | L 67-62 |
West | ||||||
West | n/a | Arizona | Fred Enke | Sweet Sixteen | Kansas State | L 61-59 |
West | n/a | BYU | Stan Watts | Regional Fourth Place | Washington | L 80-67 |
West | n/a | Kansas State | Jack Gardner | Runner-up | Kentucky | L 68-58 |
West | n/a | Montana State | Brick Breeden | Sweet Sixteen | Oklahoma A&M | L 50-46 |
West | n/a | Oklahoma A&M | Henry Iba | Fourth Place | Illinois | L 61-46 |
West | n/a | San José State | Walt McPherson | Sweet Sixteen | BYU | L 68-61 |
West | n/a | Texas A&M | John Floyd | Sweet Sixteen | Washington | L 62-40 |
West | n/a | Washington | Tippy Dye | Regional Third Place | BYU | W 80-67 |
Bracket
First round | Second round | National Semifinals | National Final | ||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 79 | ||||||||||||||||||
Columbia | 71 | ||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 84 | ||||||||||||||||||
N.C. State | 70 | ||||||||||||||||||
N.C. 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
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