Colonel William A. Phillips

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

Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East Columbia Lou Rossini Ivy League Sweet Sixteen Illinois L 79–71
East Connecticut Hugh Greer Yankee Sweet Sixteen St. John's L 63–52
East Illinois Harry Combes Big Ten Third Place Oklahoma A&M W 61–46
East Kentucky Adolph Rupp Southeastern Champion Kansas State W 68–58
East Louisville Peck Hickman Independent Sweet Sixteen Kentucky L 79–68
East NC State Everett Case Southern Regional Fourth Place St. John's L 71–59
East St. John's Frank McGuire Metro NY Regional third place NC State W 71–59
East Villanova Alex Severance Independent Sweet Sixteen NC State L 67–62
West
West Arizona Fred Enke Border Sweet Sixteen Kansas State L 61–59
West BYU Stan Watts Mountain States Regional Fourth Place Washington L 80–67
West Kansas State Jack Gardner Big 7 Runner-up Kentucky L 68–58
West Montana State Brick Breeden Independent Sweet Sixteen Oklahoma A&M L 50–46
West Oklahoma A&M Henry Iba Missouri Valley Fourth Place Illinois L 61–46
West San Jose State Walt McPherson Independent Sweet Sixteen BYU L 68–61
West Texas A&M John Floyd Southwest Sweet Sixteen Washington L 62–40
West Washington Tippy Dye Pacific Coast Regional third place BYU W 80–67

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

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 April 4, 2018.