1951 NCAA basketball tournament (original) (raw)
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Edition of US college basketball tournament
1951 NCAA basketball tournament
| Season | 1950–51 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 16 |
| Finals site | Williams ArenaMinneapolis, Minnesota |
| Champions | Kentucky Wildcats (3rd title, 3rd title game,4th Final Four) |
| Runner-up | Kansas State Wildcats (1st title game,2nd Final Four) |
| Semifinalists | Illinois Fighting Illini (2nd Final Four)Oklahoma A&M Aggies (4th Final Four) |
| Winning coach | Adolph Rupp (3rd title) |
| MOP | No winner selected[a] |
| Attendance | 110,645 |
| Top scorer | Don Sunderlage (Illinois)(83 points) |
| NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1950 1952» |
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.
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1951 tournament:
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)
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)
March 27
Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hosts: University of Minnesota, Big Ten Conference)
| 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 |
East Region – New York City
[edit]
| First roundMarch 20 | Regional SemifinalMarch 22 | Regional FinalMarch 24 |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | ||
| Illinois | 79 | |
| Columbia | 71 | |
| Illinois | 84 | |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | ||
| NC State | 70 | |
| NC State | 67 | |
| Villanova | 62 | |
| Illinois | 74 | |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | ||
| Kentucky | 76 | |
| Kentucky | 79 | |
| Louisville | 68 | |
| Kentucky | 59 | Third Place |
| New York City | ||
| St John's | 43 | |
| St John's | 63 | |
| St John's | 71 | |
| Connecticut | 52 | |
| NC State | 59 |
West Region – Kansas City, Missouri
[edit]
| First roundMarch 21 | Regional SemifinalMarch 22 | Regional FinalMarch 24 |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas State | 61 | |
| Arizona | 59 | |
| Kansas State | 64 | |
| BYU | 54 | |
| BYU | 68 | |
| San Jose State | 61 | |
| Kansas State | 68 | |
| Oklahoma A&M | 44 | |
| Oklahoma A&M | 50 | |
| Montana State | 46 | |
| Oklahoma A&M | 61 | Third Place |
| Washington | 57 | |
| Washington | 62 | |
| Washington | 80 | |
| Texas A&M | 40 | |
| BYU | 67 |
National Finals – Minneapolis, Minnesota
[edit]
| National ChampionshipMarch 27 Kentucky 68 Kansas State58 | Third place gameMarch 27 Illinois 61 Oklahoma A&M46 |
|---|
Source:[6]
- a Despite what some NCAA publications have printed many years later—that Kentucky's Bill Spivey won the 1951 award—no official vote occurred after the game and no player was officially presented as the winner.[7][8] A news article printed by the Lexington Herald-Leader on April 7, 1951, titled "What Happened To NCAA's MVP Award?" detailed this mysterious divergence of precedent.[9] Reporter Ed Ashford wrote, "For 11 consecutive years a most valuable player was chosen after the NCAA basketball tournament. However this year, for some unexplained reason, no poll was taken and there was no MVP honored. Whether the authorities just forgot about it or decided to eliminate balloting for the honor is not known. If a poll had been taken, it is likely that Kentucky would have garnered its third MVP award in the last four years. Alex Groza won the honor in 1948 and 1949 while Bill Spivey and Shelby Linville would have been strong contenders for the award this year."[9]
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Tournament MVPs". Stevens Point Journal. Stevens Point, Wisconsin. April 8, 2003. p. 12. Retrieved August 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 1951 – None selected
- ^ "NCAA Men's Tournament Final Four MVPs". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 8, 2003. p. E03. Retrieved August 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 1951: None selected
- ^ a b Ashford, Ed (April 7, 1951). "What Happened To NCAA's MVP Award?". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. p. 6. Retrieved August 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.