1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

Last updated

1961 NCAA University Division
basketball tournament
Cincinnati bearcats basketball champions 1961.jpg
Cincinnati Bearcats, champions, celebrating
Season 196061
Teams24
Finals site Municipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
Champions Cincinnati Bearcats (1st title, 1st title game,
3rd Final Four)
Runner-up Ohio State Buckeyes (3rd title game,
6th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coach Ed Jucker (1st title)
MOP Jerry Lucas (Ohio State)
Attendance169,520
Top scorer Billy McGill (Utah)
(119 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
« 1960 1962 »

The 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. It began on March 14, 1961, and ended with the championship game on March 25 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of 28 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

Contents

Cincinnati, coached by Ed Jucker, won the national title with a 70–65 victory in the final game over in-state rival and defending national champion Ohio State, coached by Fred Taylor. Jerry Lucas of Ohio State was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The national third-place game, won by Saint Joseph's over Utah by the score of 127–120 in four overtimes, tied the record for the longest game in NCAA Division I tournament history, set in 1956 in a first-round game between Canisius and North Carolina State. As of the regional finals of the 2019 tournament, no NCAA Division I tournament games since then have gone to a fourth overtime period. [1] Saint Joseph's victory was later vacated because of the 1961 gambling scandal. [2]

Locations

Ohio State players after losing the final v Cincinnati Ohio state basketball players 1961.jpg
Ohio State players after losing the final v Cincinnati
RoundRegionSiteVenueHost(s)
First RoundEast New York, New York Madison Square Garden St. John's
Mideast Louisville, Kentucky Freedom Hall Louisville
Midwest Houston, Texas Delmar Fieldhouse Houston/Rice/Texas Southern
West Portland, Oregon Memorial Coliseum Portland
RegionalsEast Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum UNCC
MideastLouisville, KentuckyFreedom HallLouisville
Midwest Lawrence, Kansas Allen Fieldhouse Kansas
WestPortland, OregonMemorial ColiseumPortland
Final Four Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Auditorium UMKC

Teams

RegionTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East George Washington Bill Reinhart Southern First round Princeton L 84–67
East Princeton Jake McCandless Ivy League Regional Fourth Place St. Bonaventure L 85–67
East Rhode Island Ernie Calverley Yankee First round St. Bonaventure L 86–76
East St. Bonaventure Eddie Donovan IndependentRegional third place Princeton W 85–67
East St. John's Joe Lapchick Metro NY First round Wake Forest L 97–74
East Saint Joseph's Jack Ramsay Middle Atlantic Third Place Utah W 127–120 (4OT)
East Wake Forest Bones McKinney Atlantic Coast Regional Runner-up Saint Joseph's L 96–86
Mideast
Mideast Kentucky Adolph Rupp Southeastern Regional Runner-up Ohio State L 87–74
Mideast Louisville Peck Hickman IndependentRegional third place Morehead State W 83–61
Mideast Morehead State Robert Laughlin Ohio Valley Regional Fourth Place Louisville L 83–61
Mideast Ohio James Snyder Mid-American First round Louisville L 76–70
Mideast Ohio State Fred Taylor Big Ten Runner Up Cincinnati L 70–65
Mideast Xavier Jim McCafferty IndependentFirst round Morehead State L 71–66
Midwest
Midwest Cincinnati Ed Jucker Missouri Valley Champion Ohio State W 70–65
Midwest Houston Guy Lewis IndependentRegional Fourth Place Texas Tech L 69–67
Midwest Kansas State Tex Winter Big 8 Regional Runner-up Cincinnati L 69–64
Midwest Marquette Eddie Hickey IndependentFirst round Houston L 77–61
Midwest Texas Tech Polk Robison Southwest Regional third place Houston W 69–67
West
West Arizona State Ned Wulk Border Regional Runner-up Utah L 88–80
West Loyola (Los Angeles) William Donovan West Coast Athletic Regional third place USC W 69–67
West Oregon Steve Belko IndependentFirst round USC L 81–79
West Seattle Vince Cazzetta IndependentFirst round Arizona State L 72–70
West USC Forrest Twogood AAWU Regional Fourth Place Loyola (Los Angeles) L 69–67
West Utah Jack Gardner Mountain States Fourth Place Saint Joseph's L 127–120 (4OT)

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 Saint Joseph's# 72
 Princeton 67
 Princeton84
 George Washington 67
 Saint Joseph's# 96
 Wake Forest 86
 St. Bonaventure86
 Rhode Island 76
 St. Bonaventure 73
 Wake Forest78
 Wake Forest97
 St. John's 74

Mideast region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 Ohio State56
 Louisville 55
 Louisville76
 Ohio 70
 Ohio State87
 Kentucky 74
 Kentucky71
 Morehead State 64
 Morehead State71
 Xavier 66

Midwest region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 Kansas State75
 Houston 64
 Houston77
 Marquette 61
 Kansas State 64
 Cincinnati69
 Cincinnati78
 Texas Tech 55

West region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 Utah91
 Loyola (Los Angeles) 75
 Utah88
 Arizona State 80
 Arizona State72
 Seattle 70
 Arizona State86
 USC 71
 USC81
 Oregon 79

Final Four

National Semifinals National Championship Game
      
E Saint Joseph's# 69
ME Ohio State95
ME Ohio State 65*
MW Cincinnati70
MW Cincinnati82
W Utah 67

* - denotes overtime

# - Saint Joseph's was later forced to vacate their appearance in the 1961 NCAA Tournament due to a gambling scandal involving a player on the team. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Saint Joseph's removing the wins from its own record. [3]

National Third Place Game

National Third Place Game [4]
   
E Saint Joseph's# 127
W Utah 120****

Regional third place games

See also

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References

  1. The Sports Network. "The Sports Network - Men's College Basketball". Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  2. "Review of the Literature".
  3. Wolfson, Andrew (October 19, 2016). "What led to vacated Final Fours in the past?". Courier Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  4. "1954 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket" . Retrieved October 14, 2011.