1976 NCAA Division III basketball tournament

1976 NCAA Division III
basketball tournament

Teams	28
Finals site	, Reading, Pennsylvania
Champions	Scranton Royals (1st title)
Runner-up	Wittenberg Tigers (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Augustana (IL) Vikings (2nd Final Four) Plattsburgh State Cardinals (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Bob Bessoir (Scranton)
MOP	Jack Maher (Scranton)
Attendance	4,000 (Championship game)
NCAA Division III men's tournaments « 1975 1977 »

The 1976 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament was the second annual single-elimination tournament to determine the men's collegiate basketball national champion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, held during March 1976.

The tournament field included 28 teams, a decrease of two from 1975, and the national championship rounds were contested in Reading, Pennsylvania. ^[1]

Scranton defeated Wittenberg, 60–57 (in overtime), to win their first national championship.

Bracket

Regionals

First round Regional Championship             Rhode Island College 87 UMass Boston 65 Rhode Island College 89 SE Massachusetts 87 SE Massachusetts 79 Suffolk 76 Regional Third-place UMass Boston 108 Suffolk 101

First round Regional Championship             Plattsburgh State 68 RPI 65 Plattsburgh State 83 CCNY 81 CCNY 94 RIT 69 Regional Third-place RPI 74 RIT 81

First round Regional Championship             Wittenberg 88 Oberlin 66 Wittenberg 61 Ashland 49 Ashland 75 Hiram 74 Regional Third-place Oberlin 80 Hiram 77

First round Regional Championship             Miles 79 Sewanee 71 Miles 87 Transylvania 85 Transylvania 112 LeMoyne–Owen 92 Regional Third-place Sewanee 86 LeMoyne–Owen 73

First round Regional Championship             Widener 65 Mansfield State 54 Scranton 70 Widener 65 Scranton 68 Grove City 45 Regional Third-place Mansfield State 73 Grove City 59

First round Regional Championship             Shepherd 77 Glassboro State 62 Shepherd 79 Monmouth 71 Monmouth 97 Lynchburg 73 Regional Third-place Glassboro State 82 Lynchburg 62

First round Regional Championship             Augustana (IL) 83 Cornell College 77 Augustana (IL) 79 Coe 70 Coe 70 Simpson 62 Regional Third-place Cornell College 88 Simpson 96

National finals

• Site: Reading, Pennsylvania

	National quarterfinals					National semifinals					National championship
	Rhode Island College		80
	Plattsburgh State		91
						Plattsburgh State		58
						Wittenberg		71
	Wittenberg		101
	Miles		75
											Wittenberg		57
											Scranton		60*
	Scranton		94
	Shepherd		78
						Scranton		76			National third-place game
						Augustana (IL)		65
											Plattsburgh State		69
											Augustana (IL)		93

See also

• 1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament
• 1976 NCAA Division II basketball tournament
• 1976 NAIA basketball tournament

References

1. "Division III Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 17. Retrieved March 13, 2017.