# 1951 NCAA basketball tournament

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; they lost in the quarterfinal round, by ten points to Kansas State.
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
### East Region – New York City

| First round March 20 | First round March 20 | Regional Semifinal March 22 | Regional Semifinal March 22 | Regional Final March 24 | Regional Final March 24 |
| New York City | New York City | | | | |
| Illinois | 79 | | | | |
| Columbia | 71 | | | | |
| Columbia | 71 | Illinois | 84 | | |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Raleigh, North Carolina | Illinois | 84 | | |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Raleigh, North Carolina | NC State | 70 | | |
| NC State | 67 | NC State | 70 | | |
| Villanova | 62 | | | | |
| Villanova | 62 | | | Illinois | 74 |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Raleigh, North Carolina | | | Illinois | 74 |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Raleigh, North Carolina | | | Kentucky | 76 |
| Kentucky | 79 | | | Kentucky | 76 |
| Louisville | 68 | | | | |
| Louisville | 68 | Kentucky | 59 | Third Place | Third Place |
| New York City | New York City | Kentucky | 59 | Third Place | Third Place |
| New York City | New York City | St John's | 43 | | |
| St John's | 63 | St John's | 43 | | |
| St John's | 63 | | | St John's | 71 |
| Connecticut | 52 | | | St John's | 71 |
| Connecticut | 52 | | | NC State | 59 |

### West Region – Kansas City, Missouri

| First round March 21 | First round March 21 | Regional Semifinal March 22 | Regional Semifinal March 22 | Regional Final March 24 | Regional Final March 24 |
| Kansas State | 61 | | | | |
| Arizona | 59 | | | | |
| Arizona | 59 | Kansas State | 64 | | |
| | | BYU | 54 | | |
| BYU | 68 | BYU | 54 | | |
| San Jose State | 61 | | | | |
| San Jose State | 61 | | | Kansas State | 68 |
| | | | | Oklahoma A&M | 44 |
| Oklahoma A&M | 50 | | | Oklahoma A&M | 44 |
| Montana State | 46 | | | | |
| Montana State | 46 | Oklahoma A&M | 61 | Third Place | Third Place |
| | | Washington | 57 | | |
| Washington | 62 | Washington | 57 | | |
| Washington | 62 | | | Washington | 80 |
| Texas A&M | 40 | | | Washington | 80 |
| Texas A&M | 40 | | | BYU | 67 |

### National Finals – Minneapolis, Minnesota

| National Championship March 27 | National Championship March 27 |
| Kentucky | 68 |
| Kansas State | 58 |
| Third place game March 27 | Third place game March 27 |
| Illinois | 61 |
| Oklahoma A&M | 46 |
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