# 1946 NCAA basketball tournament

The 1946 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 21, 1946, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in New York City. A total of 10 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
Oklahoma A&M, coached by Henry Iba, won the national title with a 43–40 victory in the final game over North Carolina, coached by Ben Carnevale. Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The Aggies were the first team to win a second NCAA championship, the first to repeat as champions, and the first of two teams (San Francisco being the other) to win the title in their first two NCAA appearances.
This was the first tournament to have four teams advance to the final site, though not the first to have a true "Final Four" format (that would not occur until 1952). The two regional losers played in the national third-place game, while the two winners played for the championship. The third-place game would continue through the 1981 tournament.

## Locations

The following were the sites which hosted each round of the 1946 tournament:

### Regionals
#### March 21 and 23

    East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)

#### March 22 and 23

    West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

### Championship Game
#### March 26

    Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)

## Teams

| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
| East |||||||
| East | Harvard | Floyd Stahl | EIBL | Regional Fourth Place | NYU | L 67–61 |
| East | NYU | Howard Cann | Middle Atlantic | Regional third place | Harvard | W 67–61 |
| East | North Carolina | Ben Carnevale | Southern Conference | Runner Up | Oklahoma A&M | L 43–40 |
| East | Ohio State | Harold Olsen | Big Ten | Third Place | California | W 63–45 |
| West |||||||
| West | Baylor | Bill Henderson | Southwest | Regional Fourth Place | Colorado | L 59–44 |
| West | California | Nibs Price | Pacific Coast | Fourth Place | Ohio State | L 63–45 |
| West | Colorado | Frosty Cox | Skyline | Regional third place | Baylor | W 59–44 |
| West | Oklahoma A&M | Henry Iba | Missouri Valley | Champion | North Carolina | W 43–40 |

## Bracket

| Regional Semifinals March 21 & 22 | Regional Semifinals March 21 & 22 | Regional Semifinals March 21 & 22 | Regional Finals March 23 | Regional Finals March 23 | Regional Finals March 23 | National Championship March 26 | National Championship March 26 | National Championship March 26 |
| Ohio State | Ohio State | 46 | | | | | | |
| Harvard | Harvard | 38 | | | | | | |
| Harvard | Harvard | 38 | Ohio State | Ohio State | 57* | | | |
| East – New York City | East – New York City | East – New York City | Ohio State | Ohio State | 57* | | | |
| East – New York City | East – New York City | East – New York City | North Carolina | North Carolina | 60 | | | |
| North Carolina | North Carolina | 57 | North Carolina | North Carolina | 60 | | | |
| North Carolina | North Carolina | 57 | | | | New York City | New York City | New York City |
| NYU | NYU | 49 | | | | New York City | New York City | New York City |
| NYU | NYU | 49 | | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 40 |
| | | | | | | Oklahoma A&M | Oklahoma A&M | 43 |
| Oklahoma A&M | Oklahoma A&M | 44 | | | | Oklahoma A&M | Oklahoma A&M | 43 |
| Baylor | Baylor | 29 | | | | | | |
| Baylor | Baylor | 29 | Oklahoma A&M | Oklahoma A&M | 52 | | | |
| West – Kansas City, MO | West – Kansas City, MO | West – Kansas City, MO | Oklahoma A&M | Oklahoma A&M | 52 | | | |
| West – Kansas City, MO | West – Kansas City, MO | West – Kansas City, MO | California | California | 35 | | | |
| California | California | 50 | California | California | 35 | | | |
| Colorado | Colorado | 44 | | | | | | |
| East Third Place Game March 23 | East Third Place Game March 23 | East Third Place Game March 23 | West Third Place Game March 23 | West Third Place Game March 23 | West Third Place Game March 23 | National Third Place Game March 26 | National Third Place Game March 26 | National Third Place Game March 26 |
| Harvard | Harvard | 61 | Baylor | Baylor | 44 | Ohio State | Ohio State | 63 |
| NYU | NYU | 67 | Colorado | Colorado | 59 | California | California | 45 |
* – Denotes overtime period