# 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

The 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 23 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 7, 1959, and ended with the championship game on March 21 in Louisville, Kentucky. A total of 27 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
California, coached by Pete Newell, won the national title with a 71–70 victory in the final game over West Virginia, coached by Fred Schaus. Jerry West of West Virginia was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

## Locations

| Round | Region | Site | Venue |
| First Round | East | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden |
| First Round | Mideast | Lexington, Kentucky | Memorial Coliseum |
| First Round | Midwest | Portland, Oregon | Pacific International Livestock Exposition |
| First Round | West | Las Cruces, New Mexico | Las Cruces High School Gym |
| Regionals | East | Charlotte, North Carolina | Charlotte Coliseum |
| Regionals | Mideast | Evanston, Illinois | McGaw Memorial Hall |
| Regionals | Midwest | Lawrence, Kansas | Allen Fieldhouse |
| Regionals | West | San Francisco, California | Cow Palace |
| Final Four | Final Four | Louisville, Kentucky | Freedom Hall |

## Teams

| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
| East |||||||
| East | Boston University | Matt Zunic | Independent | Regional Runner-up | West Virginia | L 86–82 |
| East | Connecticut | Hugh Greer | Yankee | First round | Boston University | L 60–58 |
| East | Dartmouth | Doggie Julian | Ivy League | First round | West Virginia | L 82–68 |
| East | Navy | Ben Carnevale | Independent | Regional third place | Saint Joseph's | W 70–56 |
| East | North Carolina | Frank McGuire | Atlantic Coast | First round | Navy | L 76–63 |
| East | Saint Joseph's | Jack Ramsay | Middle Atlantic | Regional Fourth Place | Navy | L 70–56 |
| East | West Virginia | Fred Schaus | Southern | Runner Up | California | L 71–70 |
| Mideast |||||||
| Mideast | Bowling Green | Harold Anderson | Mid-American | First round | Marquette | L 89–71 |
| Mideast | Eastern Kentucky | Paul McBrayer | Ohio Valley | First round | Louisville | L 77–63 |
| Mideast | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | Southeastern | Regional third place | Marquette | W 98–69 |
| Mideast | Louisville | Peck Hickman | Independent | Fourth Place | Cincinnati | L 98–85 |
| Mideast | Marquette | Eddie Hickey | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | Kentucky | L 98–69 |
| Mideast | Michigan State | Forddy Anderson | Big Ten | Regional Runner-up | Louisville | L 88–81 |
| Midwest |||||||
| Midwest | Cincinnati | George Smith | Missouri Valley | Third Place | Louisville | W 98–85 |
| Midwest | DePaul | Ray Meyer | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | TCU | L 71–65 |
| Midwest | Kansas State | Tex Winter | Big 8 | Regional Runner-up | Cincinnati | L 85–75 |
| Midwest | Portland | Al Negratti | Independent | First round | DePaul | L 57–56 |
| Midwest | TCU | Buster Brannon | Southwest | Regional third place | DePaul | W 71–65 |
| West |||||||
| West | California | Pete Newell | Pacific Coast | Champion | West Virginia | W 71–70 |
| West | Idaho State | John Grayson | Independent | Regional third place | Utah | W 71–65 |
| West | New Mexico State | Presley Askew | Border | First round | Idaho State | L 62–61 |
| West | Saint Mary's | James Weaver | West Coast Athletic | Regional Runner-up | California | L 66–46 |
| West | Utah | Jack Gardner | Mountain States | Regional Fourth Place | Idaho State | L 71–65 |

## Bracket
### East region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Saint Joseph's | 92 | | |
| | | West Virginia | 95 | | |
| West Virginia | 82 | West Virginia | 95 | | |
| Dartmouth | 68 | | | | |
| Dartmouth | 68 | | | West Virginia | 86 |
| | | | | Boston University | 82 |
| Boston University | 60 | | | | | Boston University | 82 |
| Connecticut | 58 | | | | |
| Connecticut | 58 | Boston University | 62 | | |
| | | Navy | 55 | | |
| Navy | 76 | Navy | 55 | | |
| North Carolina | 63 | | | | |

### Mideast region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Kentucky | 61 | | |
| | | Louisville | 76 | | |
| Louisville | 77 | Louisville | 76 | | |
| Eastern Kentucky | 63 | | | | |
| Eastern Kentucky | 63 | | | Louisville | 88 |
| | | | | Michigan State | 81 |
| | | Michigan State | 74 | | |
| | | Marquette | 69 | | |
| Marquette | 89 | Marquette | 69 | | |
| Bowling Green | 71 | | | | |

### Midwest region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Kansas State | 102 | | |
| | | DePaul | 70 | | |
| DePaul | 57 | DePaul | 70 | | |
| Portland | 56 | | | | |
| Portland | 56 | | | Kansas State | 75 |
| | | | | Cincinnati | 85 |
| | | Cincinnati | 77 | | |
| | | TCU | 73 | | |

### West region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Saint Mary's | 80 | | |
| | | Idaho State | 71 | | |
| Idaho State | 62 | Idaho State | 71 | | |
| New Mexico State | 61 | | | | |
| New Mexico State | 61 | | | Saint Mary's | 46 |
| | | | | California | 66 |
| | | California | 71 | | |
| | | Utah | 53 | | |

### Final Four

| National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Finals | National Finals | National Finals |
| E | West Virginia | 94 | | | |
| ME | Louisville | 79 | | | |
| ME | Louisville | 79 | E | West Virginia | 70 |
| | | | W | California | 71 |
| MW | Cincinnati | 58 | W | California | 71 |
| W | California | 64 | | | |

### National Third Place Game

| National Third Place Game | National Third Place Game | National Third Place Game |
| MW | Cincinnati | 98 |
| ME | Louisville | 85 |

### Regional third place games

| East Regional third place | East Regional third place | East Regional third place |
| Navy | Navy | 70 |
| Saint Joseph's | Saint Joseph's | 56 |
| Mideast Regional third place | Mideast Regional third place | Mideast Regional third place |
| Kentucky | Kentucky | 98 |
| Marquette | Marquette | 69 |
| Midwest Regional third place | Midwest Regional third place | Midwest Regional third place |
| TCU | TCU | 71 |
| DePaul | DePaul | 65 |
| West Regional third place | West Regional third place | West Regional third place |
| Idaho State | Idaho State | 71 |
| Utah | Utah | 65 |