# 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

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.
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. Saint Joseph's victory was later vacated because of the 1961 gambling scandal.

## Locations

| Round | Region | Site | Venue | Host(s) |
| First Round | East | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | |
| First Round | Mideast | Louisville, Kentucky | Freedom Hall | Louisville |
| First Round | Midwest | Houston, Texas | Delmar Fieldhouse | Houston |
| First Round | West | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | |
| Regionals | East | Charlotte, North Carolina | Charlotte Coliseum | |
| Regionals | Mideast | Louisville, Kentucky | Freedom Hall | Louisville |
| Regionals | Midwest | Lawrence, Kansas | Allen Fieldhouse | Kansas |
| Regionals | West | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | |
| Final Four | Final Four | Kansas City, Missouri | Municipal Auditorium | |

## Teams

| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
| 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 | Independent | Regional 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 | Independent | Regional 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 | Independent | First round | Morehead State | L 71–66 |
| Midwest |||||||
| Midwest | Cincinnati | Ed Jucker | Missouri Valley | Champion | Ohio State | W 70–65 |
| Midwest | Houston | Guy Lewis | Independent | Regional 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 | Independent | First 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 | Independent | First round | USC | L 81–79 |
| West | Seattle | Vince Cazzetta | Independent | First 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 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Saint Joseph's# | 72 | | |
| | | Princeton | 67 | | |
| Princeton | 84 | Princeton | 67 | | |
| George Washington | 67 | | | | |
| George Washington | 67 | | | Saint Joseph's# | 96 |
| | | | | Wake Forest | 86 |
| St. Bonaventure | 86 | | | | | Wake Forest | 86 |
| Rhode Island | 76 | | | | |
| Rhode Island | 76 | St. Bonaventure | 73 | | |
| | | Wake Forest | 78 | | |
| Wake Forest | 97 | Wake Forest | 78 | | |
| St. John's | 74 | | | | |

### Mideast region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Ohio State | 56 | | |
| | | Louisville | 55 | | |
| Louisville | 76 | Louisville | 55 | | |
| Ohio | 70 | | | | |
| Ohio | 70 | | | Ohio State | 87 |
| | | | | Kentucky | 74 |
| | | Kentucky | 71 | | |
| | | Morehead State | 64 | | |
| Morehead State | 71 | Morehead State | 64 | | |
| Xavier | 66 | | | | |

### Midwest region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Kansas State | 75 | | |
| | | Houston | 64 | | |
| Houston | 77 | Houston | 64 | | |
| Marquette | 61 | | | | |
| Marquette | 61 | | | Kansas State | 64 |
| | | | | Cincinnati | 69 |
| | | Cincinnati | 78 | | |
| | | Texas Tech | 55 | | |

### West region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Utah | 91 | | |
| | | Loyola (Los Angeles) | 75 | | |
| | | | | Utah | 88 |
| | | | | Arizona State | 80 |
| Arizona State | 72 | | | | | Arizona State | 80 |
| Seattle | 70 | | | | |
| Seattle | 70 | Arizona State | 86 | | |
| | | USC | 71 | | |
| USC | 81 | USC | 71 | | |
| Oregon | 79 | | | | |

### Final Four

| National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Championship Game | National Championship Game | National Championship Game |
| E | Saint Joseph's# | 69 | | | |
| ME | Ohio State | 95 | | | |
| ME | Ohio State | 95 | ME | Ohio State | 65* |
| | | | MW | Cincinnati | 70 |
| MW | Cincinnati | 82 | MW | Cincinnati | 70 |
| 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.

### National Third Place Game

| National Third Place Game | National Third Place Game | National Third Place Game |
| E | Saint Joseph's# | 127 |
| W | Utah | 120**** |

### Regional third place games

| East Regional third place | East Regional third place | East Regional third place |
| St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure | 85 |
| Princeton | Princeton | 67 |
| Mideast Regional third place | Mideast Regional third place | Mideast Regional third place |
| Louisville | Louisville | 83 |
| Morehead State | Morehead State | 61 |
| Midwest Regional third place | Midwest Regional third place | Midwest Regional third place |
| Texas Tech | Texas Tech | 69 |
| Houston | Houston | 67 |
| West Regional third place | West Regional third place | West Regional third place |
| Loyola (Los Angeles) | Loyola (Los Angeles) | 69 |
| USC | USC | 67 |