The 1954 NCAA basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8 and ended with the championship game on March 20 in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. A total of 28 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game. La Salle, coached by

Ken Loeffler Kenneth D. Loeffler (April 14, 1902 – January 1, 1975) was an American collegiate and professional basketball coach. He was mostly known for guiding the La Salle Explorers men's basketball team to the 1952 National Invitation Tournament and 195 ...

, won the national title with a victory in the final game over Bradley, coached by

Forddy Anderson Forrest "Forddy" Anderson (March 17, 1919 – October 25, 1999) was an American basketball coach. He was the first coach in NCAA history to take two different teams to the Final Four; Bradley in 1950 and 1954 and Michigan State in 1957. Early l ...

. Tom Gola of La Salle was named the tournament's

Most Outstanding Player The term Most Outstanding Player may refer to: * The recipient of the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award * The NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award * The College World Series Most Outstanding Player in college baseball * The N ...

. Of note, Kentucky, the top-ranked team in the nation (with a record of 25–0) did not participate in any post-season tournament. Since several key players had technically graduated the year before (when Kentucky was banned from playing a competitive schedule due to the point-shaving scandal a few years earlier), those players were ruled ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Despite the wishes of the players, Adolph Rupp ultimately decided his team would not play. LSU represented the Southeastern Conference in the tournament, its last appearance until

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, well after the graduation of NCAA all-time leading scorer Pete Maravich. LSU made only one postseason appearance over the next 24 seasons, the

1970 National Invitation Tournament The 1970 National Invitation Tournament was the 1971 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. It was unique in that coach Al McGuire of Marquette University, unhappy with his team's placement, turned down a bid to the NCAA tournam ...

, during Maravich's senior season.

Locations

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1954 tournament:

East-1 Region

;First round (March 8) : Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York :

Duke Indoor Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke men's an ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

;East-1 Regional (March 12 and 13) : The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

East-2 Region

;First round (March 9) :

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is a 13,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, near present-day Johnny Appleseed Park. It opened in 1952 with a construction cost of nearly $3 million. The Allen County War Memorial Colise ...

, Fort Wayne, Indiana ;East-2 Regional (March 12 and 13) : Iowa Field House, Iowa City, Iowa

West-1 Region

;First round (March 8) : Robertson Memorial Field House,

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

;West-1 Regional (March 12 and 13) :

Gallagher Hall Gallagher-Iba Arena, also once known as ''"The Rowdiest Arena in the Country"'' and ''"The Madison Square Garden of the Plains”'', is the basketball and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. Orig ...

, Stillwater, Oklahoma

West-2 Region

;First round (March 9) and West-2 Regional (March 12 and 13) : Oregon State Coliseum,

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

Final Four

;March 19 and 20: : Municipal Auditorium,

For the second straight year, and the fifth overall, Kansas City and the Municipal Auditorium hosted the Final Four. The tournament included five new venues. The city of Buffalo hosted games for the only time at the Aud; the tournament would not return to Western New York until 2000 when its replacement, HSBC Arena, would host. Also serving for the only time was Duke Indoor Stadium, the venerable home of the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, the second of the

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schools to host games. For the first time, the tournament came to the state of Iowa, playing at the University of Iowa's Field House. The tournament also came to the city of Peoria for the only time to date, playing at Robertson Memorial Field House on the campus of Bradley University. And for the first time, the tournament came to the state of Oklahoma, playing at Gallagher Hall, home to the powerhouse teams of Hank Iba and Oklahoma A&M College.

Teams

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East-1 Region

East-2 Region

West-1 Region

West-2 Region

Final Four

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1954 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Ncaa NCAA Basketball Tournament NCAA basketball tournament

Locations

East-1 Region

East-2 Region

West-1 Region

West-2 Region

Final Four

Teams

Bracket

East-1 Region

East-2 Region

West-1 Region

West-2 Region

Final Four

See also

References