The 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in
single-elimination
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
play to determine the national champion of men's
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It began on March 14, 1961, and ended with the
championship game on March 25 in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. A total of 28 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, 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
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
, coached by
Fred Taylor.
Jerry Lucas
Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 Olympic medal, gold medal Olympian and international player be ...
of Ohio State was named the tournament's
Most Outstanding Player.
The national third-place game, won by
Saint Joseph's over 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
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
in a first-round game between
Canisius Canisius may refer to:
People
* Saint Peter Canisius (1521–1597), Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest
* Theodorich Canisius (1532–1606), Jesuit academic, half-brother of St. Peter Canisius
* Henricus Canisius (1562–1610), Dutch canonist and histor ...
and
North Carolina State
North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...
. 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
Teams
Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period
East region
Mideast region
Midwest region
West region
Final Four
* - 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
Regional third place games
See also
*
1961 NCAA College Division basketball tournament
*
1961 National Invitation Tournament
*
1961 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1961 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Ncaa
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
NCAA University Division basketball tournament
NCAA University Division basketball tournament
Sports in Portland, Oregon
Basketball in Houston