1949 NCAA basketball tournament

The 1949 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 11th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 1949, and ended with the championship game on March 26, at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. A total of 10 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

1949 NCAA basketball tournament

Season	1948–49
Teams	8
Finals site	Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington
Champions	Kentucky Wildcats (2nd title, 2nd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Runner-up	Oklahoma A&M Aggies (3rd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Illinois Fighting Illini (1st Final Four) Oregon State Beavers (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Adolph Rupp (2nd title)
MOP	Alex Groza (Kentucky)
Attendance	72,523
Top scorer	Alex Groza (Kentucky) (82 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1948 1950»

Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp, won the national title with a 46–36 victory in the final game over Oklahoma A&M, coached by Henry Iba. Alex Groza of Kentucky was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Locations

The following were the sites selected to host each round of the 1949 tournament:

Regionals

March 18 and 19

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

March 21 and 22

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

Championship Game

March 26

Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)

Teams

Region	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East
East	Illinois	Harry Combes	Big Ten	Third Place	Oregon State	W 57–53
East	Kentucky	Adolph Rupp	Southeastern	Champion	Oklahoma A&M	W 46–36
East	Villanova	Alex Severance	Independent	Regional third place	Yale	W 78–67
East	Yale	Howard Hobson	Ivy League	Regional Fourth Place	Villanova	L 78–67
West
West	Arkansas	Eugene Lambert	Southwest	Regional third place	Wyoming	W 61–48
West	Oklahoma A&M	Henry Iba	Missouri Valley	Runner Up	Kentucky	L 46–36
West	Oregon State	Slats Gill	Pacific Coast	Fourth Place	Illinois	L 57–53
West	Wyoming	Everett Shelton	Mountain States	Regional Fourth Place	Arkansas	L 61–48

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		#4 Illinois	71
		#11 Yale	67
							#4 Illinois	47
							#1 Kentucky	76
		#1 Kentucky	85
		#14 Villanova	72
												#1 Kentucky	46
												#2 Oklahoma A&M	36
		#2 Oklahoma A&M	40
		#17 Wyoming	39
							#2 Oklahoma A&M	55			Third place
							Oregon State	30
		Oregon State	56								#4 Illinois		57
		Arkansas	38								Oregon State		53

Regional third place games

East Regional third place       #11 Yale 67 #14 Villanova 78

West Regional third place       #17 Wyoming 48 Arkansas 61

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See also

• 1949 National Invitation Tournament
• 1949 NAIA Basketball Tournament