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1954 NCAA basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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. The 16th annual edition of the tournament began on March 8, and ended with the championship game on March 20, at the Municipal Auditorium 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.

Quick Facts Season, Teams ...

La Salle, coached by Ken Loeffler, won the national title with a 92–76 victory in the final game over Bradley, coached by Forddy Anderson. Tom Gola of La Salle was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

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, 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, during Maravich's senior season.

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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 (Hosts: Canisius College, Niagara University)
Duke Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (Host: Duke University)
East-1 Regional (March 12 and 13)
The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League)

East-2 Region

First round (March 9)
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Host: Big Ten Conference)
East-2 Regional (March 12 and 13)
Iowa Field House, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa)

West-1 Region

First round (March 8)
Robertson Memorial Field House, Peoria, Illinois (Host: Bradley University)
West-1 Regional (March 12 and 13)
Gallagher Hall, Stillwater, Oklahoma (Host: Oklahoma A&M University)

West-2 Region

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

Final Four

March 19 and 20
Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
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Teams

More information Region, Team ...
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Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East-1 Region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Cornell 67
Navy 69
Navy 85
Connecticut 80
Navy 48
La Salle 64
NC State 75
George Washington 73
NC State 81 Third place
La Salle 88
La Salle 76 NC State 65
Fordham 74* Cornell 54

East-2 Region

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
LSU70
Penn State62Penn State78
Toledo50Penn State71
Notre Dame63
Indiana64
Notre Dame80Notre Dame65Third place
Loyola (LA)70
Indiana73
LSU62

West-1 Region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Colorado 64
Bradley 76
Bradley 61
Oklahoma City 55
Bradley 71
Oklahoma A&M 57
Oklahoma A&M 51 Third place
Rice 45
Rice 78
Colorado 55

West-2 Region

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
USC73
Idaho State77Idaho State59
Seattle75*USC66
Santa Clara65**
Colorado A&M50
Santa Clara73Santa Clara73Third place
Texas Tech64
Idaho State62
Colorado A&M57

Final Four

National semifinal National Championship
    
Penn State 54
La Salle 69
La Salle 92
Bradley 76
Bradley 74
USC 72 National third-place game
USC 61
Penn State 70

See also

References

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