1961 NCAA College Division basketball tournament

The 1961 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division college basketball as a culmination of the 1960-61 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Wittenberg University and South Dakota State's Don Jacobson was the Most Outstanding Player.

Clarksville

Chicago

Reading

Springfield

Brookings

Cape Girardeau

Santa Barbara

Evansville

Crawfordsville

1961 NCAA Division II Men's sites - regionals (cyan) Elite Eight (red)

1961 NCAA College Division
basketball tournament

Teams	32
Finals site	, Evansville, Indiana
Champions	Wittenberg Tigers (1st title)
Runner-up	Southeast Missouri State Bears (1st title game)
Semifinalists	South Dakota State Jackrabbits (1st Final Four) Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (2nd Final Four)
Winning coach	Ray Mears (1st title)
MOP	Don Jacobson (South Dakota State)
Attendance	13,002
NCAA Division II men's tournaments «1960 1962»

Regional participants

School	Outcome
Austin Peay	Regional Champion
Belmont Abbey	Runner-up
Chattanooga	Fourth Place
Kentucky Wesleyan	Third Place

School	Outcome
Albright	Runner-up
Fairfield	Fourth Place
Mount St. Mary's	Regional Champion
Virginia Union	Third Place

School	Outcome
Bates	Runner-up
Rochester	Third Place
Springfield	Fourth Place
Williams	Regional Champion

School	Outcome
South Carolina State	Fourth Place
Wabash	Runner-up
Wittenberg	Regional Champion
Youngstown State	Third Place

School	Outcome
Chicago	Regional Champion
Evansville	Third Place
Lincoln (MO)	Runner-up
MacMurray	Fourth Place

School	Outcome
Colorado College	Fourth Place
SE Missouri State	Regional Champion
Southern Illinois	Runner-up
Trinity (TX)	Third Place

School	Outcome
Cornell (IA)	Third Place
Prairie View	Runner-up
South Dakota State	Regional Champion
Wisconsin–Superior	Fourth Place

School	Outcome
Chapman	Third Place
Long Beach State	Runner-up
Nevada	Fourth Place
UC Santa Barbara	Regional Champion

Regionals

South – Clarksville, Tennessee

Location: Memorial Health Building Host: Austin Peay State College

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	Belmont Abbey		74
	Kentucky Wesleyan		62
						Belmont Abbey		63
						Austin Peay		70
	Austin Peay		77
	Chattanooga		69

• Third place – Kentucky Wesleyan 111, Chattanooga 80

East – Reading, Pennsylvania

Location: Bollman Center Host: Albright College

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	Mount St. Mary's		83
	Virginia Union		80
						Mount St. Mary's		82
						Albright		76
	Albright		85
	Fairfield		67

• Third place – Virginia Union 70, Fairfield 66

Northeast – Springfield, Massachusetts

Location: Judd Gymnasia Host: Springfield College

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	Williams		74
	Rochester		72
						Williams		75
						Bates		68
	Bates		75
	Springfield		63

• Third place – Rochester 82, Springfield 68

Mideast – Crawfordsville, Indiana

Location: Chadwick Court Host: Wabash College

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	Wittenberg		43
	Youngstown State		28
						Wittenberg		48
						Wabash		42
	Wabash		94
	South Carolina State		83

• Third place – Youngstown State 96, South Carolina State 82

Great Lakes – Chicago, Illinois

Location: Henry Crown Field House Host: University of Chicago

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	Lincoln (MO)		90
	Evansville		77
						Lincoln		42
						Chicago		55
	Chicago		64
	MacMurray		59

• Third place – Evansville 98, MacMurray 97*

Southwest – Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Location: Houck Field House Host: Southeast Missouri State College

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	SE Missouri State		99
	Colorado College		68
						SE Missouri State		88
						Southern Illinois		84
	Southern Illinois		96
	Trinity (TX)		82

• Third place – Trinity 75, Colorado College 58

Midwest – Brookings, South Dakota

Location: The Barn Host: South Dakota State College

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	Prairie View		79
	Wisconsin–Superior		68
						Prairie View		84
						South Dakota State		88
	South Dakota State		90
	Cornell (IA)		71

• Third place – Cornell 83, Wisconsin–Superior 72

Pacific Coast – Santa Barbara, California

Location: Robertson Gymnasium Host: University of California, Santa Barbara

	Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 10					Regional final Sweet 16 March 11
	Long Beach State		70
	Chapman		66
						Long Beach State		54
						UC Santa Barbara		58
	UC Santa Barbara		78
	Nevada		57

• Third place – Chapman 68, Nevada 63

*denotes each overtime played

National finals – Evansville, Indiana

Location: Roberts Municipal Stadium Host: Evansville College

	National quarterfinals Elite Eight March 16					National semifinals Final Four March 17					National championship March 18
	Austin Peay		78
	Mount St. Mary's		96
						Mount St. Mary's		49
						Wittenberg		65
	Williams		51
	Wittenberg		64
											Wittenberg		42
											SE Missouri State		38
	Chicago		41
	SE Missouri State		67
						SE Missouri State		81
						South Dakota State		69
	South Dakota State		79
	UC Santa Barbara		65

• Third place – South Dakota State 77, Mount St. Mary's 76

*denotes each overtime played

All-tournament team

• George Fisher (Wittenberg)
• Don Jacobsen (South Dakota State)
• John O'Reilly (Mount Saint Mary's)
• Vivian Reed (Southeast Missouri State)
• Carl Ritter (Southeast Missouri State)

See also

• 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
• 1961 NAIA Basketball Tournament