1949 NCAA basketball tournament

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»

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. It began on March 18, 1949, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Seattle, Washington. A total of 10 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

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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References

^ "1949 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
^ "1949 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll | College Poll Archive". CollegePollArchive.com. College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 26, 2022.

[1] "1949 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2018.

[2] "1949 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll | College Poll Archive". CollegePollArchive.com. College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 26, 2022.

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