1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1949 NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament

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

The 1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 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 are the sites selected to host each round of the 1949 tournament:

Regionals

March 18 and 19

West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri

March 21 and 22

East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

Championship Game

March 26

Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington

Teams

Region	Seed	Team	Coach	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East
East	n/a	Illinois	Harry Combes	Third Place	Oregon State	W 57-53
East	n/a	Kentucky	Adolph Rupp	Champion	Oklahoma A&M	W 46-36
East	n/a	Villanova	Alex Severance	Regional Third Place	Yale	W 78-67
East	n/a	Yale	Howard Hobson	Regional Fourth Place	Villanova	L 78-67
West
West	n/a	Arkansas	Eugene Lambert	Regional Third Place	Wyoming	W 61-48
West	n/a	Oklahoma A&M	Henry Iba	Runner Up	Kentucky	L 46-36
West	n/a	Oregon State	Slats Gill	Fourth Place	Illinois	L 57-53
West	n/a	Wyoming	Everett Shelton	Regional Fourth Place	Arkansas	L 61-48

Bracket

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

Regional Third Place Games

	East Regional Third Place
	Yale		67
	Villanova		78

	West Regional Third Place
	Wyoming		48
	Arkansas		61

See also

• 1949 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament