The 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1954, and ended with the championship game on March 20 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.
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 wouldn't play.
Locations
| Region |
Site |
Other Locations |
| East |
Iowa City, Iowa, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Buffalo, New York, Durham, North Carolina, Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| West |
Corvallis, Oregon, Stillwater, Oklahoma |
Peoria, Illinois |
| Finals |
Kansas City, Missouri |
|
Teams
Bracket
East region
| |
First round |
|
Sweet Sixteen |
|
Elite Eight |
|
Final Four |
| |
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LSU |
70 |
|
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Penn St |
78 |
|
|
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Penn St. |
62 |
|
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Toledo |
50 |
|
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Penn St. |
71 |
|
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Notre Dame |
63 |
|
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Indiana |
64 |
|
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Notre Dame |
65 |
|
|
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Notre Dame |
80 |
|
|
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Loyola-LA |
70 |
|
|
|
|
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Penn St. |
54 |
|
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|
|
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La Salle |
69 |
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Cornell |
67 |
|
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Navy |
69 |
|
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Navy |
85 |
|
|
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Connecticut |
80 |
|
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Navy |
48 |
|
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|
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*La Salle |
64 |
|
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N.C. State |
75 |
|
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George Washington |
73 |
|
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N.C. State |
81 |
|
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La Salle |
88 |
|
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La Salle |
76 |
|
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Fordham |
74* |
|
West region
| |
First round |
|
Sweet Sixteen |
|
Elite Eight |
|
Final Four |
| |
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Colorado |
64 |
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Bradley |
76 |
|
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Bradley |
61 |
|
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Oklahoma City |
55 |
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Bradley |
71 |
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Oklahoma A&M |
57 |
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Oklahoma A&M |
51 |
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Rice |
45 |
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Bradley |
74 |
|
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Southern California |
72 |
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Southern California |
73 |
|
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Idaho St. |
59 |
|
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Idaho St. |
77 |
|
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Seattle |
75* |
|
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Southern California |
66 |
|
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Santa Clara |
65** |
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Colorado St |
50 |
|
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Santa Clara |
73 |
|
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Santa Clara |
73 |
|
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Texas Tech |
64 |
|
National Championship
| |
National Championship Game |
|
|
|
|
|
|
La Salle |
92 |
|
|
Bradley |
76 |
See also
External links
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