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.

1961 NCAA College Division
basketball tournament
Teams32
Finals siteEvansville, Indiana
ChampionsWittenberg Tigers (1st title)
Runner-upSoutheast Missouri State Bears (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachRay Mears (1st title)
MOPDon Jacobson (South Dakota State)
Attendance13,002
NCAA Division II men's tournaments
«1960 1962»
1961 NCAA College Division basketball tournament is located in the United States
Clarksville
Clarksville
Chicago
Chicago
Reading
Reading
Springfield
Springfield
Brookings
Brookings
Cape Girardeau
Cape Girardeau
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara
Evansville
Evansville
Crawfordsville
Crawfordsville
1961 NCAA Division II Men's sites - regionals (cyan) Elite Eight (red)

Regional participants edit

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 edit

South – Clarksville, Tennessee edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

  • 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 edit

References edit

Sources edit