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1966 NCAA College Division basketball tournament

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1966 NCAA College Division
basketball tournament
Teams36
Finals siteEvansville, Indiana
ChampionsKentucky Wesleyan Panthers (1st title)
Runner-upSouthern Illinois Salukis (2nd title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachGuy R. Strong (1st title)
MOPSam Smith (Kentucky Wesleyan)
Attendance26,082
NCAA Division II men's tournaments
«1965 1967»

The 1966 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 36 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division basketball as a culmination of the 1965–66 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Kentucky Wesleyan College, with Kentucky Wesleyan's Sam Smith named Most Outstanding Player.

Increase in number of participating teams

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In September 1965, the NCAA granted the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) an automatic berth in the NCAA College Division tournament. Tommy Niland, head coach of Le Moyne, which had received an at-large berth to each of the previous two NCAA tournaments, said that he was generally in favor of automatic qualification for the tournament, but, with one less at-large bid available, and the NCAA limiting how many teams from each area of the country enter the tournament, it would now be more difficult for teams in the northeast to be selected. Niland pointed out that none of the schools in the SUNYAC had ever been selected to play in the NCAA tournament in the past and that the conference might not be strong enough to merit an automatic bid.[1] The SUNYAC joined the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and the Tri-State Collegiate Basketball League as conferences with automatic tournament bids. This left five at-large bids available for the nearly 200 teams in the northeast, designated by the NCAA as District 1, since teams from this area generally participated in either the Northeast or East Regionals, each of which comprised four teams.[2] Since the MASCAC was very large, with more than 20 teams, it split into two divisions: the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) North Division and the MAC South Division, and each division applied for and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. This left only four at-large bids available for teams from the northeast. After considering the large number of teams in District 1, particularly high-quality teams without access to an automatic bid,[3] the NCAA decided that instead of two regions of four teams each as had previously been the case, District 1 would have 12 bids with regional games played at three sites. The winner emerging from one of these sites would go directly to the national quarterfinals, while the other two winners would play each other for a quarterfinal berth.[4] One site would feature the two MAC teams and two at-large teams. The second site would have the Tri-State League champion and three at-large teams. The SUNYAC champion and three at-large teams would play at the third site.[5]

The expansion of the tournament would make it less likely that overflow District 1 teams would need to be sent to the Mideast Regional, as had been the case with Le Moyne and Ithaca in 1964, and Buffalo in 1965.

1966 NCAA College Division basketball tournament is located in the United States
Springfield
Springfield
DeWitt
DeWitt
Moorhead
Moorhead
Akron
Akron
Jonesboro
Jonesboro
Reading
Reading
Worcester
Worcester
Grand Forks
Grand Forks
Carbondale
Carbondale
Fresno
Fresno
Durham
Durham
Evansville
Evansville
1966 NCAA Division II Men's sites - first round (white) first 2 rounds (yellow) regionals (cyan) Elite Eight (red)

Regional participants

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School Outcome
American International Fifth Place*
Assumption Runner-up
Central Connecticut State Regional Champion
Le Moyne Fifth Place*
Northeastern Third Place*
Philadelphia Textile Third Place*
Potsdam State Seventh Place*
Springfield Seventh Place*
School Outcome
Kentucky Wesleyan Regional Champion
Oglethorpe Runner-up
South Carolina State Fourth Place
Winston-Salem Third Place
School Outcome
Albright Third Place
Cheyney Runner-up
Drexel Fourth Place
Long Island Regional Champion
School Outcome
Akron Regional Champion
Randolph–Macon Fourth Place
Steubenville Runner-up
Youngstown State Third Place
School Outcome
Fresno State Regional Champion
Nevada Third Place
San Diego Fourth Place
Seattle Pacific Runner-up
School Outcome
Evansville Runner-up
Indiana State Fourth Place
Lamar Third Place
Southern Illinois Regional Champion
School Outcome
Abilene Christian Regional Champion
Arkansas State Third Place
Jackson State Fourth Place
SW Missouri State Runner-up
School Outcome
Colorado State College Third Place*
North Dakota Regional Champion
St. Procopius Third Place*
Valparaiso Runner-up

*indicates a tie

Regionals

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Northeast

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First round
Round of 36
See below
Regional semifinals
Round of 32
See below
Regional Final - Worcester, MA
Sweet 16
March 7
         
Assumption 105
American International 102
Assumption 96
Division A
Springfield, MA March 2 and 3
Northeastern 69
Northeastern 93
Springfield 80
Assumption 87
Central Connecticut State 96
Central Connecticut State 94
Potsdam State 82
Central Connecticut State 97
Division B
DeWitt, NY March 1 and 2
Philadelphia Textile 75
Philadelphia Textile 83
Le Moyne 61
  • Division B Consolation March 2 - Le Moyne 86, Potsdam State 63
  • Division A Consolation March 3 - American International 96, Springfield 94*
Notes
  • The right to host the regional final was given to the Division A winner, which was Assumption.[6]
  • American International College and Springfield College are both located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College was the host school for Division A.[7]

Location: McClendon–McDougald Gym Host: North Carolina College at Durham

Regional semifinals
Round of 32
March 4
Regional Final
Sweet 16
March 5
      
Kentucky Wesleyan 81*
South Carolina State 73
Kentucky Wesleyan 48
Oglethorpe 41
Oglethorpe 69
Winston-Salem 66
  • Third Place - Winston-Salem 85, South Carolina State 81

Location: Bollman Center Host: Albright College

Regional semifinals
Round of 32
March 4
Regional Final
Sweet 16
March 5
      
Cheyney 61
Albright 56
Cheyney 64
Long Island 67
Long Island 62
Drexel 54
  • Third Place - Albright 78, Drexel 61

Mideast - Akron, Ohio

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Location: Memorial Hall Host: Municipal University of Akron

Regional semifinals
Round of 32
March 4
Regional Final
Sweet 16
March 5
      
Steubenville 77
Randolph–Macon 56
Steubenville 76
Akron 93
Akron 70
Youngstown State 51
  • Third Place - Youngstown State 94, Randolph–Macon 63

Pacific Coast - Fresno, California

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Location: North Gym Host: Fresno State College

Regional semifinals
Round of 32
March 4
Regional Final
Sweet 16
March 5
      
Seattle Pacific 69
San Diego 63
Seattle Pacific 58
Fresno State 64
Fresno State 127
Nevada 78
  • Third Place - Nevada 74, San Diego 71

Great Lakes - Carbondale, Illinois

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Location: SIU Arena Host: Southern Illinois University

Regional semifinals
Round of 32
March 4
Regional Final
Sweet 16
March 5
      
Evansville 111
Lamar 103
Evansville 77
Southern Illinois 90
Southern Illinois 83
Indiana State 65
  • Third Place - Lamar 93, Indiana State 78

Location: Indian Fieldhouse Host: Arkansas State College

Regional semifinals
Round of 32
March 4
Regional Final
Sweet 16
March 5
      
Abilene Christian 94
Jackson State 79
Abilene Christian 63
SW Missouri State 58
SW Missouri State 72
Arkansas State 71
  • Third Place - Arkansas State 84, Jackson State 77

Location: Hyslop Sports Center Host: University of North Dakota

Regional semifinals
Round of 32
See below
Regional Final
Sweet 16
March 7
      
Valparaiso 107
St. Procopius 76
Valparaiso 82
North Dakota 112
North Dakota 84
Colorado State College 71

Note: The first-round game between North Dakota and Colorado State College was delayed a day to March 6; the Valparaiso/Saint Procopius game was played in Moorhead, Minnesota on March 5; and the third-place game was cancelled entirely. These occurrences were due to inclement weather.

*denotes each overtime played

National Finals - Evansville, Indiana

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Location: Roberts Municipal Stadium Host: Evansville College

National Quarterfinals
Elite Eight
March 9
National semifinals
Final Four
March 10
National Championship
March 11
         
Central Connecticut State 76
Kentucky Wesleyan 84
Kentucky Wesleyan 105
Akron 74
Long Island 68
Akron 74
Kentucky Wesleyan 54
Southern Illinois 51
Fresno State 70
Southern Illinois 93
Southern Illinois 69
North Dakota 61
Abilene Christian 62
North Dakota 63
  • Third Place - Akron 76, North Dakota 71

*denotes each overtime played

All-tournament team

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  • Phil Jackson (North Dakota)
  • David Lee (Southern Illinois)
  • George McNeil (Southern Illinois)
  • Clarence Smith (Southern Illinois)
  • Sam Smith (Kentucky Wesleyan)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Niland Displeased". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. September 22, 1965. p. 51. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  2. ^ "SUNY Cagers Given NCAA Tourney Berth". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. September 22, 1965. p. 51. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "KWC in Contention for NCAA Meet Bid". Messenger & Inquirer. Owensboro, Kentucky. January 27, 1966. p. 14-A. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "Maroons and Huskies Play Key Cage Tilt". Daily News. Springfield, Massachusetts. January 18, 1966. p. 24. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Radding, Jerry (January 22, 1966). "The Good and the Bad". The Springfield Union. p. 25. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  6. ^ "Springfield Teams Out of Tournament". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. March 3, 1966. p. 16. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  7. ^ "NCAA Cage Meet Opens Tomorrow". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. February 28, 1966. p. 14. Retrieved January 31, 2024.

Sources

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