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1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

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1966 NCAA University Division
basketball tournament
Season1965–66
Teams22
Finals siteCole Field House
College Park, Maryland
ChampionsTexas Western Miners (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upKentucky Wildcats (5th title game,
6th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachDon Haskins (1st title)
MOPJerry Chambers (Utah)
Attendance140,925
Top scorerJerry Chambers (Utah)
(143 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1965 1967»

The 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national men's basketball champion of the NCAA University Division, now known as NCAA Division I. It began on March 7, 1966, and ended with the championship game on March 19 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 26 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

Texas Western, coached by Don Haskins, won the national title with a 72–65 victory in the final game over Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp. Coach Haskins started five black players for the first time in NCAA Championship history. Jerry Chambers of Utah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The 2006 film Glory Road is based on the story of the 1966 Texas Western team. Texas Western’s tournament games against Kansas and Kentucky are depicted in the film.

Locations

Round Region Site Venue
First Round East Blacksburg, Virginia Cassell Coliseum
Mideast Kent, Ohio Memorial Gymnasium
Midwest
& West 		Wichita, Kansas WSU Field House
Regionals East Raleigh, North Carolina Reynolds Coliseum
Mideast Iowa City, Iowa Iowa Field House
Midwest Lubbock, Texas Lubbock Municipal Coliseum
West Los Angeles, California Pauley Pavilion
Final Four College Park, Maryland Cole Field House

The Washington metropolitan area and College Park became the ninth host city, and Cole Field House the tenth host venue, of the Final Four. It was the first time since 1956 that the Final Four was held on a college campus. For the first time ever, the tournament was held entirely on college campuses, something that would only happen once more in the tournament's history. There were three new venues used in the 1966 tournament. The tournament made its first-ever appearance in Los Angeles when Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA hosted the West regional rounds. The first round in the East was held in the state of Virginia for the first time, at Cassell Coliseum on the campus of Virginia Tech. The Mideast first round was also held in a new arena, at Memorial Gym on the campus of Kent State University. For the second straight year, the Midwest & West first rounds were combined into one venue, this time at the WSU Field House in Wichita. The 1966 tournament would mark the final time the tournament would be held at the University of Iowa; the tournament would return to Ames and Iowa State University in 1972, and Des Moines in 2016 (in games hosted by Drake University).

Teams

Region Team Coach Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East Davidson Lefty Driesell Regional Fourth Place Saint Joseph's L 92-76
East Duke Vic Bubas Third Place Utah W 79–77
East Providence Joe Mullaney First round Saint Joseph's L 65–48
East Rhode Island Ernie Calverley First round Davidson L 95–65
East Saint Joseph's Jack Ramsay Regional Third Place Davidson W 92–76
East Syracuse Fred Lewis Regional Runner-up Duke L 91–81
Mideast
Mideast Dayton Don Donoher Regional Fourth Place Western Kentucky L 82–62
Mideast Kentucky Adolph Rupp Runner Up Texas Western L 72–65
Mideast Loyola–Chicago George Ireland First round Western Kentucky L 105–86
Mideast Miami (OH) Dick Shrider First round Dayton L 58–51
Mideast Michigan Dave Strack Regional Runner-up Kentucky L 84–77
Mideast Western Kentucky Johnny Oldham Regional Third Place Dayton W 82–62
Midwest
Midwest Cincinnati Tay Baker Regional Fourth Place SMU L 89–84
Midwest Kansas Ted Owens Regional Runner-up Texas Western L 81–80
Midwest Oklahoma City Abe Lemons First round Texas Western L 89–74
Midwest SMU Doc Hayes Regional Third Place Cincinnati W 89–84
Midwest Texas Western Don Haskins Champion Kentucky W 72–65
West
West Colorado State Jim Williams First round Houston L 82–76
West Houston Guy Lewis Regional Third Place Pacific W 102–91
West Oregon State Paul Valenti Regional Runner-up Utah L 70–64
West Pacific Dick Edwards Regional Fourth Place Houston L 102–91
West Utah Jack Gardner Fourth Place Duke L 79–77

Bracket

East region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Duke 76
  Saint Joseph's 74
  Saint Joseph's 65
  Providence 48
  Duke 91
  Syracuse 81
Syracuse 94
  Davidson 78
  Davidson 96
  Rhode Island 65

Mideast region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Kentucky 86
  Dayton 79
  Dayton 58
  Miami (OH) 51
  Kentucky 84
  Michigan 77
  Michigan 80
  Western Kentucky 79
  Western Kentucky 105
  Loyola–Chicago 86

Midwest region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Kansas 76
  SMU 70
  Kansas 80**
  Texas Western 81
  Cincinnati 76*
  Texas Western 78
  Texas Western 89
  Oklahoma City 74

West region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Utah 83
  Pacific 74
  Utah 70
  Oregon State 64
  Oregon State 63
  Houston 60
  Houston 82
  Colorado State 76

Final Four

National Semifinals National Championship Game
      
E Duke 79
ME Kentucky 83
ME Kentucky 65
MW Texas Western 72
MW Texas Western 85
W Utah 78

National Third Place Game

National Third Place Game [1]
   
E Duke 79
W Utah 77

Regional Third Place Games

Game summaries

The Tournament is most remembered for the all-black starting five of Texas Western defeating an all-white starting five for Kentucky in the championship game.[2]

Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the Fall of 1963.[3] This put Western Kentucky at the forefront to integrate college basketball in the Southeast.[4] The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were 2 points away from defeating Michigan and meeting the University of Kentucky Wildcats in the Mideast regional final. A controversial foul called against Smith during a jump ball put Cazzie Russell on the free throw line for Michigan, where he scored the tying and winning baskets.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "1954 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket". Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  2. ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank - Texas Western's 1966 title left lasting legacy. ESPN Classic, November 19, 2003
  3. ^ Hilltopper Legend Dwight Smith Hilltopper Haven. Accessed 2009-06-24. Archived 2009-07-21.
  4. ^ Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem - My thoughts on UCLA in the Final Four Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2008. Western Kentucky was the forefront of the fight to integrate college basketball in the 1960s and early '70s.
  5. ^ O'Donnell, Chuck - Cazzie Russell: converting two free throws with no time left advanced Michigan in the 1966 NCAA Tournament - The Game I'll Never Forget - University of Michigan versus Western Kentucky University. Basketball Digest, January/February 2004 issue
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