1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

The 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. It began on March 9, 1963, and ended with the championship game on March 23 in Louisville, Kentucky. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.

1963 NCAA University Division
basketball tournament

Cover from the official program
Season	1962–63
Teams	25
Finals site	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
Champions	Loyola Ramblers (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Cincinnati Bearcats (3rd title game, 5th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Duke Blue Devils (1st Final Four) Oregon State Beavers (2nd Final Four)
Winning coach	George Ireland (1st title)
MOP	Art Heyman (Duke)
Attendance	153,065
Top scorer	Mel Counts (Oregon State) (123 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1962 1964»

Loyola University Chicago, coached by George Ireland, won the national title with a 60–58 overtime victory in the final game, over the University of Cincinnati, coached by Ed Jucker. Art Heyman, of Duke University, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This tournament marked the last time that a city was host to two straight Final Fours.

Locations

 

 

Philadelphia

 

Evanston

 

Lubbock

 

Eugene

 

College Park

 

East Lansing

 

Lawrence

 

Provo

 

Louisville

class=notpageimage|

First round (green), Regionals (blue), and Final Four (red)

Round	Region	Location	Venue
First Round	East	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	The Palestra
	Mideast	Evanston, Illinois	McGaw Memorial Hall
	Midwest	Lubbock, Texas	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum
	West	Eugene, Oregon	McArthur Court
Regionals	East	College Park, Maryland	Cole Field House
	Mideast	East Lansing, Michigan	Jenison Fieldhouse
	Midwest	Lawrence, Kansas	Allen Fieldhouse
	West	Provo, Utah	Smith Fieldhouse
Final Four		Louisville, Kentucky	Freedom Hall

Teams

Region	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score	Qualification
East
East	Connecticut	George Wigton	Yankee	First round	West Virginia	L 77–71	Yankee Conference champion^[1]
East	Duke	Vic Bubas	Atlantic Coast	Third Place	Oregon State	W 85–63	ACC tournament champion^[1]
East	NYU	Lou Rossini	Metro NY	Regional Fourth Place	West Virginia	L 83–73	At-large bid^[2]
East	Pittsburgh	Bob Timmons	Independent	First round	NYU	L 93–83	At-large bid
East	Princeton	Butch van Breda Kolff	Ivy League	First round	Saint Joseph's	L 82–81	Ivy League co-champion^[a]^[3]
East	Saint Joseph's	Jack Ramsay	Middle Atlantic	Regional Runner-up	Duke	L 73–59	MAC champion^[4]
East	West Virginia	George King	Southern	Regional third place	NYU	W 83–73	SoCon tournament champion^[1]
Mideast
Mideast	Bowling Green	Harold Anderson	Mid-American	Regional Fourth Place	Mississippi State	L 65–60	MAC champion^[4]
Mideast	Illinois	Harry Combes	Big Ten	Regional Runner-up	Loyola–Chicago	L 79–64	Big Ten co-champion^[b]^[3]
Mideast	Loyola–Chicago	George Ireland	Independent	Champion	Cincinnati	W 60–58	At-large bid^[2]
Mideast	Mississippi State	Babe McCarthy	Southeastern	Regional third place	Bowling Green	W 65–60	SEC champion^[3]
Mideast	Notre Dame	John Jordan	Independent	First round	Bowling Green	L 77–72	At-large bid
Mideast	Tennessee Tech	Johnny Oldham	Ohio Valley	First round	Loyola–Chicago	L 111–42	OVC champion^[4]
Midwest
Midwest	Cincinnati	Ed Jucker	Missouri Valley	Runner Up	Loyola–Chicago	L 60–58	MVC champion^[5]
Midwest	Colorado	Sox Walseth	Big Eight	Regional Runner-up	Cincinnati	L 67–60	Big Eight co-champion^[c]^[3]
Midwest	Colorado State	Jim Williams	Independent	First round	Oklahoma City	L 70–67	At-large bid^[2]
Midwest	Oklahoma City	Abe Lemons	Independent	Regional Fourth Place	Texas	L 90–83	At-large bid^[2]
Midwest	Texas	Harold Bradley	Southwest	Regional third place	Oklahoma City	W 90–83	SWC champion^[5]
Midwest	Texas Western	Don Haskins	Independent	First round	Texas	L 65–47	At-large bid^[2]
West
West	Arizona State	Ned Wulk	Western Athletic	Regional Runner-up	Oregon State	L 83–65	WAC champion^[4]
West	Oregon State	Slats Gill	Independent	Fourth Place	Duke	L 85–63	At-large bid^[2]
West	San Francisco	Pete Peletta	West Coast Athletic	Regional third place	UCLA	W 76–75	WCAC champion^[3]
West	Seattle	Clair Markey	Independent	First round	Oregon State	L 70–66	At-large bid^[2]
West	UCLA	John Wooden	AAWU	Regional Fourth Place	San Francisco	L 76–75	Big Six co-champion^[d]^[3]^[6]
West	Utah State	LaDell Andersen	Independent	First round	Arizona State	L 79–75	At-large bid^[2]

1. Princeton won a tiebreaker play-off game against Fordham to earn a tournament berth.
2. Ohio State had been in the previous year's tournament, so Illinois was awarded the tournament berth.
3. Colorado had won both their games against co-champion Kansas State that season, so they were awarded the tournament berth.
4. UCLA won in a tiebreaker play-off game against Stanford to earn a tournament berth.

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Finals
					Duke	81
					NYU	76
	NYU	93
	Pittsburgh	83
									Duke	73
									Saint Joseph's	59
	West Virginia	77
	Connecticut	71
					West Virginia	88			Third place
					Saint Joseph's	97
	Saint Joseph's	82							West Virginia	83
	Princeton	81*							NYU	73

Mideast region

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Finals
					Illinois	70
					Bowling Green	67
	Bowling Green	77
	Notre Dame	72
									Illinois	64
									Loyola–Chicago	79
					Mississippi State	51			Third place
					Loyola–Chicago	61
	Loyola–Chicago	111							Mississippi State	65
	Tennessee Tech	42							Bowling Green	60

Midwest region

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Finals
					Colorado	78
					Oklahoma City	72
	Oklahoma City	70
	Colorado State	67
									Colorado	60
									Cincinnati	67
					Cincinnati	73			Third place
					Texas	68
	Texas	65							Texas	90
	Texas Western	47							Oklahoma City	83

West region

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Finals
					UCLA	79
					Arizona State	93
	Arizona State	79
	Utah State	75*
									Arizona State	65
									Oregon State	83
					San Francisco	61			Third place
					Oregon State	65
	Oregon State	70							San Francisco	76
	Seattle	66							UCLA	75

Final Four

	National Semifinals					National Championship Game
	E	Duke	75
	ME	Loyola–Chicago	94
						ME	Loyola–Chicago	60(OT)
						MW	Cincinnati	58
	MW	Cincinnati	80
	W	Oregon State	46			Third place^[7]
						E	Duke	85
						W	Oregon State	63

See also

• 1963 NCAA College Division basketball tournament
• 1963 National Invitation Tournament
• 1963 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• Black participation in college basketball

Notes

 

The Loyola Ramblers show off their championship trophy as they arrive home at O'Hare International Airport.

• In the Loyola vs. Mississippi State game at East Lansing, Michigan in a Mideast regional semifinal, Mississippi State, an all-white team, played despite protests from the governor and state police of Mississippi. Mississippi State overcame a state prohibition against playing integrated teams. Loyola beat Mississippi State and went on to the Mideast Region Championship game. The Loyola–Mississippi State has since been dubbed the "Game of Change".
• In the National Championship game, Loyola started four African-Americans and Cincinnati started three, marking the first time that a majority of African-Americans participated in the championship game.
• Loyola was the tenth and, as of 2022, most recent team to win the tournament in their first appearance, joining Oregon (1939), Indiana (1940), Wisconsin (1941), Stanford (1942), Utah (1944), Oklahoma State (1945), Holy Cross (1947), La Salle (1954) and San Francisco (1955).
• Loyola's first-round regional victory over Tennessee Tech, 111–42, continues to be a record margin of victory for an NCAA men's basketball tournament game. That game also remains Tennessee Tech's most recent tournament game, as the Golden Eagles have not been back since. Tennessee Tech's 59-year drought is the second longest active drought after Dartmouth, who has not made the tournament since 1959, and third all-time behind Dartmouth and Harvard, who went 66 years (1946-2012) between tournament appearances.
• In addition to Loyola, two other teams - Mississippi State and Texas Western - both made their tournament debuts. The Bulldogs had been eligible three times before (in 1959, 1961 and 1962, the last year being tied with Kentucky), but all three times had been prohibited by the state due to its prohibition against playing integrated teams. Texas Western, who were an independent team following the disbandment of the Border Conference the year prior, lost their first tournament game to in-state rival Texas, whom they had beaten 45–40 on December 29 at home. They would also make history three years later when they won the 1966 tournament with an all-black starting five.

References

1. "4 Quintets Gain N.C.A.A. Tourney". The New York Times. New York. March 4, 1963. p. 20. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
2. "5 Fives Accept Bids to N.C.A.A. Tourney". The New York Times. New York. February 19, 1963. p. 16. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
3. "Big Six Quintets Will Play Off Tie". The New York Times. New York. March 11, 1963. p. 18. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
4. "1962–63 Conference Standings". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
5. Sheehan, Joseph M. (February 18, 1963). "No College Fives Stay Undefeated". The New York Times. p. 17. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
6. "U.C.L.A. Wins Title, Downing Stanford". The New York Times. New York. March 14, 1963. p. 16. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
7. "1954 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". Retrieved October 14, 2011.