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| Season | 1951–52 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 16 | ||||
| Finals site | Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington | ||||
| Champions | Kansas Jayhawks (1st title, 2nd title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | St. John's Redmen (1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Phog Allen (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Clyde Lovellette (Kansas) | ||||
| Attendance | 115,712 | ||||
| Top scorer | Clyde Lovellette (Kansas) (141 points) | ||||
| |||||
The1952 NCAA basketball tournament involved 16 schools playing insingle-elimination play to determine the national champion of men'sNCAA Division Icollege basketball. The 14th annual edition of the tournament began on March 21, 1952, and ended with thechampionship game on March 26, at theHec Edmundson Pavilion, located on theUniversity of Washington's campus inSeattle. A total of 20 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
Kansas, coached byPhog Allen, won the national title with an 80–63 victory in the final game overSt. John's, coached byFrank McGuire.Clyde Lovellette of Kansas was named the tournament'sMost Outstanding Player.
This tournament was the first to have a true "Final Four" format, with the winners at four regional sites advancing to the final site—although the four regionals did not receive distinct names until the1956 tournament. It was also the first to have regional television coverage.
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1952 tournament:
| Regional Semifinals March 21 | Regional Finals March 22 | ||||||
| Kentucky | 82 | ||||||
| Penn State | 54 | ||||||
| Kentucky | 57 | ||||||
| St John's | 64 | ||||||
| St. John's | 60 | ||||||
| NC State | 49 | Third place | |||||
| NC State | 69 | ||||||
| Penn State | 60 | ||||||
| Regional Semifinals March 21 | Regional Finals March 22 | ||||||
| Illinois | 80 | ||||||
| Dayton | 61 | ||||||
| Illinois | 74 | ||||||
| Duquesne | 68 | ||||||
| Duquesne | 60 | ||||||
| Princeton | 49 | Third place | |||||
| Dayton | 77 | ||||||
| Princeton | 61 | ||||||
| Regional Semifinals March 21 | Regional Finals March 22 | ||||||
| Kansas | 68 | ||||||
| TCU | 64 | ||||||
| Kansas | 74 | ||||||
| Saint Louis | 55 | ||||||
| Saint Louis | 62 | ||||||
| New Mexico A&M | 53 | Third place | |||||
| TCU | 61 | ||||||
| New Mexico A&M | 44 | ||||||
| Regional Semifinals March 21 | Regional Finals March 22 | ||||||
| Santa Clara | 68 | ||||||
| UCLA | 59 | ||||||
| Santa Clara | 56 | ||||||
| Wyoming | 53 | ||||||
| Wyoming | 54 | ||||||
| Oklahoma City | 48 | Third place | |||||
| Oklahoma City | 55 | ||||||
| UCLA | 53 | ||||||
| National Semifinals March 25 | National Finals March 26 | ||||||||
| St John's | 61 | ||||||||
| Illinois | 59 | ||||||||
| St. John's | 63 | ||||||||
| Kansas | 80 | ||||||||
| Kansas | 74 | ||||||||
| Santa Clara | 55 | Third place | |||||||
| Illinois | 67 | ||||||||
| Santa Clara | 64 | ||||||||