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1954 NCAA basketball tournament

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1954 NCAA basketball tournament
Season1953–54
Teams24
Finals siteMunicipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
ChampionsLa Salle Explorers (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upBradley Braves (2nd title game,
2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachKen Loeffler (1st title)
MOPTom Gola (La Salle)
Attendance115,391
Top scorerTom Gola (La Salle)
(114 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1953 1955»

The 1954 NCAA basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8 and ended with the championship game on March 20 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of 28 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.

La Salle, coached by Ken Loeffler, won the national title with a 92–76 victory in the final game over Bradley, coached by Forddy Anderson. Tom Gola of La Salle was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Of note, Kentucky, the top-ranked team in the nation (with a record of 25–0) did not participate in any post-season tournament. Since several key players had technically graduated the year before (when Kentucky was banned from playing a competitive schedule due to the point-shaving scandal a few years earlier), those players were ruled ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Despite the wishes of the players, Adolph Rupp ultimately decided his team would not play.

LSU represented the Southeastern Conference in the tournament, its last appearance until 1979, well after the graduation of NCAA all-time leading scorer Pete Maravich. LSU made only one postseason appearance over the next 24 seasons, the 1970 National Invitation Tournament, during Maravich's senior season.

Locations

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The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1954 tournament:

East-1 Region

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First round (March 8)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York (Hosts: Canisius College, Niagara University)
Duke Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (Host: Duke University)
East-1 Regional (March 12 and 13)
The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League)

East-2 Region

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First round (March 9)
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Host: Big Ten Conference)
East-2 Regional (March 12 and 13)
Iowa Field House, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa)

West-1 Region

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First round (March 8)
Robertson Memorial Field House, Peoria, Illinois (Host: Bradley University)
West-1 Regional (March 12 and 13)
Gallagher Hall, Stillwater, Oklahoma (Host: Oklahoma A&M University)

West-2 Region

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First round (March 9) and West-2 Regional (March 12 and 13)
Oregon State Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University)

Final Four

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March 19 and 20
Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Teams

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Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East Connecticut Hugh Greer Yankee First round Navy L 85–80
East Cornell Royner Greene Ivy League Regional Fourth Place NC State L 65–54
East Fordham Johnny Bach Metro NY First round La Salle L 76–74
East George Washington William Reinhart Southern First round NC State L 75–73
East Indiana Branch McCracken Big Ten Regional third place LSU W 73–62
East La Salle Ken Loeffler Independent Champion Bradley W 92–76
East LSU Harry Rabenhorst Southeastern Regional Fourth Place Indiana L 73–62
East Loyola (LA) Jim McCafferty Independent First round Notre Dame L 80–70
East Navy Ben Carnevale Independent Elite Eight La Salle L 64–48
East NC State Everett Case Atlantic Coast Regional third place Cornell W 65–54
East Notre Dame John Jordan Independent Elite Eight Penn State L 71–63
East Penn State Elmer Gross Independent National Third Place USC W 70–61
East Toledo Jerry Bush Mid-American First round Penn State L 62–50
West
West Bradley Forddy Anderson Independent Runner Up La Salle L 92–76
West Colorado Bebe Lee Big 7 Regional Fourth Place Rice L 78–55
West Colorado A&M Bill Strannigan Mountain States Regional Fourth Place Idaho State L 62–57
West Idaho State Steve Belko Independent Regional third place Colorado A&M W 62–57
West Oklahoma City Doyle Parrack Independent First round Bradley L 61–55
West Oklahoma A&M Henry Iba Missouri Valley Elite Eight Bradley L 71–57
West Rice Don Suman Southwest Regional third place Colorado W 78–55
West Santa Clara Bob Feerick CBA Elite Eight USC L 66–65
West Seattle Al Brightman Independent First round Idaho State L 77–75
West USC Forrest Twogood Pacific Coast National Fourth Place Penn State L 70–61
West Texas Tech Polk Robison Border First round Santa Clara L 73–64

Bracket

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* – Denotes overtime period

East-1 Region

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Cornell 67
Navy 69
Navy 85
Connecticut 80
Navy 48
La Salle 64
NC State 75
George Washington 73
NC State 81 Third place
La Salle 88
La Salle 76 NC State 65
Fordham 74* Cornell 54

East-2 Region

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QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
LSU70
Penn State62Penn State78
Toledo50Penn State71
Notre Dame63
Indiana64
Notre Dame80Notre Dame65Third place
Loyola (LA)70
Indiana73
LSU62

West-1 Region

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Colorado 64
Bradley 76
Bradley 61
Oklahoma City 55
Bradley 71
Oklahoma A&M 57
Oklahoma A&M 51 Third place
Rice 45
Rice 78
Colorado 55

West-2 Region

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QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
USC73
Idaho State77Idaho State59
Seattle75*USC66
Santa Clara65**
Colorado A&M50
Santa Clara73Santa Clara73Third place
Texas Tech64
Idaho State62
Colorado A&M57

Final Four

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National semifinal National Championship
    
Penn State 54
La Salle 69
La Salle 92
Bradley 76
Bradley 74
USC 72 National third-place game
USC 61
Penn State 70

See also

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References

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