The 1953 NCAA basketball tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA college basketball. The 15th annual edition of the tournament began on March 10, 1953, and ended with the championship game on March 18, at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of 26 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
Indiana, coached by Branch McCracken, won the tournament title with a 69–68 victory in the final game over Kansas, coached by Phog Allen. B. H. Born of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The Hoosiers became the third team, after Oklahoma A&M in 1945–46 and Kentucky in 1948–49, to win two titles and the second of three teams to win titles in their first two tournament appearances (after Oklahoma A&M); however, unlike Oklahoma A&M before them and San Francisco after, their first two tournament appearances were 13 years apart.
Locations The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1953 tournament:
East-1 Region
First round (March 10) The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League)
East-1 Regional (March 13 and 14) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
East-2 Region
First round (March 10) Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Host: Big Ten Conference)
East-2 Regional (March 12 and 13) Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois (Hosts: Loyola University Chicago, DePaul University)
West-1 Region
West-1 Regional (March 12 and 13) Ahearn Field House, Manhattan, Kansas (Host: Kansas State University)
West-2 Region
First round (March 10) Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington) Stanford Pavilion, Palo Alto, California (Host: Stanford University)
West-2 Regional (March 13 and 14) Oregon State Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University)
Final Four
March 17 and 18 Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
Teams Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East East DePaul Ray Meyer Independent Regional Fourth PlacePennL 90–70 East Eastern Kentucky Paul McBrayer Ohio Valley First roundNotre DameL 72–57 East Fordham Johnny Bach Metro NY First roundLebanon ValleyL 80–67 East Holy Cross Buster Sheary Independent Elite EightLSUL 81–73 East Indiana Branch McCracken Big Ten ChampionKansasW 69–68 East Lebanon Valley Rinso Marquette Independent Regional Fourth PlaceWake ForestL 91–71 East LSU Harry Rabenhorst Southeastern Fourth PlaceWashingtonL 88–69 East Miami (OH) Bill Rohr Mid-American First roundDePaulL 74–72 East Navy Ben Carnevale Independent First roundHoly CrossL 87–74 East Notre Dame John Jordan Independent Elite EightIndianaL 79–66 East Penn Howie Dallmar Ivy League Regional third placeDePaulW 90–70 East Wake Forest Murray Greason Southern Regional third placeLebanon ValleyW 91–71 West West Hardin–Simmons Bill Scott Border First roundSanta ClaraL 81–56 West Idaho State Steve Belko Independent First roundSeattleL 88–77 West Kansas Phog Allen Big 7 Runner UpIndianaL 69–68 West Oklahoma City Doyle Parrack Independent Regional Fourth PlaceTCUL 58–56 West Oklahoma A&M Henry Iba Missouri Valley Elite EightKansasL 61–55 West Santa Clara Bob Feerick CBA Elite EightWashingtonL 74–62 West Seattle Al Brightman Independent Regional third placeWyomingW 80–64 West TCU Buster Brannon Southwest Regional third placeOklahoma CityW 58–56 West Washington Tippy Dye Pacific Coast Third PlaceLSUW 88–69 West Wyoming Everett Shelton Mountain States Regional Fourth PlaceSeattleL 80–64
Bracket
East-1 Region—Raleigh
East-2 Region—Chicago
West-1 Region—Manhattan, Kansas
West-2 Region—Corvallis, Oregon
Final Four—Kansas City
See also 1953 National Invitation Tournament 1953 NAIA Basketball Tournament
Notes As would be expected with the expanded field, a then-record ten teams - Eastern Kentucky, Fordham, Hardin-Simmons, Idaho State, Lebanon Valley, LSU, Miami University, Notre Dame, Penn and Seattle - made their tournament debut. The record would be broken in 1955 with eleven new teams, and again in 1981 with twelve newcomers. Lebanon Valley College, at 425 students, would become by far the smallest school to ever field a team, as well as win a game, in the NCAA tournament. Following the 1956 split of the NCAA into University and College divisions, as well as the subsequent split into the current three division format, it is most likely that this record will never be broken. This would be LVC's only appearance in the tournament; they are also the only team from the tournament to not play in the tournament again.
References