| Year: | 1951 |
| Teams: | 16 |
| Finalfourarena: | Williams Arena |
| Finalfourcity: | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Champions: | Kentucky Wildcats |
| Titlecount: | 3rd |
| Champgamecount: | 3rd |
| Champffcount: | 4th |
| Runnerup: | Kansas State Wildcats |
| Gamecount: | 1st |
| Runnerffcount: | 2nd |
| Semifinal1: | Illinois Fighting Illini |
| Finalfourcount: | 2nd |
| Semifinal2: | Oklahoma A&M Aggies |
| Finalfourcount2: | 4th |
| Coach: | Adolph Rupp |
| Coachcount: | 3rd |
| Mop: | Bill Spivey |
| Mopteam: | Kentucky |
| Attendance: | 110,645 |
| Topscorer: | Don Sunderlage |
| Topscorerteam: | Illinois |
| Points: | 83 |
The 1951 NCAA basketball tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 20, 1951, and ended with the championship game on March 27 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A total of 18 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp, won the national title with a 68–58 victory over Kansas State, coached by Jack Gardner.
This NCAA tournament was the first with a 16-team field. Only the championship and third place games were held in Minneapolis, while the semifinals were held in the respective regional sites; similar to previous years. A true "Final 4" (semifinals and final at same location) debuted the following year.
The twelve-team National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was held the previous week in New York City at Madison Square Garden, with its championship on Saturday, Mach 17. Four teams competed in both tournaments, including NIT champion they lost in the quarterfinal round, by ten points to
The three other teams were Arizona, North Carolina State, and St. John's.
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1951 tournament:
| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | |||||||
| East | Sweet Sixteen | Illinois | L 79–71 | ||||
| East | Sweet Sixteen | St. John's | L 63–52 | ||||
| East | Third Place | Oklahoma A&M | W 61–46 | ||||
| East | Champion | Kansas State | W 68–58 | ||||
| East | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | Kentucky | L 79–68 | |||
| East | Regional Fourth Place | St. John's | L 71–59 | ||||
| East | Regional third place | NC State | W 71–59 | ||||
| East | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | NC State | L 67–62 | |||
| West | |||||||
| West | Sweet Sixteen | Kansas State | L 61–59 | ||||
| West | Regional Fourth Place | Washington | L 80–67 | ||||
| West | Runner-up | Kentucky | L 68–58 | ||||
| West | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | Oklahoma A&M | L 50–46 | |||
| West | Fourth Place | Illinois | L 61–46 | ||||
| West | Independent | Sweet Sixteen | BYU | L 68–61 | |||
| West | Sweet Sixteen | Washington | L 62–40 | ||||
| West | Regional third place | BYU | W 80–67 | ||||