| Year: | 1962 |
| Teams: | 25 |
| Finalfourarena: | Freedom Hall |
| Finalfourcity: | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Champions: | Cincinnati Bearcats |
| Titlecount: | 2nd |
| Champgamecount: | 2nd |
| Champffcount: | 4th |
| Runnerup: | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| Gamecount: | 4th |
| Runnerffcount: | 7th |
| Semifinal1: | UCLA Bruins |
| Finalfourcount: | 1st |
| Semifinal2: | Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
| Finalfourcount2: | 1st |
| Coach: | Ed Jucker |
| Coachcount: | 2nd |
| Mop: | Paul Hogue |
| Mopteam: | Cincinnati |
| Attendance: | 177,469 |
| Topscorer: | Len Chappell |
| Topscorerteam: | Wake Forest |
| Points: | 134 |
The 1962 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 12, 1962, and ended with the championship game on March 24 in Louisville, Kentucky. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game, which was won by Wake Forest.
For the second consecutive season, Cincinnati, coached by Ed Jucker, played Ohio State, coached by Fred Taylor, in the final game. Cincinnati won the national title with a 71 - 59 victory over Ohio State. Paul Hogue of Cincinnati was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
The total attendance for the tournament was 177,469, a new record.[1]
| Round | Region | Site | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | East | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Palestra | |
| Mideast | Lexington, Kentucky | Memorial Coliseum | ||
| Midwest | Dallas, Texas | SMU Coliseum | ||
| West | Corvallis, Oregon | Oregon State Coliseum | ||
| Regionals | East | College Park, Maryland | Cole Field House | |
| Mideast | Iowa City, Iowa | Iowa Field House | ||
| Midwest | Manhattan, Kansas | Ahearn Field House | ||
| West | Provo, Utah | Smith Fieldhouse | ||
| Final Four | Louisville, Kentucky | Freedom Hall | ||
| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | ||||||
| East | First round | NYU | L 70–50 | |||
| East | Regional third place | Saint Joseph's | W 94–85 | |||
| East | Regional Fourth Place | NYU | L 94–85 | |||
| East | Independent | Regional Runner-up | Wake Forest | L 79–69 | ||
| East | Third Place | UCLA | W 82–80 | |||
| East | First round | Villanova | L 90–75 | |||
| East | First round | Wake Forest | L 92–82 | |||
| Mideast | ||||||
| Mideast | First round | Butler | L 56–55 | |||
| Mideast | Independent | Regional third place | Western Kentucky | W 87–86 | ||
| Mideast | Independent | First round | Western Kentucky | L 90–81 | ||
| Mideast | Regional Runner-up | Ohio State | L 74–64 | |||
| Mideast | Runner Up | Cincinnati | L 71–59 | |||
| Mideast | Regional Fourth Place | Butler | L 87–86 | |||
| Midwest | ||||||
| Midwest | Independent | First round | Texas Tech | L 68–66 | ||
| Midwest | Champion | Ohio State | W 71–59 | |||
| Midwest | Regional Runner-up | Cincinnati | L 73–46 | |||
| Midwest | Independent | Regional third place | Texas Tech | W 63–61 | ||
| Midwest | Independent | First round | Creighton | L 87–83 | ||
| Midwest | Regional Fourth Place | Creighton | L 63–61 | |||
| West | ||||||
| West | First round | Utah State | L 78–73 | |||
| West | Independent | Regional Runner-up | UCLA | L 88–69 | ||
| West | Regional third place | Utah State | W 75–71 | |||
| West | Independent | First round | Oregon State | L 69–65 | ||
| West | Fourth Place | Wake Forest | L 82–80 | |||
| West | Regional Fourth Place | Pepperdine | L 75–71 | |||
* – Denotes overtime period