1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament explained

Year:1966
Teams:22
Finalfourarena:Cole Field House
Finalfourcity:College Park, Maryland
Champions:Texas Western Miners
Titlecount:1st
Champgamecount:1st
Champffcount:1st
Runnerup:Kentucky Wildcats
Gamecount:5th
Runnerffcount:6th
Semifinal1:Duke Blue Devils
Finalfourcount:3rd
Semifinal2:Utah Redskins
Finalfourcount2:3rd
Coach:Don Haskins
Coachcount:1st
Mop:Jerry Chambers
Mopteam:Utah
Attendance:140,925
Topscorer:Jerry Chambers
Topscorerteam:Utah
Points:143

The 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national men's basketball champion of the NCAA University Division, now Division I. It began on March 7 and ended with the championship game on March 19 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 26 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

Third-ranked Texas Western (now UTEP), coached by Don Haskins, won the national title with a 72 - 65 victory in the final over top-ranked Kentucky, led by head coach Adolph Rupp. Haskins started five black players for the first time in NCAA Championship history. Jerry Chambers of Utah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The 2006 film Glory Road is based on the story of the 1966 Texas Western team. Their tournament games against fourth-ranked Kansas and Kentucky are depicted in the film.

The tournament is also significant in that it was the last tournament until 2021, and one of two since the league's official founding, that the Ivy League did not send a representative to the tournament. The league champion, Penn, refused to comply with an NCAA edict that all teams must certify a 1.6 GPA for all student-athletes; the Ivy League and the university did not believe that the NCAA had the power to dictate such things, and as such the team was banned. They would have played Syracuse in the East regional at Blacksburg.[1]

This was the only NCAA tournament between 1961 and 1982 which did not include UCLA.

Locations

Round Region Site Venue Host
First RoundEastBlacksburg, VirginiaCassell ColiseumVirginia Tech
MideastKent, OhioMemorial GymnasiumKent State
Midwest
& West
Wichita, KansasWSU Field HouseWichita State
RegionalsEastRaleigh, North CarolinaReynolds ColiseumN.C. State
MideastIowa City, IowaIowa Field HouseIowa
MidwestLubbock, TexasLubbock Municipal ColiseumTexas Tech
WestLos Angeles, CaliforniaPauley PavilionUCLA
Final FourCollege Park, MarylandCole Field HouseMaryland

Teams

Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East Regional Fourth PlaceSaint Joseph'sL 92–76
East Third PlaceW 79–77
East Independent First roundSaint Joseph'sL 65–48
East First roundDavidsonL 95–65
East Regional third placeDavidsonW 92–76
East Independent Regional Runner-upDukeL 91–81
Mideast
Mideast Independent Regional Fourth PlaceWestern KentuckyL 82–62
Mideast Runner Up L 72–65
Mideast Independent First roundWestern KentuckyL 105–86
Mideast First roundDaytonL 58–51
Mideast Regional Runner-up KentuckyL 84–77
Mideast Regional third placeDaytonW 82–62
Midwest
Midwest Regional Fourth PlaceSMUL 89–84
Midwest Regional Runner-upTexas WesternL 81–80
Midwest Independent First roundTexas WesternL 89–74
Midwest Regional third placeCincinnatiW 89–84
Midwest Independent ChampionKentuckyW 72–65
West
West Independent First roundHoustonL 82–76
West Independent Regional third placePacificW 102–91
West Regional Runner-upUtahL 70–64
West Regional Fourth PlaceHoustonL 102–91
West Fourth PlaceDukeL 79–77

Bracket

Regional third place games

Game summaries

The Tournament is most remembered for the all-black starting five of Texas Western defeating an all-white starting five for Kentucky in the championship game.[2]

Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the Fall of 1963.[3] This put Western Kentucky at the forefront to integrate college basketball in the Southeast.[4] The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were 2 points away from defeating Michigan and meeting the University of Kentucky Wildcats in the Mideast regional final. A controversial foul called against Smith during a jump ball put Cazzie Russell on the free throw line for Michigan, where he scored the tying and winning baskets.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.phillyvoice.com/fifty-years-ago-penn-was-banned-ncaa-tournament-because-grades/ Fifty years ago, Penn was banned from the NCAA tournament because of...grades?
  2. Fitzpatrick, Frank - Texas Western's 1966 title left lasting legacy. ESPN Classic, November 19, 2003
  3. http://www.hilltopperhaven.com/legends/smith.html Hilltopper Legend Dwight Smith
  4. Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem - My thoughts on UCLA in the Final Four Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2008. Western Kentucky was the forefront of the fight to integrate college basketball in the 1960s and early '70s.
  5. O'Donnell, Chuck - Cazzie Russell: converting two free throws with no time left advanced Michigan in the 1966 NCAA Tournament - The Game I'll Never Forget - University of Michigan versus Western Kentucky University. Basketball Digest, January/February 2004 issue