1945 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1945 NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament

Teams	8
Finals site	Madison Square Garden New York City
Champions	Oklahoma A&M (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	NYU (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Arkansas (2nd Final Four) Ohio State (3rd Final Four)
Winning coach	Henry Iba (1st title)
MOP	Bob Kurland (Oklahoma A&M)
Attendance	67,780
Top scorer	Bob Kurland Oklahoma A&M (65 points)
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments «1944 1946»

The 1945 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 22, 1945, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in New York City. A total of 9 games were played, including a third place game in each region.

Oklahoma A&M, coached by Henry Iba, won the national title with a 49-45 victory in the final game over NYU, coached by Howard Cann. Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Locations

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1945 tournament:

Regionals

March 22 and 24

East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

March 23 and 24

West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri

Championship Game

March 27

Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

Teams

Region	Seed	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East
East	n/a	Kentucky	Adolph Rupp	SEC	Regional Third Place	Tufts	W 66-56
East	n/a	NYU	Howard Cann	Middle Atlantic	Runner Up	Oklahoma A&M	L 49-45
East	n/a	Ohio State	Harold Olsen	Big Ten	National Semifinals	NYU	L 70-65
East	n/a	Tufts	Richard Cochran	New England	Regional Fourth Place	Kentucky	L 66-56
West
West	n/a	Arkansas	Eugene Lambert	Southwest	National Semifinals	Oklahoma A&M	L 68-41
West	n/a	Oklahoma A&M	Henry Iba	Missouri Valley	Champion	NYU	W 49-45
West	n/a	Oregon	John Warren	Pacific Coast	Regional Third Place	Utah	W 69-66
West	n/a	Utah	Vadal Peterson	Skyline	Regional Fourth Place	Oregon	L 69-66

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		NYU	59
		Tufts	44
							NYU	70
							Ohio State	65*
		Ohio State	45
		Kentucky	37
												NYU	45
												Oklahoma A&M	49
		Arkansas	79
		Oregon	76
							Arkansas	41
							Oklahoma A&M	68
		Oklahoma A&M	62
		Utah	37

Regional Third Place

	East Regional Third Place
	Tufts		56
	Kentucky		66

	West Regional Third Place
	Oregon		69
	Utah		66

See also

• 1945 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament