1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

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.

1966 NCAA University Division
basketball tournament
Season1965–66
Teams22
Finals siteCole Field House
College Park, Maryland
ChampionsTexas Western Miners (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upKentucky Wildcats (5th title game,
6th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachDon Haskins (1st title)
MOPJerry Chambers (Utah)
Attendance140,925
Top scorerJerry Chambers (Utah)
(143 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1965 1967»

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
RoundRegionSiteVenue
First Round East Blacksburg, Virginia Cassell Coliseum
Mideast Kent, Ohio Memorial Gymnasium
Midwest
& West		 Wichita, Kansas WSU Field House
Regionals East Raleigh, North Carolina Reynolds Coliseum
Mideast Iowa City, Iowa Iowa Field House
Midwest Lubbock, Texas Lubbock Municipal Coliseum
West Los Angeles, California Pauley Pavilion
Final Four College Park, Maryland Cole Field House

Teams
RegionTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
EastDavidsonLefty DriesellSouthernRegional Fourth PlaceSaint Joseph'sL 92-76
EastDukeVic BubasAtlantic CoastThird PlaceUtahW 79–77
EastProvidenceJoe MullaneyIndependentFirst roundSaint Joseph'sL 65–48
EastRhode IslandErnie CalverleyYankeeFirst roundDavidsonL 95–65
EastSaint Joseph'sJack RamsayMiddle AtlanticRegional third placeDavidsonW 92–76
EastSyracuseFred LewisIndependentRegional Runner-upDukeL 91–81
Mideast
MideastDaytonDon DonoherIndependentRegional Fourth PlaceWestern KentuckyL 82–62
MideastKentuckyAdolph RuppSoutheasternRunner UpTexas WesternL 72–65
MideastLoyola–ChicagoGeorge IrelandIndependentFirst roundWestern KentuckyL 105–86
MideastMiami (OH)Dick ShriderMid-AmericanFirst roundDaytonL 58–51
MideastMichiganDave StrackBig TenRegional Runner-upKentuckyL 84–77
MideastWestern KentuckyJohnny OldhamOhio ValleyRegional third placeDaytonW 82–62
Midwest
MidwestCincinnatiTay BakerMissouri ValleyRegional Fourth PlaceSMUL 89–84
MidwestKansasTed OwensBig EightRegional Runner-upTexas WesternL 81–80
MidwestOklahoma CityAbe LemonsIndependentFirst roundTexas WesternL 89–74
MidwestSMUDoc HayesSouthwestRegional third placeCincinnatiW 89–84
MidwestTexas WesternDon HaskinsIndependentChampionKentuckyW 72–65
West
WestColorado StateJim WilliamsIndependentFirst roundHoustonL 82–76
WestHoustonGuy LewisIndependentRegional third placePacificW 102–91
WestOregon StatePaul ValentiAAWURegional Runner-upUtahL 70–64
WestPacificDick EdwardsWest Coast AthleticRegional Fourth PlaceHoustonL 102–91
WestUtahJack GardnerWestern AthleticFourth PlaceDukeL 79–77

Bracket

East region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Duke 76
  Saint Joseph's 74
  Saint Joseph's 65
  Providence 48
  Duke 91
  Syracuse 81
Syracuse 94
  Davidson 78
  Davidson 96
  Rhode Island 65

Mideast region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Kentucky 86
  Dayton 79
  Dayton 58
  Miami (OH) 51
  Kentucky 84
  Michigan 77
  Michigan 80
  Western Kentucky 79
  Western Kentucky 105
  Loyola–Chicago 86

Midwest region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Kansas 76
  SMU 70
  Kansas 80**
  Texas Western 81
  Cincinnati 76*
  Texas Western 78
  Texas Western 89
  Oklahoma City 74

West region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Utah 83
  Pacific 74
  Utah 70
  Oregon State 64
  Oregon State 63
  Houston 60
  Houston 82
  Colorado State 76

Final Four
National Semifinals National Championship Game
      
E Duke 79
ME Kentucky 83
ME Kentucky 65
MW Texas Western 72
MW Texas Western 85
W Utah 78

National Third Place Game
National Third Place Game [2]
   
E Duke 79
W Utah 77

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.[3]

Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the Fall of 1963.[4] This put Western Kentucky at the forefront to integrate college basketball in the Southeast.[5] 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.[6]

See also

References
  1. Fifty years ago, Penn was banned from the NCAA tournament because of...grades?, Justin Feil, Philly Voice, March 10, 2016, last accessed April 17, 2022
  2. "1954 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  3. Fitzpatrick, Frank - Texas Western's 1966 title left lasting legacy. ESPN Classic, November 19, 2003
  4. Hilltopper Legend Dwight Smith Hilltopper Haven. Accessed 2009-06-24. Archived 2009-07-21.
  5. 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.
  6. 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
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