1956 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1956 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1956, and ended with the championship game on March 24 on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
This was the first NCAA tournament in which the four regionals were given distinct names, although the concept of four regional winners advancing to a single site for the "Final Four" had been introduced in 1952.
San Francisco, coached by Phil Woolpert, won the national title with an 83–71 victory in the final game over Iowa, coached by Bucky O'Connor. Hal Lear of Temple was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Locations
Teams
Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period
East Region
| Quarterfinals
| | | Semifinals
| | | Finals
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| Connecticut
| 84
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| Manhattan
| 75
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| | Connecticut
| 59
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| | Temple
| 65
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| Temple
| 74
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| Holy Cross
| 72
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| | Temple
| 60
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| | Canisius
| 58
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| Dartmouth
| 61
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| West Virginia
| 59*
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| | Dartmouth
| 58
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| | Canisius
| 66
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| Canisius
| 79
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| N.C. State
| 78****
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Midwest Region
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Quarterfinals |
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Semifinals |
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Finals |
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Iowa |
97 |
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Morehead St. |
83 |
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Morehead St. |
107 |
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Marshall |
92 |
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Iowa |
89 |
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Kentucky |
77 |
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Kentucky |
84 |
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Wayne St-MI |
64 |
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Wayne St-MI |
72 |
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DePaul |
63 |
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West Region
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Quarterfinals |
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Semifinals |
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Finals |
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Houston |
74 |
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SMU |
89 |
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SMU |
68 |
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Texas Tech |
67 |
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SMU |
84 |
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Oklahoma City |
63 |
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Kansas St. |
93 |
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Oklahoma City |
97 |
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Oklahoma City |
97 |
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Memphis St. |
81 |
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Far West Region
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Quarterfinals |
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Semifinals |
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Finals |
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Utah |
81 |
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Seattle |
72 |
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Seattle |
68 |
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Idaho St. |
66 |
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Utah |
77 |
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San Francisco |
92 |
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San Francisco |
72 |
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UCLA |
61 |
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Final Four
| National Semifinals
| | | National Championship Game
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| E
| Temple
| 76
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| MW
| Iowa
| 83
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| | MW
| Iowa
| 71
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| | FW
| San Francisco
| 83
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| W
| SMU
| 68
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| FW
| San Francisco
| 86
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National Third Place Game
| National Third Place Game [1]
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| Temple
| 90
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| SMU
| 81
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Regional Third Place Games
| East Regional Third Place
| | | | | | | | | Dartmouth
| 85
| | | | Connecticut
| 64
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| Far West Regional Third Place
| | | | | | | | | UCLA
| 94
| | | | Seattle
| 70
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| Midwest Regional Third Place
| | | | | | | | | Morehead St.
| 95
| | | | Wayne St.
| 84
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| West Regional Third Place
| | | | | | | | | Kansas St.
| 89
| | | | Houston
| 70
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See also
Notes
- Canisius's first-round victory over the second-ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack, considered by many to be among the top ten upsets in tournament history,[2][3] set a record for most overtime periods in a Division I Men's tournament game with four, a record that still stands as of 2015 (tied once, in 1961).[4]
- Northwestern University previously hosted the first ever NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game on March 27, 1939 in the first Patten Gym.[5]
References
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