1961 NCAA College Division Basketball Tournament

1961 NCAA Division II
Basketball Tournament
Teams	32
Finals site	Evansville, Indiana
Champions	Wittenberg Tigers (1st title)
Runner-up	Southeast Missouri State Bears (1st title game)
Semifinalists	South Dakota State Jackrabbits (1st Final Four); Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (2nd Final Four);
Winning coach	Ray Mears (1st title)
MOP	Don Jacobson (South Dakota State)
Attendance	13,002
	← 1960 ; NCAA Division II ; Basketball Tournament; 1962 →;

The 1961 NCAA College Division Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division college basketball as a culmination of the 1960-61 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Wittenberg University and South Dakota State's Don Jacobson was the Most Outstanding Player.

Regional participants[]


School	Outcome
Austin Peay	Regional Champion
Belmont Abbey	Runner-up
Chattanooga	Fourth Place
Kentucky Wesleyan	Third Place


School	Outcome
Albright	Runner-up
Fairfield	Fourth Place
Mount St. Mary's	Regional Champion
Virginia Union	Third Place


School	Outcome
Bates	Runner-up
Rochester	Third Place
Springfield	Fourth Place
Williams	Regional Champion


School	Outcome
South Carolina State	Fourth Place
Wabash	Runner-up
Wittenberg	Regional Champion
Youngstown State	Third Place


School	Outcome
Chicago	Regional Champion
Evansville	Third Place
Lincoln (MO)	Runner-up
MacMurray	Fourth Place


School	Outcome
Colorado College	Fourth Place
SE Missouri State	Regional Champion
Southern Illinois	Runner-up
Trinity (TX)	Third Place


School	Outcome
Cornell (IA)	Third Place
Prairie View	Runner-up
South Dakota State	Regional Champion
Wisconsin–Superior	Fourth Place


School	Outcome
Chapman	Third Place
Long Beach State	Runner-up
Nevada	Fourth Place
UC Santa Barbara	Regional Champion

Regionals[]

South - Clarksville, Tennessee[]

Location: Memorial Health Building

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

Belmont Abbey	74

Kentucky Wesleyan	62
		Belmont Abbey	63

		Austin Peay	70
Austin Peay	77

Chattanooga	69

Third Place - Kentucky Wesleyan 111, Chattanooga 80

East - Reading, Pennsylvania[]

Location: Bollman Center

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

Mount St. Mary's	83

Virginia Union	80
		Mount St. Mary's	82

		Albright	76
Albright	85

Fairfield	67

Third Place - Virginia Union 70, Fairfield 66

Northeast - Springfield, Massachusetts[]

Location: Judd Gymnasia

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

Williams	74

Rochester	72
		Williams	75

		Bates	68
Bates	75

Springfield	63

Third Place - Rochester 82, Springfield 68

Mideast - Crawfordsville, Indiana[]

Location: Chadwick Court

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

Wittenberg	43

Youngstown State	28
		Wittenberg	48

		Wabash	42
Wabash	94

South Carolina State	83

Third Place - Youngstown State 96, South Carolina State 82

Great Lakes - Chicago, Illinois[]

Location: Henry Crown Field House

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

Lincoln (MO)	90

Evansville	77
		Lincoln	42

		Chicago	55
Chicago	64

MacMurray	59

Third Place - Evansville 98, MacMurray 97*

Southwest - Cape Girardeau, Missouri[]

Location: Houck Field House

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

SE Missouri State	99

Colorado College	68
		SE Missouri State	88

		Southern Illinois	84
Southern Illinois	96

Trinity (TX)	82

Third Place - Trinity 75, Colorado College 58

Midwest - Brookings, South Dakota[]

Location: The Barn

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

Prairie View	79

Wisconsin–Superior	68
		Prairie View	84

		South Dakota State	88
South Dakota State	90

Cornell (IA)	71

Third Place - Cornell 83, Wisconsin–Superior 72

Pacific Coast - Santa Barbara, California[]

Location: Robertson Gymnasium

Regional Semifinals Round of 32 March 10		Regional Final Sweet 16 March 11

Long Beach State	70

Chapman	66
		Long Beach State	54

		UC Santa Barbara	58
UC Santa Barbara	78

Nevada	57

Third Place - Chapman 68, Nevada 63

*denotes each overtime played

National Finals - Evansville, Indiana[]

Location: Roberts Municipal Stadium

National Quarterfinals Elite Eight March 16		National Semifinals Final Four March 17		National Championship March 18

Austin Peay	78

Mount St. Mary's	96
		Mount St. Mary's	49

		Wittenberg	65
Williams	51

Wittenberg	64
				Wittenberg	42

				SE Missouri State	38
Chicago	41

SE Missouri State	67
		SE Missouri State	81

		South Dakota State	69
South Dakota State	79

UC Santa Barbara	65

Third Place - South Dakota State 77, Mount St. Mary's 76