Kentucky won its third national championship with a 68-58 win against Kansas State in the title game.

This year's tournament was the first to have 16 teams, as the size doubled. Kentucky's Bill Spivey took Most Outstanding Player honors.

1951 NCAA tournament: Bracket

Click or tap here for a closer look at the 1951 March Madness bracket.

1951 NCAA tournament: Scores

• First Round
  • West Region
    • Kansas State 61, Arizona 59
    • BYU 68, San Jose State 61
    • Oklahoma A&M 50, Montana State 46
    • Washington 62, Texas A&M 40
  • East Region
    • Illinois 79, Columbia 71
    • NC State 67, Villanova 62
    • Kentucky 79, Louisville 68
    • St. John's 63, UConn 52
• Regional semifinals
  • West Region
    • Kansas State 64, BYU 54
    • Oklahoma A&M 61, Washington 57
  • East Region
    • Illinois 84, NC State 70
    • Kentucky 59, St. John's 43
• Regional third place games
  • West Region
    • Washington 80, BYU 67
  • East Region
    • St. John's 71, NC State 59
• Regional finals
  • Kansas State 68, Oklahoma A&M 44
  • Kentucky 76, Illinois 74
• National third place game
  • Illinois 61, Oklahoma A&M 46
• National championship (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
  • Kentucky 68, Kansas State 58

1951 NCAA tournament: Stats, records

Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games):

Individual scoring

• Bill Kukoy, NC State (3) — 23.0 points per game

Individual rebounding

• Bill Spivey, Kentucky (4) — 16.3 rebounds per game

Tournament history

• The tournament field doubled to 16 teams, 10 conferences champions qualifying automatically for the first time: Big Seven (Big Eight), Big Ten, Border, Eastern (Ivy), Missouri Valley, Mountain States (also known as Skyline), Pacific Coast), Southeastern, Southern and Southwest.