1954 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records

The 1954 NCAA tournament finished with La Salle defeating Bradley in the title game, 92-76. Explorers star Tom Gola earned Most Outstanding Player honors, scoring 114 points throughout the tournament.

Kansas City, Missouri, served as the host or the Final Four. Penn State and USC made it to the national semifinals this year.

Below, find the bracket, scores and more for the 1954 NCAA tournament.

1954 NCAA tournament: Bracket

Click or tap here for a closer look at the 1954 March Madness bracket

1954 NCAA tournament: Scores

• First Round
  • East Region 1
    • Navy 85, UConn 80
    • NC State 75, George Washington 73
    • La Salle 76, Fordham 74 (OT)
  • East Region 2
    • Penn State 62, Toledo 50
    • Notre Dame 80, Loyola (LA) 70
  • West Region 1
    • Bradley 61, Oklahoma City 55
  • West Region 2
    • Idaho State 77, Seattle 75 (OT)
    • Santa Clara 73, Texas Tech 64
• Regional Semifinals
  • East Region 1
    • Navy 69, Cornell 67
    • La Salle 88, NC State 81
  • East Region 2
    • Penn State 78, LSU 70
    • Notre Dame 65, Indiana 64
  • West Region 1
    • Bradley 76, Colorado 64
    • Oklahoma A&M 51, Rice 45
  • West Region 2
    • USC 73, Idaho State 59
    • Santa Clara 73, Colorado A&M 50
• Regional Third Place Game
  • East Region 1
    • NC State 65, Cornell 54
  • East Region 2
    • Indiana 73, LSU 62
  • West Region 1
    • Rice 78, Colorado 55
  • West Region 2
    • Idaho State 62, Colorado A&M 57
• Regional Finals
  • East Region 1
    • La Salle 64, Navy 48
  • East Region 2
    • Penn State 71, Notre Dame 63
  • West Region 1
    • Bradley 71, Oklahoma A&M 57
  • West Region 2
    • USC 66, Santa Clara 65 (2OT)
• Final Four (Kansas City, Missouri)
  • National semifinals
    • La Salle 69, Penn State 54
    • Bradley 74, USC 72
  • National Third Place Game
    • Penn State 70, USC 61
  • National championship
    • La Salle 92, Bradley 76

1954 NCAA tournament: Stats, records

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

Individual scoring

• John Clune, Navy (3) — 26.3 points per game

Records

• The national championship game was televised nationally for the first time
• Bradley's Bob Carney set a record for made free throws with 23 against Colorado
• USC defeated Santa Clara by scoring a single point in the second overtime