In 1963, Loyola Chicago and coach George Ireland prevented Cincinnati from becoming the first school to ever win three national championships in a row. The Bearcats had won the national title in 1961 and 1962 but Loyola Chicago pulled off a 60-58 win in overtime to give the Ramblers a national championship in their first Final Four appearance.
Fifty-five years later, Loyola Chicago went on to make the Final Four again.
The 1963 NCAA tournament also marked the first time that Duke made the Final Four. Duke's Art Heyman was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, while Oregon State's Mel Counts was the tournament's leading scorer with 123 points.
1963 NCAA tournament: Bracket
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1963 NCAA tournament: Scores
- Regional Quarterfinals
- East Region
- NYU 93, Pittsburgh 83
- West Virginia 77, UConn 71
- Saint Joseph's 82, Princeton 81 (OT)
- Mideast Region
- Bowling Green 77, Notre Dame 72
- Loyola Chicago 111, Tennessee Tech 42
- Midwest Region
- Oklahoma City 70, Colorado State 67
- Texas 65, Texas Western 47
- West Region
- Arizona State 79, Utah State 75 (OT)
- Oregon State 70, Seattle 66
- East Region
- Regional Semifinals
- East Region
- Duke 81, NYU 76
- Saint Joseph's 97, West Virginia 88
- Mideast Region
- Illinois 70, Bowling Green 67
- Loyola Chicago 61, Mississippi State 51
- Midwest Region
- Colorado 78, Oklahoma City 72
- Cincinnati 72, Texas 68
- West Region
- Arizona State 93, UCLA 79
- Oregon State 65, San Francisco 61
- East Region
- Regional Finals
- East Region
- Duke 73, Saint Joseph's 59
- Mideast Region
- Loyola Chicago 79, Illinois 64
- Midwest Region
- Cincinnati 67, Colorado 60
- West Region
- Oregon State 83, Arizona State 65
- East Region
- Regional Third Place Games
- East Region
- West Virginia 83, NYU 73
- Mideast Region
- Mississippi State 65, Bowling Green 60
- Midwest Region
- Texas 90, Oklahoma City 83
- West Region
- San Francisco 76, UCLA 75
- East Region
- Final Four (Louisville, Kentucky)
- National semifinals
- Loyola Chicago 94, Duke 75
- Cincinnati 80, Oregon State 46
- National championship
- Loyola Chicago 60, Cincinnati 58
- Third-place game
- Duke 85, Oregon State 63
- National semifinals
1963 NCAA tournament: Stats, records
Here are the 1963 NCAA tournament leaders (number of games in parentheses):
Individual scoring
- Barry Kramer, NYU: 33.3 points per game
Individual rebounding
- Nate Thurmond, Bowling Green: 23.3 rebounds per game
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