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| Season | 1953–54 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 24 | ||||
| Finals site | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri | ||||
| Champions | La Salle Explorers (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Bradley Braves (2nd title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Ken Loeffler (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Tom Gola (La Salle) | ||||
| Attendance | 115,391 | ||||
| Top scorer | Tom Gola (La Salle) (114 points) | ||||
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The 1954 NCAA basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8 and ended with the championship game on March 20 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of 28 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
La Salle, coached by Ken Loeffler, won the national title with a 92–76 victory in the final game over Bradley, coached by Forddy Anderson. Tom Gola of La Salle was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Of note, Kentucky, the top-ranked team in the nation (with a record of 25–0) did not participate in any post-season tournament. Since several key players had technically graduated the year before (when Kentucky was banned from playing a competitive schedule due to the point-shaving scandal a few years earlier), those players were ruled ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Despite the wishes of the players, Adolph Rupp ultimately decided his team would not play.
LSU represented the Southeastern Conference in the tournament, its last appearance until 1979, well after the graduation of NCAA all-time leading scorer Pete Maravich. LSU made only one postseason appearance over the next 24 seasons, the 1970 National Invitation Tournament, during Maravich's senior season.