The 1973 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 42 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division basketball as a culmination of the 1972-73 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Kentucky Wesleyan College and Kentucky Wesleyan's Mike Williams was the Most Outstanding Player.
| Teams | 42 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Evansville, Indiana | ||||
| Champions | Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (4th title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Tennessee State Tigers (2nd title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Bob Jones (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Mike Williams (Kentucky Wesleyan) | ||||
| Attendance | 18,318 | ||||
| |||||
This was the last College Division basketball tournament. Effective with the next school year of 1973–74, the NCAA adopted the three-division setup that exists to this day. The top-level University Division was renamed Division I, while the College Division was split in two. College Division members that wished to award athletic scholarships were placed in Division II, while those that chose to remain non-scholarship were placed in Division III.
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Regional participants
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Coe | Regional Champion | |
| South Dakota State | Runner-up | |
| Southern Colorado | Fourth Place | |
| SW Missouri State | Third Place | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Assumption | Regional Champion | |
| Bentley | Runner-up | |
| Bridgeport | Third Place | |
| Hartford | Fifth Place* | |
| St. Michael's | Fourth Place | |
| Stonehill | Fifth Place* | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Akron | Regional Champion | |
| Cheyney | Third Place | |
| Hiram | Fifth Place* | |
| Lebanon Valley | Fifth Place* | |
| Philadelphia Textile | Fourth Place | |
| Steubenville | Runner-up | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Albany State | Fifth Place | |
| Chattanooga | Third Place | |
| SE Louisiana | Runner-up | |
| Tennessee State | Regional Champion | |
| Transylvania | Fourth Place | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Third Place | |
| Kentucky Wesleyan | Regional Champion | |
| Valparaiso | Runner-up | |
| Wooster | Fourth Place | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Eckerd | Fifth Place* | |
| Fayetteville State | Third Place | |
| Loyola (MD) | Fourth Place | |
| Old Dominion | Runner-up | |
| Roanoke | Regional Champion | |
| St. Thomas | Fifth Place* | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Brockport State | Regional Champion | |
| C. W. Post | Third Place | |
| Hartwick | Runner-up | |
| New Jersey City | Fifth Place* | |
| Potsdam State | Fourth Place | |
| RPI | Fifth Place* | |
| School | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Cal State Bakersfield | Runner-up | |
| Puget Sound | Fourth Place | |
| San Diego | Third Place | |
| Sonoma State | Fifth Place | |
| UC Riverside | Regional Champion | |
*denotes tie
Regionals
Midwest - Springfield, Missouri
Location: McDonald Hall and Arena Host: Southwest Missouri State University
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 9 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 10 | ||||||||
| Coe | 65 | ||||||||
| Southern Colorado | 63 | ||||||||
| Coe | 107 | ||||||||
| South Dakota State | 104 | ||||||||
| South Dakota State | 85 | ||||||||
| SW Missouri State | 74 | ||||||||
- Third Place - SW Missouri State 76, Southern Colorado 62
New England - Worcester, Massachusetts
Location: Andrew Laska Gymnasium Host: Assumption College
| First round - Hartford, CT Round of 42 March 6 | ||||
| St. Michael's | 108 | |||
| Hartford | 97 | |||
| First round - Bridgeport, CT Round of 42 March 6 | ||||
| Bridgeport | 77 | |||
| Stonehill | 74 | |||
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 9 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 10 | ||||||||
| Assumption | 81 | ||||||||
| St. Michael's | 79 | ||||||||
| Assumption | 87 | ||||||||
| Bentley | 85 | ||||||||
| Bridgeport | 106 | ||||||||
| Bentley | 109*** | ||||||||
- Third Place - Bridgeport 93, St. Michael's 75
Mideast - Reading, Pennsylvania
Location: Bollman Center Host: Albright College
| First round - Chester, PA Round of 42 March 6 | ||||
| Cheyney | 74 | |||
| Lebanon Valley | 56 | |||
| First round - Akron, OH Round of 42 March 6 | ||||
| Steubenville | 54 | |||
| Hiram | 51 | |||
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 9 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 10 | ||||||||
| Akron | 99 | ||||||||
| Cheyney | 71 | ||||||||
| Akron | 49 | ||||||||
| Steubenville | 47 | ||||||||
| Steubenville | 61 | ||||||||
| Philadelphia Textile | 51 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Cheyney 70, Philadelphia Textile 63
South - Hammond, Louisiana
Location: unknown Host: Southeastern Louisiana University
| First round - Lexington, KY Round of 42 March 6 | Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 9 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 10 | ||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 53 | |||||||||||||
| Transylvania | 45 | |||||||||||||
| Transylvania | 72* | |||||||||||||
| Albany State | 71 | |||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 62* | |||||||||||||
| SE Louisiana | 54 | |||||||||||||
| SE Louisiana | 67 | |||||||||||||
| Chattanooga | 64 | |||||||||||||
- Third Place - Chattanooga 99, Transylvania 86
Great Lakes - Evansville, Indiana
Location: Roberts Municipal Stadium Host: University of Evansville
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 | Regional Final Sweet 16 | ||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 93 | ||||||||
| Wooster | 56 | ||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 74 | ||||||||
| Valparaiso | 66 | ||||||||
| Valparaiso | 69 | ||||||||
| Capital | 64 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Capital 75, Wooster 47
South Atlantic - Salem, Virginia
Location: C. Homer Bast Center Host: Roanoke College
| First round - Fayetteville, NC Round of 42 March 6 | ||||
| Fayetteville State | 95 | |||
| Eckerd | 66 | |||
| First round - Miami, FL Round of 42 March 6 | ||||
| Loyola (MD) | 82* | |||
| St. Thomas | 79 | |||
| Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 8 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 9 | ||||||||
| Old Dominion | 80 | ||||||||
| Fayetteville State | 74 | ||||||||
| Old Dominion | 87 | ||||||||
| Roanoke | 88* | ||||||||
| Loyola | 63 | ||||||||
| Roanoke | 84 | ||||||||
- Third Place - Fayetteville State 81, Loyola 66
East - Oneonta, New York
Location: Binder Physical Education Center Host: Hartwick College
| First round - sites unknown Round of 42 March 6 | Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 9 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 10 | ||||||||||||
| C. W. Post | 77 | |||||||||||||
| Brockport State | 93 | |||||||||||||
| Brockport State | 78 | |||||||||||||
| New Jersey City | 68 | |||||||||||||
| Brockport State | 70 | |||||||||||||
| Hartwick | 62 | |||||||||||||
| Potsdam State | 54 | |||||||||||||
| RPI | 52 | |||||||||||||
| Potsdam State | 58 | |||||||||||||
| Hartwick | 75 | |||||||||||||
- Third Place - C. W. Post 79, Potsdam State 75
West - Bakersfield, California
Location: unknown Host: California State College, Bakersfield
| First round - Riverside, CA Round of 42 March 6 | Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 9 | Regional Final Sweet 16 March 10 | ||||||||||||
| Puget Sound | 51 | |||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 71 | |||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 70 | |||||||||||||
| Sonoma State | 68 | |||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 61 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield | 54 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield | 50 | |||||||||||||
| San Diego | 44 | |||||||||||||
- Third Place - San Diego 80, Puget Sound 73
*denotes each overtime played
National Finals - Evansville, Indiana
Location: Roberts Municipal Stadium Host: University of Evansville
| National Quarterfinals Elite Eight March 14 | National semifinals Final Four March 15 | National Championship March 16 | ||||||||||||
| Coe | 96 | |||||||||||||
| Assumption | 102 | |||||||||||||
| Assumption | 76 | |||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 106 | |||||||||||||
| Akron | 50 | |||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 54 | |||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 76 | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 78* | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 87 | |||||||||||||
| Roanoke | 63 | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 96 | |||||||||||||
| Brockport State | 90 | |||||||||||||
| Brockport State | 79 | |||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 70 | |||||||||||||
- Third Place - Assumption 94, Brockport State 90
*denotes each overtime played
All-tournament team
- Mike Boylan (Assumption)
- Ron Gilliam (Brockport State)
- Leonard Robinson (Tennessee State)
- Mike Williams (Kentucky Wesleyan)
- Roger Zornes (Kentucky Wesleyan)