Following the 1948 NCAA Tournament, the 1949 NCAA Tournament still consisted of 8 teams. Kentucky took on Villanova in the East Quarterfinals and the defeated them 85-72. The other teams were Illinois and Yale, Illinois would go on to defeat Yale 71-67. Kentucky defeated Illinois 76-47 advancing to the national title game.
In the West Regional you had Oklahoma A &M taking on Wyoming, they defeated them by just a point, 40-39 and Oregon State took on Arkansas, OSU would defeat the Razorbacks 56-38. Oklahoma A &M defeated Oregon State 55-30.
The Kentucky Wildcats defeated Oklahoma A &M 46-36 to win their 2nd national title. Alex Groza ws the MOP and scored a total of 82 points.