The initial round of the 1951 tournament is considered the First Round despite being a round of 16 teams. The tournament expanded in 1951 to 16 teams but retained the two-region structure with the two regional champions meeting for the national championship game at a separate site. The NCAA's 1951 bracket names the round of 16 as the First Round, the round of 8 as the Regional Semifinals, and the round of 4 as the Regional Finals. All games of the West Region were played in Kansas City. In the East Region, two games in the initial round were played in Raleigh and the remainder of the games were played in New York City.
