The 1942 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 20, 1942, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region. Everett Dean is the only coach to have never lost an NCAA tournament game. Dean was 3–0 in his lone appearance.