today. In the technical sense of who shows up as national champion in the record books, you’re right.
Utah shows up in 1944. Because they won the NCAA. But there are a number of reasons why that didn’t mean then what winning the NCAA means today. In the case of 1944, not only was the NCAA tournament less prestigious, WWII took many of the best players off the court.
If the question is “what was the bigger deal in 1951?” The NIT is the answer.