1942–43 NCAA men's basketball season

1942–43 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
NCAA Tournament	1943
Tournament dates	March 24 – 30, 1943
National Championship	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
NCAA Champions	Wyoming
Helms National Champions	Wyoming
Other champions	St. John's (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	George Senesky, Saint Joseph's (retroactive selection in 1944)

The 1942–43 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1942, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1943 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 30, 1943, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Wyoming Cowboys won their first NCAA national championship with a 46–34 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas.

Rule changes

In overtime, a player can commit a fifth foul before fouling out. Previously, a player fouled out after committing four fouls, regardless of whether the game went into overtime or not.

Season headlines

• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected its national champions for the seasons from 1919–20 through 1941–42. Beginning with the 1942–43 season, it began to pick each season's national champion annually, a practice it continued through the 1981–82 season.
• Top-ranked Illinois declined to participate in either the NCAA tournament or the National Invitation Tournament after three of its starters were drafted into the United States Army for World War II service.
• The 1943 NCAA Tournament championship game between Wyoming and Georgetown was the only one in history not filmed for posterity. It had a smaller crowd than expected because of the greater local interest in New York City in the championship run St. John's made in the 1943 National Invitation Tournament. Until at least the mid-1950s, the NIT was the more prestigious of the two tournaments.
• As a fundraiser for the American Red Cross, the finalists and semifinalists of the NCAA Tournament and NIT took part in the Sportswriters Invitational Playoff, in which the two tournament champions, Wyoming (NCAA) and St. John's (NIT), and the two runners-up, Georgetown (NCAA) and Toledo (NIT), played each other at Madison Square Garden after their tournaments ended, with the games counting in the teams' records for the season. The NCAA Tournament teams prevailed in both games: Wyoming beat St. John's 52–47 with 18,000 fans in attendance, and the Hoyas defeated Toledo 54–40 to close out the season. The post-tournament benefit games — touted as the "mythical national championship" between the two tournament winners — would be played again in each of the next two seasons.
• With a final record of 31–2, Wyoming became the first team to win 30 or more games in a single season.
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Illinois as its national champion for the 1942–43 season.

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Brooklyn Bulldogs	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
CCNY Beavers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Fordham Rams	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Manhattan Jaspers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
NYU Violets	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
St. Francis (NY) Terriers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
St. John's Redmen	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Illinois	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	West Texas State	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. John's		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Creighton	None selected	No Tournament
New England Conference	Rhode Island State		No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Wyoming		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Tennessee	None selected	1943 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Tennessee
Southern Conference	Duke	None selected	1943 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	George Washington
Southwest Conference	Rice & Texas	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1942–43 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas 10 – 0   1.000 22 – 6   .786 Missouri 7 – 3   .700 18 – 9   .667 Oklahoma 5 – 5   .500 7 – 10   .412 Nebraska 5 – 5   .500 6 – 10   .375 Iowa State 2 – 8   .200 7 – 9   .438 Kansas State 1 – 9   .100 6 – 14   .300	1942–43 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Illinois 12 – 0   1.000 17 – 1   .944 Indiana 11 – 2   .846 18 – 2   .900 Northwestern 7 – 5   .583 8 – 9   .471 Wisconsin 6 – 6   .500 12 – 9   .571 Purdue 6 – 6   .500 9 – 11   .450 Minnesota 5 – 7   .417 8 – 9   .471 Ohio State 5 – 7   .417 8 – 9   .471 Michigan 4 – 8   .333 10 – 8   .556 Iowa 3 – 9   .250 7 – 10   .412 Chicago 0 – 9   .000 0 – 21   .000	1942–43 Border Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT West Texas State 10 – 0   1.000 15 – 7   .682 Arizona 11 – 1   .917 22 – 2   .917 Texas Tech 7 – 5   .583 13 – 11   .542 Texas State M&M 4 – 4   .500 11 – 6   .647 Arizona State–Tempe 6 – 6   .500 10 – 9   .526 Arizona State–Flagstaff 1 – 7   .125 4 – 8   .333 New Mexico 1 – 11   .083 3 – 17   .150 Hardin–Simmons 0 – 6   .000 1 – 9   .100
1942–43 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Dartmouth 11 – 1   .917 20 – 3   .870 Princeton 9 – 3   .750 14 – 6   .700 Pennsylvania 6 – 6   .500 14 – 7   .667 Cornell 6 – 6   .500 7 – 15   .318 Columbia 5 – 7   .417 8 – 8   .500 Harvard 4 – 8   .333 12 – 14   .462 Yale 1 – 11   .083 6 – 17   .261	1942–43 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. John's 6 – 1   .857 21 – 3   .875 Manhattan 5 – 2   .714 18 – 3   .857 Fordham 4 – 2   .667 16 – 6   .727 NYU 3 – 2   .600 16 – 6   .727 Hofstra 3 – 2   .600 15 – 6   .714 CCNY 2 – 5   .286 8 – 10   .444 St. Francis (NY) 1 – 5   .167 13 – 7   .650 Brooklyn 0 – 5   .000 6 – 11   .353	1942–43 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Creighton 10 – 0   1.000 19 – 2   .905 Oklahoma A&M 7 – 3   .700 14 – 10   .583 Washington University 7 – 3   .700 9 – 10   .474 Saint Louis 3 – 7   .300 11 – 10   .524 Drake 3 – 7   .300 8 – 9   .471 Tulsa 0 – 10   .000 0 – 10   .000
1942–43 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Wyoming 4 – 0   1.000 31 – 2   .939 BYU 7 – 1   .875 15 – 7   .682 Utah State 4 – 4   .500 14 – 7   .667 Utah 1 – 7   .125 10 – 12   .455 Colorado State 0 – 4   .000 7 – 9   .438	1942–43 New England Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island State 7 – 1   .875 16 – 3   .842 Connecticut 5 – 3   .625 8 – 7   .533 Maine 4 – 4   .500 9 – 6   .600 Northeastern 2 – 6   .250 7 – 12   .368 New Hampshire 2 – 6   .250 4 – 14   .222	1942–43 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Washington † 12 – 4   .750 24 – 7   .774 Oregon 10 – 6   .625 19 – 10   .655 Washington State 9 – 7   .563 19 – 11   .633 Oregon State 8 – 8   .500 19 – 9   .679 Idaho 1 – 15   .063 14 – 20   .412 South USC 7 – 1   .875 23 – 5   .821 UCLA 4 – 4   .500 14 – 7   .667 Stanford 4 – 4   .500 10 – 11   .476 California 1 – 7   .125 9 – 15   .375 † Conference playoff series winner
1942–43 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kentucky 8 – 1   .889 17 – 6   .739 LSU 11 – 2   .846 18 – 4   .818 Tennessee † 6 – 3   .667 14 – 4   .778 Mississippi State 13 – 7   .650 14 – 8   .636 Georgia Tech 7 – 4   .636 11 – 5   .688 Vanderbilt 9 – 7   .563 10 – 8   .556 Alabama 9 – 9   .500 10 – 10   .500 Ole Miss 6 – 8   .429 8 – 10   .444 Tulane 4 – 8   .333 4 – 9   .308 Georgia 1 – 8   .111 4 – 13   .235 Auburn 1 – 12   .077 1 – 14   .067 Florida 0 – 6   .000 8 – 7   .533 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner	1942–43 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Duke 12 – 1   .923 20 – 6   .769 George Washington † 8 – 2   .800 17 – 6   .739 South Carolina 6 – 3   .667 13 – 6   .684 Davidson 7 – 4   .636 18 – 6   .750 The Citadel 5 – 3   .625 8 – 5   .615 William & Mary 6 – 4   .600 11 – 10   .524 VMI 7 – 5   .583 8 – 8   .500 North Carolina State 7 – 5   .583 7 – 9   .438 Maryland 5 – 5   .500 8 – 8   .500 Richmond 4 – 4   .500 11 – 5   .688 North Carolina 8 – 9   .471 12 – 10   .545 Virginia Tech 3 – 6   .333 7 – 7   .500 Washington and Lee 2 – 10   .167 7 – 12   .368 Wake Forest 1 – 10   .091 1 – 10   .091 Clemson 0 – 10   .000 3 – 13   .188 † Southern Conference Tournament winner	1942–43 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas 9 – 3   .750 19 – 7   .731 Rice 9 – 3   .750 17 – 9   .654 Arkansas 8 – 4   .667 19 – 7   .731 TCU 5 – 7   .417 18 – 9   .667 SMU 4 – 8   .333 10 – 8   .556 Texas A&M 4 – 8   .333 11 – 11   .500 Baylor 3 – 9   .250 6 – 14   .300

Major independents

A total of 60 college teams played as major independents. Villanova (19–2) had the best winning percentage (.905) and Western Kentucky State (24–3) finished with the most wins.

1942–43 NCAA men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Villanova –   – 19 – 2   .905 Notre Dame –   – 18 – 2   .900 Seton Hall –   – 16 – 2   .889 Western Kentucky State –   – 24 – 3   .889 Akron –   – 18 – 3   .857 Rochester (N.Y.) –   – 12 – 2   .857 Toledo –   – 22 – 4   .846 St. Joseph's –   – 18 – 4   .818 Georgetown –   – 22 – 5   .815 DePaul –   – 19 – 5   .792 Penn State –   – 15 – 4   .789 Western Michigan –   – 15 – 4   .789 Bowling Green State –   – 18 – 5   .783 Washington & Jefferson –   – 18 – 5   .783 Nevada –   – 14 – 4   .778 Montana State –   – 17 – 5   .773 Valparaiso –   – 17 – 5   .773 Niagara –   – 20 – 6   .769 Indiana State –   – 13 – 4   .765 Detroit –   – 15 – 5   .750 Denver –   – 19 – 8   .704 Miami (Ohio) –   – 11 – 5   .688 LIU –   – 13 – 6   .684 Siena –   – 13 – 6   .684 Pittsburgh –   – 10 – 5   .667 West Virginia –   – 14 – 7   .667 Duquesne –   – 12 – 7   .632 Wichita Municipal –   – 12 – 7   .632 Montana –   – 15 – 9   .625 Muhlenberg –   – 13 – 8   .619 Ohio –   – 11 – 7   .611 San Francisco –   – 13 – 9   .591 Marshall –   – 10 – 7   .588 Saint Mary's –   – 12 – 9   .571 La Salle –   – 13 – 10   .565 Canisius –   – 11 – 9   .550 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 12 – 10   .545 Lafayette –   – 7 – 6   .538 Dayton –   – 9 – 8   .529 Santa Clara –   – 10 – 9   .526 Kent State –   – 12 – 12   .500 Temple –   – 11 – 11   .500 Cincinnati –   – 9 – 10   .474 Marquette –   – 9 – 10   .474 St. Bonaventure –   – 8 – 9   .471 Brown –   – 9 – 11   .450 Syracuse –   – 8 – 10   .444 Rutgers –   – 7 – 9   .438 Geneva –   – 9 – 12   .429 Navy –   – 6 – 8   .429 Bradley –   – 8 – 11   .421 Colgate –   – 5 – 7   .417 Bucknell –   – 5 – 8   .385 Virginia –   – 8 – 13   .381 Xavier –   – 6 – 10   .375 Army –   – 5 – 10   .333 Lehigh –   – 5 – 10   .333 Loyola (Md.) –   – 7 – 14   .333 Butler –   – 4 – 9   .308 Boston University –   – 3 – 10   .231 Loyola (Calif.) –   – 3 – 10   .231 Holy Cross –   – 1 – 5   .167 Michigan State –   – 2 – 14   .125

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Middle Three Conference	Rutgers	No Tournament

NOTE: Despite its name, the Middle Three Conference was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In play among the three member schools in 1942–43, Rutgers finished with a 3–1 record and Lafayette with a 2–2 record, while Lehigh had record of 1–3.

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1943 NCAA basketball tournament and 1943 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Semifinals and finals

	National semifinals					National Finals
	Georgetown		53
	DePaul		49
						Georgetown		34
						Wyoming		46
	Texas		54
	Wyoming		58

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1943 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals and finals

	Semifinals					Finals
		St. John's	69
		Fordham	43
							St. John's	48
							Toledo	27
		Toledo	46
		Washington & Jefferson	39

• Third Place – Washington & Jefferson 39, Fordham 34

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1943 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Class	Team
Ed Beisser	Senior	Creighton
Charles B. Black	Sophomore	Kansas
Harry Boykoff	Sophomore	St. John's
Bill Closs	Senior	Rice
Andy Phillip	Junior	Illinois
Kenny Sailors	Junior	Wyoming
George Senesky	Senior	Saint Joseph's

Consensus Second Team

Player	Class	Team
Gale Bishop	Junior	Washington State
Otto Graham	Junior	Northwestern
John Kotz	Senior	Wisconsin
Robert Rensberger	Senior	Notre Dame
Gene Rock	Junior	Southern California
Gerry Tucker	Junior	Oklahoma

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: George Senesky, Saint Joseph's (retroactive selection in 1944)
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Andy Phillip, Illinois

Other major awards

• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Andrew Levane, St. John's

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Georgetown	Elmer Ripley		None	After the end of the season, Georgetown suspended all athletic programs for the duration of World War II Ripley moved to the head coaching position at Columbia the following season.
Notre Dame	George Keogan		Moose Krause