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1946–47 NCAA men's basketball season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1946–47 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1946, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1947 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1947, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Holy Cross Crusaders won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–47 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.

Season headlines

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Conference membership changes

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School Former conference New conference
Butler Bulldogs Independent Mid-American Conference
Canisius Golden Griffins Independent Western New York Little Three Conference
Chicago Maroons Big Ten Conference No NCAA basketball program
Cincinnati Bearcats Independent Mid-American Conference
Connecticut Huskies New England Conference Yankee Conference
Dickinson College Red Devils No NCAA basketball program Middle Atlantic States Conference North
Harvard Crimson Independent Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
Maine Black Bears New England Conference Yankee Conference
Massachusetts Minutemen Independent Yankee Conference
New Hampshire Wildcats New England Conference Yankee Conference
Niagara Purple Eagles Independent Western New York Little Three Conference
Ohio Bobcats Independent Mid-American Conference
Rhode Island State Rams New England Conference Yankee Conference
St. Bonaventure Brown Indians Independent Western New York Little Three Conference
Vermont Catamounts Independent Yankee Conference
Wayne State Warriors No NCAA basketball program Mid-American Conference
Western Reserve Red Cats No NCAA basketball program Mid-American Conference
Yale Bulldogs Independent Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League

Regular season

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Conferences

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Conference winners and tournaments

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Conference Regular
season winner[6]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Big Six Conference Oklahoma None selected No Tournament
Big Nine Conference Wisconsin None selected No Tournament
Border Conference Arizona None selected No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Columbia None selected No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference St. John's No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Butler & Cincinnati None selected No Tournament
Middle Atlantic States Conference North Muhlenberg No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Saint Louis None selected No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference Oregon State (North); UCLA (South) No Tournament;
Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Southeastern Conference Kentucky None selected 1947 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory,
(Louisville, Kentucky)
Kentucky
Southern Conference NC State None selected 1947 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Duke Indoor Stadium
(Durham, North Carolina)
NC State[7]
Southwest Conference Texas None selected No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference Canisius No Tournament
Yankee Conference Vermont None selected No Tournament

Conference standings

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1946–47 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Oklahoma 8 2   .800 24 7   .774
Missouri 6 4   .600 15 10   .600
Kansas 5 5   .500 16 11   .593
Iowa State 5 5   .500 7 14   .333
Kansas State 3 7   .300 14 10   .583
Nebraska 3 7   .300 10 14   .417
1946–47 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wisconsin 9 3   .750 16 6   .727
Illinois 8 4   .667 14 6   .700
Indiana 8 4   .667 12 8   .600
Minnesota 7 5   .583 14 7   .667
Michigan 6 6   .500 12 8   .600
Iowa 5 7   .417 12 7   .632
Ohio State 5 7   .417 7 13   .350
Purdue 4 8   .333 9 11   .450
Northwestern 2 10   .167 7 13   .350
1946–47 Border Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Arizona 14 2   .875 21 3   .875
Arizona State–Flagstaff 11 5   .688 20 7   .741
New Mexico 10 6   .625 11 8   .579
Texas State M&M 9 7   .563 12 8   .600
West Texas State 8 8   .500 12 12   .500
Texas Tech 8 8   .500 10 12   .455
Arizona State–Tempe 5 11   .313 7 13   .350
Hardin–Simmons 5 11   .313 8 21   .276
New Mexico A&M 2 14   .125 8 17   .320
1946–47 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Columbia 11 1   .917 15 5   .750
Cornell 8 4   .667 14 8   .636
Pennsylvania 7 5   .583 14 8   .636
Harvard 5 7   .417 16 9   .640
Dartmouth 5 7   .417 9 15   .375
Yale 4 8   .333 7 18   .280
Princeton 2 10   .167 7 16   .304
1946–47 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
St. John's 6 0   1.000 16 7   .696
CCNY 4 1   .800 17 6   .739
Fordham 4 2   .667 19 5   .792
NYU 3 3   .500 12 9   .571
St. Francis (NY) 2 3   .400 14 7   .667
Manhattan 1 5   .167 13 13   .500
Brooklyn 0 6   .000 12 8   .600
1946–47 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Butler 6 2   .750 16 7   .696
Cincinnati 6 2   .750 17 9   .654
Ohio 5 3   .625 13 10   .565
Western Reserve 2 6   .250 7 11   .389
Wayne 1 7   .125 3 15   .167
1946–47 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Muhlenberg 7 1   .875 19 7   .731
Dickinson 4 1   .800 15 2   .882
Lafayette 6 2   .750 15 7   .682
Bucknell 6 3   .667 11 8   .579
Gettysburg 2 8   .200 7 14   .333
Lehigh 0 10   .000 5 13   .278
1946–47 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Saint Louis 11 1   .917 18 11   .621
Oklahoma A&M 8 4   .667 24 8   .750
Drake 8 4   .667 18 11   .621
Creighton 7 5   .583 17 8   .680
Washington University 3 9   .250 11 14   .440
Tulsa 3 9   .250 5 19   .208
Wichita Municipal 2 10   .167 8 17   .320
1946–47 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wyoming 11 1   .917 22 6   .786
Utah 10 2   .833 19 5   .792
Denver 6 6   .500 16 10   .615
Utah State 6 6   .500 14 10   .583
Colorado 5 7   .417 7 11   .389
BYU 3 9   .250 9 16   .360
Colorado State 1 11   .083 3 18   .143
1946–47 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North
Oregon State 13 3   .813 28 5   .848
Washington State 11 5   .688 23 10   .697
Washington 8 8   .500 16 8   .667
Oregon 7 9   .438 18 9   .667
Idaho 1 15   .063 4 24   .143
South
UCLA 9 3   .750 18 7   .720
California 8 4   .667 20 11   .645
Stanford 5 7   .417 15 16   .484
USC 2 10   .167 10 14   .417
† Conference playoff series winner
1946–47 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Kentucky 11 0   1.000 34 3   .919
LSU 9 2   .818 17 4   .810
Tennessee 10 3   .769 16 5   .762
Alabama 13 5   .722 16 6   .727
Tulane 8 4   .667 22 9   .710
Georgia Tech 6 6   .500 12 11   .522
Florida 4 4   .500 17 9   .654
Vanderbilt 4 7   .364 7 8   .467
Mississippi State 4 9   .308 10 11   .476
Georgia 4 9   .308 5 14   .263
Ole Miss 2 11   .154 7 14   .333
Auburn 1 15   .063 3 18   .143
† Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner
1946–47 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North Carolina State 11 2   .846 26 5   .839
North Carolina 10 2   .833 19 8   .704
Duke 10 4   .714 19 8   .704
George Washington 9 4   .692 21 7   .750
Maryland 9 5   .643 14 10   .583
Richmond 8 5   .615 17 9   .654
South Carolina 7 5   .583 16 9   .640
Washington and Lee 7 6   .538 16 7   .696
Davidson 7 7   .500 17 8   .680
William & Mary 6 6   .500 14 12   .538
Wake Forest 8 9   .471 11 13   .458
Furman 5 7   .417 9 10   .474
Virginia Tech 4 9   .308 13 13   .500
Clemson 2 12   .143 7 13   .350
The Citadel 1 11   .083 5 11   .313
VMI 1 11   .083 2 14   .125
Southern Conference Tournament winner
1946–47 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Texas 12 0   1.000 26 2   .929
SMU 8 4   .667 14 8   .636
Arkansas 8 4   .667 14 10   .583
Baylor 6 6   .500 11 11   .500
Texas A&M 4 8   .333 8 17   .320
Rice 3 9   .250 7 17   .292
TCU 1 11   .083 1 22   .043
1946–47 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Canisius 3 0   1.000 18 13   .581
Niagara 2 2   .500 13 8   .619
St. Bonaventure 0 3   .000 10 11   .476
1946–47 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Vermont 1 0   1.000 19 3   .864
Connecticut 6 1   .857 16 2   .889
Rhode Island State 4 1   .800 17 3   .850
Maine 2 4   .333 9 8   .529
Massachusetts 0 2   .000 4 12   .250
New Hampshire 0 5   .000 6 11   .353

Major independents

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A total of 50 college teams played as major independents. Duquesne (20–2) had the best winning percentage (.909) and Marshall (32–5) finished with the most wins.[8]

1946–47 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Duquesne   20 2   .909
Holy Cross   27 3   .900
Seton Hall   24 3   .889
Marshall   32 5   .865
West Virginia   19 3   .864
Western Kentucky State   25 4   .862
Navy   16 3   .842
Santa Clara   21 4   .840
Notre Dame   20 4   .833
Hamline   22 5   .815
Bowling Green State   28 7   .800
Bradley   25 7   .781
LIU   17 5   .773
La Salle   20 6   .769
Syracuse   19 6   .760
Toledo   18 6   .750
Louisville   17 6   .739
Georgetown   19 7   .731
St. Joseph's   16 6   .727
Villanova   17 7   .708
Western Michigan   17 7   .708
Montana State   25 11   .694
Loyola (Ill.)   20 9   .690
Miami (Ohio)   15 7   .682
Indiana State   17 8   .680
Boston University   14 7   .667
Colgate   11 6   .647
DePaul   16 9   .640
Loyola (Md.)   20 12   .625
Nevada   19 13   .594
Army   9 7   .563
Penn State   10 8   .556
Boston College   12 10   .545
Kent State   13 11   .542
Michigan State   11 10   .524
Siena   12 11   .522
San Francisco   13 14   .481
Detroit   12 13   .480
Virginia   10 11   .476
Pittsburgh   8 10   .444
Saint Mary's   13 17   .433
Montana   12 16   .429
Brown   8 12   .400
Temple   8 12   .400
Marquette   9 14   .391
Rutgers   7 12   .368
Valparaiso   11 20   .355
Merchant Marine   8 16   .333
Xavier   8 17   .320
Dayton   4 17   .190

Statistical leaders

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Post-season tournaments

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NCAA tournament

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Semifinals and finals

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National Semifinals National Finals
    
Holy Cross 60
CCNY 45
Holy Cross 58
Oklahoma 47
Texas 54
Oklahoma 55 Third place
CCNY 50
Texas 54

National Invitation tournament

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Semifinals and finals

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Semifinals Finals
    
Utah 64
West Virginia 62
Utah 49
Kentucky 45
Kentucky 60
NC State 42 Third place
West Virginia 52
NC State 64

Awards

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Consensus All-American teams

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Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Ralph Beard G Sophomore Kentucky
Alex Groza C Sophomore Kentucky
Ralph Hamilton G Senior Indiana
Sid Tanenbaum G Senior New York University
Gerry Tucker C Senior Oklahoma


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Don Barksdale C Senior UCLA
Arnie Ferrin F Junior Utah
Vern Gardner C Senior Utah
John Hargis G Senior Texas
George Kaftan F Junior Holy Cross
Ed Koffenberger C Junior Duke
Andy Phillip G/F Senior Illinois

Major player of the year awards

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Other major awards

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Coaching changes

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

Team Former
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
Oregon Howard Hobson John A. Warren
St. John's Joe Lapchick Frank McGuire
Yale Ivy Williamson Howard Hobson

References

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  1. ^ "New England/Yankee regular-season champions," Coaches Database Accessed April 27, 2021
  2. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  4. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  5. ^ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  7. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  8. ^ "1946-47 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2024.