1948–49 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1948–49 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1948, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1949 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1949, at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington. The Kentucky Wildcats won their second NCAA national championship with a 46–36 victory over the Oklahoma A&M Aggies.

Rule changes

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Coaches were permitted to speak to players during time-outs. Previously, under a rule in place since the 1910–11 season, no coaching of players had been permitted during the progress of a game.[1]

Season headlines

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Conference membership changes

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School Former conference New conference
Bradley Braves Independent Missouri Valley Conference
Creighton Bluejays Missouri Valley Conference Independent
Eastern Kentucky State Colonels Independent Ohio Valley Conference
Evansville Purple Aces Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference
Louisville Cardinals Independent Ohio Valley Conference
Morehead State Eagles Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference
Murray State Racers Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference
Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers Independent Ohio Valley Conference

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 Seven Conference Nebraska & Oklahoma None selected No Tournament
Big Ten Conference Illinois None selected No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Yale None selected No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference Manhattan & St. John's No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Cincinnati None selected No Tournament
Middle Atlantic States Conference North Lafayette & Muhlenberg No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Oklahoma A&M None selected No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference Wyoming No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference Western Kentucky State None selected 1949 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Western Kentucky State
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 1949 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory,
(Louisville, Kentucky)
Kentucky
Southern Conference NC State None selected 1949 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Duke Indoor Stadium
(Durham, North Carolina)
NC State[7]
Southwest Conference Arkansas, Baylor, & Rice None selected No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference Niagara No Tournament
Yankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament

Conference standings

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1948–49 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Nebraska 9 3   .750 16 10   .615
Oklahoma 9 3   .750 14 10   .583
Kansas State 8 4   .667 13 11   .542
Missouri 6 6   .500 11 13   .458
Colorado 4 8   .333 6 12   .333
Kansas 3 9   .250 12 12   .500
Iowa State 3 9   .250 8 14   .364
Rankings from AP Poll[8]
1948–49 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Illinois 10 2   .833 21 4   .840
No. 6 Minnesota 9 3   .750 18 3   .857
Michigan 7 5   .583 15 6   .714
No. 20 Ohio State 6 6   .500 14 7   .667
Indiana 6 6   .500 14 8   .636
Purdue 6 6   .500 13 9   .591
Wisconsin 5 7   .417 12 10   .545
Iowa 3 9   .250 10 10   .500
Northwestern 2 10   .167 5 16   .238
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 Yale 9 3   .750 22 8   .733
Columbia 8 4   .667 14 6   .700
Pennsylvania 8 4   .667 15 8   .652
Princeton 8 4   .667 13 9   .591
Cornell 5 7   .417 11 15   .423
Dartmouth 4 8   .333 15 11   .577
Harvard 0 12   .000 3 20   .130
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Manhattan 5 1   .833 18 8   .692
St. John's 5 1   .833 15 9   .625
CCNY 3 2   .600 17 8   .680
NYU 3 2   .600 12 8   .600
St. Francis (NY) 2 2   .500 21 12   .636
Fordham 1 5   .167 9 16   .360
Brooklyn 0 6   .000 8 14   .364
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Cincinnati 9 1   .900 23 5   .821
No. 18 Butler 8 2   .800 18 5   .783
Western Michigan 4 6   .400 12 10   .545
Western Reserve 4 6   .400 9 15   .375
Miami (Ohio) 3 7   .300 8 13   .381
Ohio 2 8   .200 6 16   .273
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Lafayette 6 2   .750 20 9   .690
Muhlenberg 6 2   .750 17 8   .680
Gettysburg 5 3   .625 16 10   .615
Lehigh 3 5   .375 7 11   .389
Bucknell 0 8   .000 2 18   .100
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Oklahoma A&M 9 1   .900 23 5   .821
No. 3 Saint Louis 8 2   .800 22 4   .846
No. 7 Bradley 6 4   .600 27 8   .771
Drake 4 6   .400 13 13   .500
Wichita State 3 7   .300 10 16   .385
Tulsa 0 10   .000 4 20   .167
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Wyoming 15 5   .750 25 10   .714
No. 12 Utah 14 6   .700 24 8   .750
Denver 13 7   .650 18 15   .545
BYU 11 9   .550 21 13   .618
Utah State 4 16   .200 10 21   .323
Colorado State 3 17   .150 14 21   .400
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Western Kentucky State 8 2   .800 25 4   .862
Eastern Kentucky State 7 3   .700 17 4   .810
Louisville 6 3   .667 23 10   .697
Marshall 2 2   .500 16 12   .571
Evansville 4 5   .444 14 11   .560
Murray State 3 9   .250 13 12   .520
Morehead State 2 7   .222 14 9   .609
Tennessee Tech 0 1   .000 10 10   .500
Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North
Oregon State 12 4   .750 24 12   .667
Washington State 8 8   .500 21 9   .700
Oregon 7 9   .438 12 18   .400
Idaho 7 9   .438 17 15   .531
Washington 6 10   .375 11 15   .423
South
No. 15 UCLA 10 2   .833 22 7   .759
USC 8 4   .667 14 10   .583
Stanford 5 7   .417 19 9   .679
California 1 11   .083 14 19   .424
† Conference playoff series winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Kentucky 13 0   1.000 32 2   .941
No. 9 Tulane 12 3   .800 24 4   .857
Tennessee 8 3   .727 19 7   .731
Vanderbilt 9 5   .643 14 8   .636
LSU 7 6   .538 15 10   .600
Alabama 9 9   .500 13 12   .520
Georgia Tech 7 9   .438 11 13   .458
Georgia 6 9   .400 17 13   .567
Florida 4 8   .333 11 16   .407
Auburn 5 11   .313 9 15   .375
Ole Miss 4 12   .250 8 13   .381
Mississippi State 3 12   .200 4 13   .235
1949 SEC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[9]
1948–49 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 13 North Carolina State 14 1   .933 25 8   .758
William & Mary 10 3   .769 24 10   .706
North Carolina 13 5   .722 20 8   .714
George Washington 9 4   .692 18 8   .692
Davidson 11 6   .647 18 8   .692
South Carolina 7 6   .538 10 12   .455
Wake Forest 7 7   .500 11 13   .458
Maryland 7 7   .500 9 17   .346
Virginia Tech 6 8   .429 10 13   .435
Duke 5 7   .417 13 9   .591
Clemson 6 9   .400 10 11   .476
Washington and Lee 5 9   .357 10 12   .455
Richmond 5 10   .333 8 15   .348
Furman 4 11   .267 8 14   .364
VMI 3 8   .273 3 16   .158
The Citadel 0 11   .000 1 17   .056
Southern Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Arkansas 9 3   .750 15 11   .577
Baylor 9 3   .750 14 10   .583
Rice 9 3   .750 13 11   .542
Texas 7 5   .583 17 7   .708
SMU 5 7   .417 11 13   .458
Texas A&M 2 10   .167 5 19   .208
TCU 1 11   .083 4 20   .167
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Niagara 3 1   .750 24 7   .774
Canisius 2 2   .500 16 12   .571
St. Bonaventure 1 3   .250 18 8   .692
Rankings from AP Poll
1948–49 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Connecticut 7 1   .875 19 6   .760
Rhode Island State 5 1   .833 16 6   .727
Vermont 2 1   .667 15 5   .750
Massachusetts 2 2   .500 6 12   .333
New Hampshire 2 6   .250 7 10   .412
Maine 0 7   .000 4 14   .222

Major independents

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A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. Villanova (23–4) had the best winning percentage (.852). San Francisco (25–5) and Loyola of Illinois (25–6) finished with the most wins.[10][11]

Although not considered a major independent during the season,[10] Hamline (28–3) played as an independent[10] and was ranked No. 19 in the season's final AP Poll.[12]

1948–49 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Villanova   23 4   .852
No. 8 San Francisco   25 5   .833
No. 16 Loyola (Ill.)   25 6   .806
No. 10 Bowling Green State   24 7   .774
Duquesne   17 5   .773
Siena   22 7   .759
La Salle   21 7   .750
West Virginia   18 6   .750
Akron   16 6   .727
Syracuse   18 7   .720
Notre Dame   17 7   .708
Holy Cross   19 8   .704
Miami (Fla.)   19 8   .704
Seton Hall   16 8   .667
DePaul   16 9   .640
Brown   13 8   .619
Xavier   16 10   .615
Colgate   11 7   .611
Temple   14 9   .609
LIU   18 12   .600
Baldwin Wallace   13 9   .591
Washington University   13 9   .591
Navy   12 9   .571
Virginia   13 10   .565
Detroit   12 10   .545
Rutgers   14 12   .538
Dayton   16 14   .533
St. Joseph's   12 11   .522
Toledo   13 12   .520
Boston College   9 9   .500
Pittsburgh   12 13   .480
Wayne   11 13   .458
Saint Mary's   13 17   .433
Army   7 10   .412
Penn State   7 10   .412
Creighton   9 14   .391
Marquette   8 13   .381
Georgetown   9 15   .375
Santa Clara   8 15   .348
Boston University   6 12   .333
Valparaiso   8 17   .320
John Carroll   7 17   .292
Providence   7 19   .269
Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

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Conference Regular
season winner[13]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Middle Three Conference Rutgers None selected 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 1948–49, Rutgers finished with a 3–1 record in games played between the three members.[14]

Statistical leaders

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Post-season tournaments

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NCAA tournament

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Semifinals & finals

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National semifinals National Finals
    
Illinois 47
Kentucky 76
Kentucky 46
Oklahoma A&M 36
Oklahoma A&M 55
Oregon State 30 Third place
Illinois 57
Oregon State 53

National Invitation tournament

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Semifinals & finals

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Semifinals Finals
    
Loyola (Ill.) 55
Bradley 50
Loyola (Ill.) 47
San Francisco 48
San Francisco 49
Bowling Green State 39 Third place
Bradley 77
Bowling Green State 82

Awards

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Consensus All-American teams

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Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Ralph Beard G Senior Kentucky
Vince Boryla F Junior Denver
Alex Groza C Senior Kentucky
Tony Lavelli F Senior Yale
Ed Macauley F Senior Saint Louis


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Bill Erickson G Junior Illinois
Vern Gardner F Senior Utah
Wallace Jones F Senior Kentucky
Jim McIntyre C Senior Minnesota
Ernie Vandeweghe G Senior Colgate

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
Georgetown Elmer Ripley Buddy O'Grady
John Carroll Norb Rascher Elmer Ripley[15]
La Salle Charles McGlone Ken Loeffler
Seton Hall Jack Reitmeier Honey Russell
Washington & Lee Bob Spessard Conn Davis

References

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  1. ^ orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
  2. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. p. 590. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  3. ^ sports-reference.com Matchup Finder
  4. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  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. ^ sports-reference.com 1948-49 Big Seven Conference Season Summary
  9. ^ sports-reference.com 1948-49 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  10. ^ a b c "1948-49 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "1948-49 Men's Middle Three Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "1948-49 Men's College Basketball AP Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  13. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  14. ^ 1948–49 Men's Middle Three Conference Season Summary @ sports-reference.com
  15. ^ "2021 John Carroll Blue Streaks men's basketball history & records guide, page 28" (PDF). John Carroll Blue Streaks. Retrieved May 9, 2021.