1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1949, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 28, 1950, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The City College of New York Beavers won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–68 victory over the Bradley Braves.

Season headlines

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Conference membership changes

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School Former conference New conference
Brooklyn Bulldogs Metropolitan New York Conference Non-major basketball program
Bucknell Bison Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent
Detroit Titans Independent Missouri Valley Conference
Gettysburg Bullets Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent
Lafayette Leopards Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent
Lehigh Engineers Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent
Louisville Cardinals Ohio Valley Conference Independent
Muhlenberg Mules Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent

Regular season

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Conferences

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Conference winners and tournaments

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Conference Regular
season winner[3]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Big Seven Conference Kansas, Kansas State, & Nebraska None selected No Tournament
Big Ten Conference Ohio State None selected No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Princeton None selected No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference CCNY No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Cincinnati None selected No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Bradley None selected No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference BYU No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference Western Kentucky State None selected 1950 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Eastern Kentucky State
Pacific Coast Conference Washington State (North); UCLA (South) No Tournament;
UCLA defeated Washington State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Southeastern Conference Kentucky None selected 1950 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory,
(Louisville, Kentucky)
Kentucky
Southern Conference NC State None selected 1950 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Duke Indoor Stadium
(Durham, North Carolina)
NC State[4]
Southwest Conference Arkansas & Baylor None selected No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference Canisius, Niagara, & St. Bonaventure No Tournament
Yankee Conference Rhode Island State None selected No Tournament

Conference standings

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1949–50 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Kansas State 8 4   .667 17 7   .708
Nebraska 8 4   .667 16 7   .696
No. 19 Kansas 8 4   .667 14 11   .560
Colorado 6 6   .500 14 8   .636
Oklahoma 6 6   .500 12 10   .545
Missouri 4 8   .333 14 10   .583
Iowa State 2 10   .167 6 17   .261
Rankings from AP Poll[5]
1949–50 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Ohio State 11 1   .917 22 4   .846
No. 16 Wisconsin 9 3   .750 17 5   .773
No. 20 Indiana 7 5   .583 17 5   .773
Illinois 7 5   .583 14 8   .636
Iowa 6 6   .500 15 7   .682
Minnesota 4 8   .333 13 9   .591
Michigan 4 8   .333 11 11   .500
Northwestern 3 9   .250 10 12   .455
Purdue 3 9   .250 9 13   .409
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Princeton 11 1   .917 14 9   .609
Columbia 9 3   .750 21 7   .750
Cornell 7 5   .583 18 7   .720
Yale 7 5   .583 17 9   .654
Pennsylvania 4 8   .333 11 14   .440
Harvard 3 9   .250 9 15   .375
Dartmouth 1 11   .083 8 17   .320
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
CCNY 6 0   1.000 24 5   .828
Fordham 3 2   .600 15 12   .556
Brooklyn 2 2   .500 24 5   .828
No. 9 St. John's 3 3   .500 24 5   .828
Manhattan 3 3   .500 14 11   .560
NYU 1 4   .200 8 11   .421
St. Francis (NY) 0 4   .000 8 18   .308
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Cincinnati 10 0   1.000 20 6   .769
Western Michigan 6 4   .600 12 10   .545
Butler 6 4   .600 12 12   .500
Ohio 3 7   .300 6 14   .300
Miami (Ohio) 3 7   .300 5 15   .250
Western Reserve 2 6   .250 7 17   .292
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Bradley 11 1   .917 32 5   .865
Saint Louis 8 4   .667 17 9   .654
Detroit 7 5   .583 20 6   .769
Oklahoma A&M 7 5   .583 18 9   .667
Drake 5 7   .417 14 12   .538
Tulsa 3 9   .250 12 11   .522
Wichita Municipal 1 11   .083 7 17   .292
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
BYU 14 6   .700 22 12   .647
Wyoming 13 7   .650 25 11   .694
Denver 13 7   .650 18 13   .581
Utah State 10 10   .500 17 17   .500
Utah 8 12   .400 16 18   .471
Colorado State 2 18   .100 7 23   .233
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Western Kentucky State   25 6   .806
Eastern Kentucky State   16 6   .727
Marshall   15 9   .625
Morehead State   12 10   .545
Murray State   18 13   .581
Evansville   14 14   .500
Tennessee Tech   9 12   .429
Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North
No. 18 Washington State 11 5   .688 19 13   .594
Washington 8 8   .500 19 10   .655
Oregon State 8 8   .500 13 14   .481
Idaho 7 9   .438 15 17   .469
Oregon 6 10   .375 9 19   .321
South
No. 7 UCLA 10 2   .833 24 7   .774
USC 7 5   .583 16 8   .667
California 4 8   .333 10 17   .370
Stanford 3 9   .250 11 14   .440
† Conference playoff series winner
As of 1950[6]
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Kentucky 11 2   .846 25 5   .833
Vanderbilt 11 3   .786 17 8   .680
Auburn 12 6   .667 17 7   .708
Tulane 8 4   .667 15 7   .682
Alabama 8 9   .471 9 12   .429
Georgia 6 7   .462 15 9   .625
Tennessee 5 6   .455 15 11   .577
Georgia Tech 7 9   .438 14 13   .519
LSU 5 8   .385 13 12   .520
Mississippi State 6 10   .375 7 11   .389
Florida 4 10   .286 9 14   .391
Ole Miss 4 13   .235 8 17   .320
1950 SEC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[7]
1949–50 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 NC State 12 2   .857 27 6   .818
William & Mary 12 4   .750 23 9   .719
George Washington 12 4   .750 17 8   .680
South Carolina 12 5   .706 13 9   .591
North Carolina 13 6   .684 17 12   .586
Virginia Tech 9 5   .643 16 9   .640
Wake Forest 11 8   .579 14 16   .467
Duke 9 7   .563 15 15   .500
Clemson 8 8   .500 10 10   .500
Davidson 6 12   .333 10 16   .385
Furman 4 8   .333 9 12   .429
Washington and Lee 4 9   .308 8 12   .400
Maryland 5 13   .278 7 18   .280
Richmond 4 13   .235 8 16   .333
The Citadel 2 10   .167 4 16   .200
VMI 2 11   .154 4 17   .190
1950 Southern Conference tournament winner
As of April 30, 1950
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Baylor 8 4   .667 14 13   .519
Arkansas 8 4   .667 12 12   .500
SMU 7 5   .583 10 13   .435
Texas 6 6   .500 13 11   .542
Texas A&M 6 6   .500 10 14   .417
TCU 5 7   .417 13 11   .542
Rice 2 10   .167 8 15   .348
Rankings from AP poll
1949–50 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
St. Bonaventure 2 2   .500 17 5   .773
Niagara 2 2   .500 20 7   .741
Canisius 2 2   .500 17 8   .680
Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Rhode Island State 6 1   .857 18 8   .692
Connecticut 5 2   .714 17 8   .680
Vermont 2 3   .400 9 11   .450
Massachusetts 2 3   .400 8 11   .421
Maine 3 5   .375 13 6   .684
New Hampshire 1 5   .167 4 11   .267

Major independents

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A total of 46 college teams played as major independents. Among major independents, Holy Cross (27–4) finished with both the best winning percentage (.871) and the most wins.[8][9]

Although not considered a major independent during the season,[8] San Jose State (21–7) played as an independent[8] and was ranked No. 15 in the season's final AP Poll.[2]

1949–50 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Holy Cross   27 4   .871
No. 11 Villanova   25 4   .862
No. 10 La Salle   21 4   .840
No. 13 LIU   20 5   .800
No. 6 Duquesne   23 6   .793
Toledo   22 6   .786
Dayton   24 8   .750
Lafayette   18 6   .750
Muhlenberg   17 6   .739
Washington University   17 6   .739
No. 12 San Francisco   19 7   .731
Navy   14 7   .667
Syracuse   18 9   .667
Louisville   21 11   .656
Valparaiso   15 8   .652
Akron   16 9   .640
Santa Clara   14 8   .636
Bowling Green State   19 11   .633
Notre Dame   15 9   .625
Miami (Fla.)   14 9   .609
Temple   14 10   .583
Loyola (Ill.)   17 13   .567
Penn State   13 10   .565
Colgate   10 8   .556
Boston College   11 9   .550
West Virginia   13 11   .542
Army   9 8   .529
Creighton   13 13   .500
Georgetown   12 12   .500
Gettysburg   12 12   .500
DePaul   12 13   .480
Virginia   12 13   .480
Rutgers   13 15   .464
John Carroll   9 11   .450
Baldwin Wallace   11 14   .440
Brown   11 14   .440
Xavier   12 16   .429
Seton Hall   11 15   .423
St. Joseph's   10 15   .400
Loyola (Calif.)   9 17   .346
Wayne   7 15   .318
Marquette   6 17   .261
Bucknell   5 16   .238
Lehigh   4 14   .222
Pittsburgh   4 14   .222
Saint Mary's   3 22   .120
Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

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Conference Regular
season winner[10]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Middle Three Conference Lafayatte & 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 1949–50, Lafayatte and Rutgers finished tied for the best record in games played between the three members.[11]

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
    
CCNY 78
NC State 73
CCNY 71
Bradley 68
Baylor 66
Bradley 68 Third place
NC State 53
Baylor 41

National Invitation tournament

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Semifinals & finals

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Semifinals Finals
    
St. John's 72
Bradley 82
Bradley 61
CCNY 69
Duquesne 52
CCNY 62 Third place
St. John's 69
Duquesne 67

Awards

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Consensus All-American teams

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Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Paul Arizin F Senior Villanova
Bob Cousy G Senior Holy Cross
Dick Schnittker F Senior Ohio State
Bill Sharman G Senior Southern California
Paul Unruh F Senior Bradley


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Chuck Cooper F Senior Duquesne
Don Lofgran F/C Senior San Francisco
Kevin O'Shea G Senior Notre Dame
Don Rehfeldt F Senior Wisconsin
Sherman White C Junior Long Island

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
Dartmouth Elmer A. Lampe Doggie Julian
Northwestern Dutch Lonborg Harold Olsen
USC Sam Barry Forrest Twogood
Washington & Lee Conn Davis Scotty Hamilton

References

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  1. ^ a b "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "1949-50 Men's College Basketball AP Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  3. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  4. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  5. ^ sports-reference.com 1949-50 Big Seven Conference Season Summary
  6. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  7. ^ sports-reference.com 1949-50 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  8. ^ a b c "1949-50 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "1949-50 Men's Middle Three Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  10. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  11. ^ 1949-50 Men's Middle Three Conference Season Summary @ sports-reference.com