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1944 NCAA basketball tournament

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(Redirected from 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament) Edition of USA college basketball tournament

1944 NCAA basketball tournament
Championship game program
Teams8
Finals siteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsUtah Redskins (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upDartmouth Indians (2nd title game,
2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachVadal Peterson (1st title)
MOPArnie Ferrin (Utah)
Attendance59,369
Top scorerAudley Brindley (Dartmouth)
(52 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1943 1945»

The 1944 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 24, 1944, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region.

Utah, coached by Vadal Peterson, won the national title with a 42–40 victory in the final game over Dartmouth, coached by Earl Brown. Arnie Ferrin of Utah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Utah became the first team to play in both the NIT and NCAA tournament in the same season. Utah was given a second chance to play in the NCAA Tournament after a March 1944 automobile accident killed a coaching aide and seriously injured two players on the Arkansas team.

Utah's winning team featured Wataru Misaka, who later joined the New York Knicks to become the first person of color (in his case, being an Asian-American by being of Japanese descent) to play in modern professional basketball.

Locations

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1944 tournament:

Regionals

March 24 and 25
East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)
West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Championship Game

March 28
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)

Teams

Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East Catholic John Long Independent Regional Fourth Place Temple L 55–35
East Dartmouth Earl Brown EIBL Runner Up Utah L 42–40
East Ohio State Harold Olsen Big Ten National Semifinals Dartmouth L 60–53
East Temple Josh Cody Middle Atlantic Regional third place Catholic W 55–35
West
West Iowa State Louis Menze Big Six National Semifinals Utah L 40–31
West Missouri George R. Edwards Big Six Regional third place Pepperdine W 61–46
West Pepperdine Al Duer Independent Regional Fourth Place Missouri L 61–46
West Utah Vadal Peterson Skyline Champion* Dartmouth W 42–40

Bracket

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Dartmouth 63
Catholic 38
Dartmouth 60
Ohio State 53
Ohio State 57
Temple 47
Dartmouth 40
Utah 42
Iowa State 44
Pepperdine 39
Iowa State 31
Utah 40
Utah 45
Missouri 35

Regional third place

East Regional third place
   
Catholic 35
Temple 55
West Regional third place
   
Pepperdine 46
Missouri 61

See also

References

  1. Chipman, Kit (April 30, 2010). "University of Utah 1944 National Basketball Championship". University of Utah Department of Communication. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  2. "New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  3. "1944 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Tournaments
Structure
Champions & awards
Media & culture
Records & statistics
See also: Division I Women's Tournament, Division II Tournament, Division III Tournament
Utah Redskins men's basketball 1943–44 NCAA champions
Head coach
Vadal Peterson
Categories: