1945–46 NCAA men's basketball season

Men's collegiate basketball season

1945–46 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

NCAA Tournament	1946
Tournament dates	March 21 – 26, 1946
National Championship	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
NCAA Champions	Oklahoma A&M
Helms National Champions	Oklahoma A&M
Other champions	Kentucky (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M
← 1944–45 1946–47 →

The 1945–46 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1945, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1946 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1946, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Oklahoma A&M Aggies won their second NCAA national championship with a 43–40 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Season headlines

The Middle Atlantic States Conference North began play, with five original members.
The New England Conference disbanded at the end of the season.
The 1946 NCAA tournament was the first NCAA tournament in which four teams (California, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Oklahoma A&M) advanced to the finals site. However, they advanced from two regional sites, so the NCAA does not consider the first "true" Final Four to have occurred until the 1952 tournament, when the four teams advanced from four separate regional sites.
The NCAA tournament began holding a national third-place game between the teams which lost in the semifinals. The national third-place game continued through the 1981 tournament.
Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M became the first player to dunk in the NCAA championship game, doing so twice late in the game on March 26.
Oklahoma A&M defeated North Carolina 43–40 in the championship game of the 1946 NCAA tournament, becoming the first school to repeat as NCAA champion, following its tournament championship in 1945.
Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M became the first two-time NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player. He previously had received the honor in 1945.
For the first time, the NCAA tournament championship game was televised. WCBS-TV aired the game locally in New York City, with an estimated viewership of 500,000.
In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Oklahoma A&M as its national champion for the 1945–46 season.

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Brooklyn Bulldogs	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Bucknell Bison	Independent	Middle Atlantic States Conference North
CCNY Beavers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Fordham Rams	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Georgetown Hoyas	No athletic programs	Independent
Gettysburg Bullets	No NCAA basketball program	Middle Atlantic States Conference North
Harvard Crimson	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Independent
Lafayette Leopards	Independent	Middle Atlantic States Conference North
Lehigh Engineers	Independent	Middle Atlantic States Conference North
Manhattan Jaspers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Muhlenberg Mules	Independent	Middle Atlantic States Conference North
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
Wichita Shockers	Independent	Missouri Valley Conference
Yale Bulldogs	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Independent

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	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	NYU & St. John's		No Tournament
Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Lafayette		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Wyoming		No Tournament
New England Conference	Rhode Island State		No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Idaho (North); California (South)		No Tournament; California defeated Idaho in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1946 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	North Carolina	None selected	1946 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke
Southwest Conference	Baylor	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1945–46 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Kansas	10	–	0	1.000	19	–	2	.905
Oklahoma	7	–	3	.700	11	–	10	.524
Iowa State	5	–	5	.500	8	–	8	.500
Missouri	3	–	7	.300	6	–	11	.353
Nebraska	3	–	7	.300	7	–	13	.350
Kansas State	2	–	8	.200	4	–	20	.167

1945–46 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Ohio State	10	–	2	.833	16	–	5	.762
Indiana	9	–	3	.750	18	–	3	.857
Iowa	8	–	4	.667	14	–	4	.778
Northwestern	8	–	4	.667	15	–	5	.750
Illinois	7	–	5	.583	14	–	7	.667
Minnesota	7	–	5	.583	14	–	7	.667
Michigan	6	–	6	.500	12	–	7	.632
Purdue	4	–	8	.333	10	–	11	.476
Wisconsin	1	–	11	.083	4	–	17	.190
Chicago	0	–	12	.000	6	–	14	.300

1945–46 Border Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Arizona	13	–	2	.867	25	–	5	.833
West Texas State	9	–	2	.818	19	–	8	.704
Texas Tech	7	–	4	.636	15	–	10	.600
New Mexico	13	–	8	.619	16	–	9	.640
Arizona State–Tempe	6	–	7	.462	12	–	16	.429
Arizona State–Flagstaff	4	–	6	.400	12	–	8	.600
Texas State M&M	4	–	7	.364	4	–	11	.267
New Mexico A&M	2	–	12	.143	5	–	16	.238
Hardin–Simmons	0	–	10	.000	2	–	10	.167

1945–46 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Dartmouth	7	–	1	.875	13	–	3	.813
Cornell	6	–	2	.750	12	–	5	.706
Pennsylvania	4	–	4	.500	7	–	10	.412
Columbia	3	–	5	.375	11	–	9	.550
Princeton	0	–	8	.000	7	–	12	.368

1945–46 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
NYU	5	–	1	.833	19	–	3	.864
St. John's	5	–	1	.833	17	–	6	.739
CCNY	4	–	1	.800	14	–	4	.778
St. Francis (NY)	3	–	2	.600	12	–	6	.667
Manhattan	2	–	4	.333	15	–	8	.652
Brooklyn	1	–	5	.167	8	–	9	.471
Fordham	0	–	6	.000	4	–	17	.190

1945–46 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Lafayette	7	–	1	.875	17	–	3	.850
Muhlenberg	7	–	1	.875	23	–	5	.821
Gettysburg	3	–	5	.375	11	–	6	.647
Bucknell	2	–	6	.250	6	–	11	.353
Lehigh	1	–	7	.125	3	–	13	.188

1945–46 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Oklahoma A&M	12	–	0	1.000	31	–	2	.939
Wichita Municipal	6	–	4	.600	14	–	9	.609
Saint Louis	6	–	5	.545	13	–	11	.542
Drake	5	–	7	.417	11	–	15	.423
Washington University	3	–	6	.333	10	–	17	.370
Creighton	3	–	7	.300	9	–	10	.474
Tulsa	3	–	9	.250	6	–	12	.333

1945–46 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Wyoming	10	–	2	.833	22	–	4	.846
Colorado	9	–	3	.750	12	–	6	.667
Utah	8	–	4	.667	12	–	8	.600
Colorado State	6	–	6	.500	15	–	9	.625
BYU	6	–	6	.500	12	–	13	.480
Utah State	2	–	10	.167	7	–	12	.368
Denver	1	–	11	.083	9	–	15	.375

1945–46 New England Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Rhode Island State	4	–	0	1.000	21	–	3	.875
Connecticut	4	–	2	.667	11	–	6	.647
Maine	4	–	4	.500	10	–	4	.714
Northeastern	2	–	4	.333	4	–	13	.235
New Hampshire	0	–	3	.000	3	–	7	.300

1945–46 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North
Idaho	11	–	5	.688	23	–	11	.676
Oregon State	10	–	6	.625	13	–	11	.542
Oregon	8	–	8	.500	16	–	17	.485
Washington	6	–	10	.375	14	–	14	.500
Washington State	5	–	11	.313	16	–	13	.552
South
California †	11	–	1	.917	30	–	6	.833
USC	8	–	4	.667	14	–	7	.667
UCLA	5	–	7	.417	8	–	16	.333
Stanford	0	–	12	.000	6	–	18	.250

† Conference championship playoff series winner

1945–46 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Kentucky †	6	–	0	1.000	28	–	2	.933
LSU	8	–	0	1.000	18	–	3	.857
Tennessee	8	–	3	.727	14	–	4	.778
Alabama	8	–	4	.667	11	–	5	.688
Auburn	7	–	6	.538	7	–	9	.438
Georgia Tech	7	–	7	.500	10	–	11	.476
Georgia	6	–	6	.500	12	–	9	.571
Tulane	4	–	5	.444	15	–	7	.682
Vanderbilt	2	–	5	.286	3	–	10	.231
Florida	2	–	6	.250	7	–	14	.333
Ole Miss	2	–	8	.200	8	–	11	.421
Mississippi State	3	–	13	.188	5	–	14	.263

† Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner

1945–46 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North Carolina	13	–	1	.929	30	–	5	.857
Duke †	12	–	2	.857	21	–	6	.778
Virginia Tech	7	–	3	.700	11	–	8	.579
Wake Forest	8	–	5	.615	12	–	6	.667
Maryland	5	–	4	.556	9	–	12	.429
William & Mary	5	–	5	.500	10	–	10	.500
Furman	4	–	4	.500	16	–	3	.842
George Washington	4	–	5	.444	7	–	8	.467
Clemson	5	–	7	.417	9	–	11	.450
North Carolina State	5	–	7	.417	6	–	12	.333
South Carolina	4	–	7	.364	9	–	11	.450
Davidson	5	–	9	.357	13	–	12	.520
Richmond	3	–	7	.300	8	–	12	.400
The Citadel	1	–	6	.143	7	–	11	.389
VMI	1	–	6	.143	1	–	10	.091
Washington and Lee	0	–	4	.000	2	–	11	.154

† Southern Conference tournament winner

1945–46 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Baylor	11	–	1	.917	25	–	5	.833
Arkansas	9	–	3	.750	16	–	7	.696
Texas	7	–	5	.583	16	–	7	.696
TCU	6	–	6	.500	13	–	11	.542
Rice	5	–	7	.417	10	–	11	.476
Texas A&M	4	–	8	.333	9	–	14	.391
SMU	0	–	12	.000	7	–	16	.304

Major independents

A total of 54 college teams played as major independents. Yale (14–1) had the best winning percentage (.933) and Nevada (28–5) finished with the most wins.

1945–46 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Yale		–		–	14	–	1	.933
West Virginia		–		–	24	–	3	.889
Harvard		–		–	20	–	3	.870
Boston University		–		–	12	–	2	.857
Loyola (Ill.)		–		–	23	–	4	.852
Syracuse		–		–	23	–	4	.852
Nevada		–		–	28	–	5	.848
Bowling Green State		–		–	27	–	5	.844
Notre Dame		–		–	17	–	4	.810
Holy Cross		–		–	12	–	3	.800
Navy		–		–	12	–	3	.800
St. Bonaventure		–		–	12	–	3	.800
DePaul		–		–	19	–	5	.792
Louisville		–		–	22	–	6	.786
Indiana State		–		–	15	–	5	.750
Toledo		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Marshall		–		–	24	–	10	.706
Virginia		–		–	12	–	5	.706
Loyola (Md.)		–		–	18	–	8	.692
Western Michigan		–		–	15	–	7	.682
Colgate		–		–	12	–	6	.667
Saint Mary's		–		–	10	–	5	.667
Detroit		–		–	15	–	8	.652
Rutgers		–		–	13	–	7	.650
Temple		–		–	12	–	7	.632
Montana State		–		–	17	–	10	.630
Marquette		–		–	11	–	7	.611
LIU		–		–	14	–	9	.609
Valparaiso		–		–	17	–	11	.607
Army		–		–	9	–	6	.600
Butler		–		–	12	–	8	.600
Hamline		–		–	12	–	8	.600
Santa Clara		–		–	9	–	6	.600
Niagara		–		–	11	–	8	.579
Michigan State		–		–	12	–	9	.571
Georgetown		–		–	11	–	9	.550
Miami (Ohio)		–		–	10	–	9	.526
Kent State		–		–	10	–	10	.500
Pittsburgh		–		–	7	–	7	.500
Bradley		–		–	11	–	12	.478
St. Joseph's		–		–	9	–	11	.450
Montana		–		–	13	–	16	.448
Western Kentucky State		–		–	15	–	19	.441
Penn State		–		–	7	–	9	.438
Villanova		–		–	10	–	13	.435
San Francisco		–		–	9	–	12	.429
Canisius		–		–	8	–	11	.421
La Salle		–		–	9	–	14	.391
Cincinnati		–		–	8	–	13	.381
Merchant Marine		–		–	5	–	10	.333
Brown		–		–	5	–	15	.250
Boston College		–		–	3	–	11	.214
Dayton		–		–	3	–	13	.188
Xavier		–		–	3	–	16	.158

Statistical leaders

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021)

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1946 NCAA basketball tournament and 1946 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Semifinals & finals

National Semifinals		National Finals

Ohio State	57

North Carolina	60
		North Carolina	40

		Oklahoma A&M	43
Oklahoma A&M	52

California	35	Third place


		Ohio State	63

		California	45

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1946 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals		Finals

Rhode Island State	59

Muhlenberg	49
		Rhode Island State	45

		Kentucky	46
West Virginia	51

Kentucky	59'	Third place


		Muhlenberg	40

		West Virginia	65

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1946 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Leo Klier	F	Senior	Notre Dame
Bob Kurland	C	Senior	Oklahoma A&M
George Mikan	C	Senior	DePaul
Max Morris	F	Senior	Northwestern
Sid Tanenbaum	G	Junior	NYU

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Charles B. Black	F	Junior	Kansas
John Dillon	G	Sophomore	North Carolina
Billy Hassett	G	Senior	Notre Dame
Tony Lavelli	F	Freshman	Yale
Jack Parkinson	G	Junior	Kentucky
Ken Sailors	G	Senior	Wyoming

Major player of the year awards

Helms Player of the Year: Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M

Other major awards

NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sid Tanenbaum, NYU

Coaching changes

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021)

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

Team	Former Coach	New Coach	Reason
Georgetown	Ken Engles	Elmer Ripley	Engles – the only player-coach in Georgetown men's basketball history – stepped aside at the end of the year after coaching the Hoyas for a single season as they reconstituted their basketball program with a mostly walk-on team after a two-season hiatus due to World War II, making way for Ripley to return after a three-year absence for a third stint as coach.
Kansas State	Fitz Knorr	Jack Gardner
NC State	Leron Jay	Everett Case
North Carolina	Ben Carnevale	Tom Scott
Notre Dame	Elmer Ripley	Moose Krause
Purdue	Ward Lambert	Mel Taube

References

"New England/Yankee regular-season champions," Coaches Database Accessed April 27, 2021
^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
"1952 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records". ncaa.com. NCAA. May 27, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
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.
"2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
"1945-46 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
"The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

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