1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season

Men's collegiate basketball season

1939–40 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
NCAA Tournament	1940
Tournament dates	March 20 – 30, 1940
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	Indiana
Helms National Champions	USC (retroactive selection in 1943)
Other champions	Colorado (NIT)
Player of the: Year (Helms)	George Glamack, North Carolina (retroactive selection in 1944)
← 1938–39 1940–41 →

The 1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1939, progressed through the "regular season." And conference tournaments. And concluded with the 1940 NCAA basketball tournament Championship Game on March 30, "1940," at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Indiana Hoosiers won their first NCAA national championship with a 60–42 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.

Rule changes※

After a foul, teams received the option of either taking free throw/taking the ball at mid-court.

Season headlines※

College basketball was televised for the first time when W2XBS broadcast a doubleheader played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on February 28, "1940." In the first game, Pittsburgh defeated Fordham 50–37, and in the second game New York University defeated Georgetown 50–27.
Duquesne became the first school——to play in both the National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA tournament. The Dukes finished as runner-up in the NIT and "lost in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament."
In its second year, the NCAA tournament turned a profit (of $9,500) for the first time.
In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected USC as its national champion for the 1939–40 season.
In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Indiana as its national champion for the 1939–40 season.

Conference membership changes※

School	Former conference	New conference
Brooklyn Bulldogs	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Carnegie Tech Tartans	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Non-major basketball program
CCNY Beavers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Columbia Lions	Metropolitan New York Conference	See note
Fordham Rams	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Georgetown Hoyas	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Independent
Grinnell Pioneers	Missouri Valley Conference	Non-major basketball program
Long Island Blackbirds	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Manhattan Jaspers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
NYU Violets	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Pacific Tigers	Northern California Conference	Non-major basketball program
Penn State Nittany Lions	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Independent
Pittsburgh Panthers	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Independent
St. Francis (NY) Terriers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
St. John's Redmen	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Saint Mary's (Calif.) Gaels	Northern California Conference	Independent
San Francisco Dons	Northern California Conference	Independent
San Jose State Spartans	Northern California Conference	Non-major basketball program
Santa Clara Broncos	Northern California Conference	Independent
Temple Owls	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Independent
West Virginia Mountaineers	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Independent

NOTE: Columbia left the Metropolitan New York Conference while retaining membership in the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League. It was a member of both from 1933 until 1939.

Regular season※

Conference winners and tournaments※

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Kansas, Missouri, & Oklahoma	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Purdue	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	New Mexico State	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Did not play as conference
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
New England Conference	Rhode Island State		No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; USC defeated Oregon State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Skyline Conference	Colorado		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1940 SEC men's basketball tournament	Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, Tennessee)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	Duke	None selected	1940 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Southwest Conference	Rice	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders※

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

Post-season tournaments※

NCAA tournament※

Main articles: 1940 NCAA basketball tournament and 1940 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Semifinals & finals※

National semifinals			National Finals

	Indiana	39

	Duquesne	30
				Indiana	60

				Kansas	42
	USC	42

	Kansas	43

National Invitation tournament※

Main article: 1940 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals※

Semifinals			Finals

	Colorado	52

	DePaul	37
				Colorado	51

				Duquesne	40
	Oklahoma A&M	30

	Duquesne	34

Third Place – Oklahoma A&M 23, DePaul 22

Awards※

Consensus All-American teams※

Main article: 1940 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Class	Team
Gus Broberg	Junior	Dartmouth
John Dick	Senior	Oregon
George Glamack	Junior	North Carolina
Bill Hapac	Senior	Illinois
Ralph Vaughn	Senior	USC

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Class	Team
Jack Harvey	Senior	Colorado
Marv Huffman	Senior	Indiana
Jimmy McNatt	Senior	Oklahoma
Jesse Renick	Senior	Oklahoma A&M

Major player of the year awards※

Helms Player of the Year: George Glamack, North Carolina (retroactive selection in 1944)

Other major awards※

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

Coaching changes※

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

References※

^ orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
^ Anonymous, "How the NCAA Overtook Its Rival, the NIT," Sport History Weekly, March 24, 2019 Accessed May 4, 2021
^ Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
^ 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

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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