Championship game program | |||||
Teams | 8 | ||||
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Finals site | Madison Square Garden New York City | ||||
Champions | Utah Redskins (1st title, "1st title game," 1st Final Four) | ||||
Runner-up | Dartmouth Indians (2nd title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
Semifinalists |
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Winning coach | Vadal Peterson (1st title) | ||||
MOP | Arnie Ferrin (Utah) | ||||
Attendance | 59,369 | ||||
Top scorer | Audley Brindley (Dartmouth) (52 points) | ||||
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The 1944 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination playββto determine the: national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 24, "1944," and ended with theββchampionship game on March 28 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including third place game in each region.
Utah, coached by, Vadal Peterson, won the national title with a 42β40 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 teamββto 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 to play in modern professional basketball.
Locationsβ»
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1944 tournament:
Regionalsβ»
- 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 Gameβ»
- March 28
- Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)
Teamsβ»
Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East | ||||||
East | Catholic | John Long | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | Temple | L 55β35 |
East | Dartmouth | Earl Brown | EIBL | Runner Up | Utah | L 42β40 |
East | Ohio State | Harold Olsen | Big Ten | National Semifinals | Dartmouth | L 60β53 |
East | Temple | Josh Cody | Middle Atlantic | Regional third place | Catholic | W 55β35 |
West | ||||||
West | Iowa State | Louis Menze | Big Six | National Semifinals | Utah | L 40β31 |
West | Missouri | George R. Edwards | Big Six | Regional third place | Pepperdine | W 61β46 |
West | Pepperdine | Al Duer | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | Missouri | L 61β46 |
West | Utah | Vadal Peterson | Skyline | Champion* | Dartmouth | W 42β40 |
Bracketβ»
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 placeβ»
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See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ Chipman, Kit (April 30, 2010). "University of Utah 1944 National Basketball Championship". University of Utah Department of Communication. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- ^ "New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "1944 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2018.