1929–30 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1929–30 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1929, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1930.

1929–30 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Helms National Champions	Pittsburgh (retroactive selection in 1943)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Chuck Hyatt, Pittsburgh (retroactive selection in 1944)
← 1928–29 1930–31 →

Rules changes

• The practice of enclosing basketball courts in chicken wire, chain-link fencing, or rope — giving basketball the nickname "the cage game" — ended. Intended to increase the tempo of play by keeping the ball from going out of bounds, to protect players and rowdy spectators from each another, and to prevent fans from throwing objects onto the court, the use of these "cages" had led to rough physical play in which players body-checked each other into the barrier, resulting in injuries. The slang term "cager" for a basketball player derives from the use of these "cages."^[1][2]
• The number of referees increased from one to two.^[1]

Season headlines

• Pittsburgh defeated Montana State 37–36 in what was billed as a national championship game.^[3]
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Pittsburgh as its national champion for the 1929–30 season.^[4]
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Alabama as its national champion for the 1929–30 season.^[5]

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[6]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Missouri	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Purdue	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Columbia	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Creighton & Washington (Mo.)	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; USC defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Colorado (Eastern); Montana State & Utah State (Western)		No Tournament
Southern Conference	Alabama	None selected	1930 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta, Georgia)	Alabama^[7]
Southwest Conference	Arkansas	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Awards

Consensus All-American team

Main article: 1930 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus Team

Player	Class	Team
Charley Hyatt	Senior	Pittsburgh
Branch McCracken	Senior	Indiana
Stretch Murphy	Senior	Purdue
Cat Thompson	Senior	Montana State
Frank Ward	Senior	Montana State
John Wooden	Sophomore	Purdue

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Chuck Hyatt, Pittsburgh (retroactive selection in 1944)

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Georgetown	Bill Dudack		John Colrick	Georgetown did not rehire Dudack to coach for a second season.
Kentucky	John Mauer		Adolph Rupp
Miami (Ohio)	Roy Tillotson		John Mauer

References

1. Schleyer, Claudia, "The Rules of Basketball: Boy How They've Changed!", Youth Hoops 101 Accessed 15 May 2021
2. Hoop Tactics "The Evolution of Basketball: A Chronological Look At The Major Refinements" Accessed 15 May 2021
3. . Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 2009. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
4. Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
5. 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.
6. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
7. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09