1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season

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.

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 →

Rule changes

After a foul, teams received the option of either taking a free throw or taking the ball at mid-court.^[1]

Season headlines

• In its second year, the NCAA tournament turned a profit (of $9,500) for the first time.^[2]
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected USC as its national champion for the 1939–40 season.^[3]
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Indiana as its national champion for the 1939–40 season.^[4]

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^[5]	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^[6]
Southwest Conference	Rice	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

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

References

1. orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
2. Anonymous, "How the NCAA Overtook Its Rival, the NIT," Sport History Weekly, March 24, 2019 Accessed May 4, 2021
3. Scott, Jon (Nov 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved 2015-12-14.
4. ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
5. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
6. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09