1940–41 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1940–41 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1940, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1941 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 29, 1941, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Wisconsin Badgers won their first NCAA national championship with a 39–34 victory over the Washington State Cougars.

1940–41 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
NCAA Tournament	1941
Tournament dates	March 21 – 29, 1941
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	Wisconsin
Helms National Champions	Wisconsin (retroactive selection in 1943)
Other champions	Long Island (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	George Glamack, North Carolina (retroactive selection in 1944)
← 1939–40 1941–42 →

Season headlines

• The National Invitation Tournament — considered until at least the mid-1950s to be more prestigious than the NCAA tournament — expanded from six to eight teams.
• The National Association of Basketball Coaches turned over operation of the NCAA tournament to the NCAA itself.^[1]
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Wisconsin as its national champion for the 1940–41 season.^[2]
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Long Island as its national champion for the 1940–41 season.^[3]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Sewanee Tigers	Southeastern Conference	Independent

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[4]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Iowa State & Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Wisconsin	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Did not play as conference
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Did not play as conference
Missouri Valley Conference	Creighton	None selected	No Tournament
New England Conference	Connecticut & Rhode Island State		No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington State (North); Stanford (South)		No Tournament; Washington State defeated Stanford in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Skyline Conference	Wyoming		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Tennessee	None selected	1941 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Tennessee
Southern Conference	North Carolina	None selected	1941 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke^[5]
Southwest Conference	Arkansas	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1941 NCAA basketball tournament and 1941 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Semifinals & finals

	National semifinals					National Finals
		Wisconsin	36
		Pittsburgh	30
							Wisconsin	39
							Washington State	34
		Arkansas	53
		Washington State	64

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1941 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals					Finals
		CCNY	43
		Ohio	45
							Ohio	42
							Long Island	56
		Seton Hall	26
		Long Island	49

• Third Place – CCNY 42, Seton Hall 27

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1941 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Class	Team
John Adams	Senior	Arkansas
Gus Broberg	Senior	Dartmouth
Howard Engleman	Senior	Kansas
Gene Englund	Senior	Wisconsin
George Glamack	Senior	North Carolina

Consensus Second Team

Player	Class	Team
Frank Baumholtz	Senior	Ohio
Bob Kinney	Junior	Rice
Paul Lindemann	Senior	Washington State
Stan Modzelewski	Junior	Rhode Island State
Oscar Schectman	Senior	Long Island

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): Jack Garfinkel, St. John's

Coaching changes

References

1. Anonymous, "How the NCAA Overtook Its Rival, the NIT," Sport History Weekly, March 24, 2019 Accessed May 4, 2021
2. Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
3. 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.
4. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
5. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09