1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1949, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 28, 1950, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The City College of New York Beavers won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–68 victory over the Bradley Braves.

1949–50 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1950
Tournament dates	March 23 – 28, 1950
National Championship	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
NCAA Champions	CCNY
Helms National Champions	CCNY
Other champions	CCNY (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Paul Arizin, Villanova
← 1948–49 1950–51 →

Season headlines

• CCNY became the only team ever to win both the NCAA tournament and the National Invitation Tournament in the same season. CCNY defeated Bradley in the championship game of both tournaments.

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Brooklyn Bulldogs	Metropolitan New York Conference	Non-major basketball program
Bucknell Bison	Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Independent
Detroit Titans	Independent	Missouri Valley Conference
Gettysburg Bullets	Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Independent
Lafayette Leopards	Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Independent
Lehigh Engineers	Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Independent
Louisville Cardinals	Ohio Valley Conference	Independent
Muhlenberg Mules	Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Independent

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[1]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Seven Conference	Kansas, Kansas State, & Nebraska	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	CCNY		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Bradley	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected	1950 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Eastern Kentucky State
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington State (North); UCLA (South)		No Tournament; UCLA defeated Washington State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Skyline Conference	BYU		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1950 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	NC State	None selected	1950 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Duke Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina)	NC State^[2]
Southwest Conference	Arkansas & Baylor	None selected	No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference	Canisius, Niagara, & St. Bonaventure		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Rhode Island State	None selected	No Tournament

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner^[3]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Middle Three Conference	Lafayatte & Rutgers	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1950 NCAA basketball tournament and 1950 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Semifinals & finals

	National Semifinals					National Finals
	CCNY		78
	NC State		73
						CCNY		71
						Bradley		68
	Baylor		66
	Bradley		68

• Third Place – NC State 53, Baylor 41

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1950 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals					Finals
		St. John's	72
		Bradley	82
							Bradley	61
							CCNY	69
		Duquesne	52
		CCNY	62

• Third Place – St. John's 69, Duquesne 67

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1950 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Paul Arizin	F	Senior	Villanova
Bob Cousy	G	Senior	Holy Cross
Dick Schnittker	F	Senior	Ohio State
Bill Sharman	G	Senior	Southern California
Paul Unruh	F	Senior	Bradley

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Chuck Cooper	F	Senior	Duquesne
Don Lofgran	F/C	Senior	San Francisco
Kevin O'Shea	G	Senior	Notre Dame
Don Rehfeldt	F	Senior	Wisconsin
Sherman White	C	Junior	Long Island

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Paul Arizin, Villanova
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Paul Arizin, Villanova

Other major awards

• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sherman White, Long Island

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Dartmouth	Elmer A. Lampe		Doggie Julian
Northwestern	Dutch Lonborg		Harold Olsen
USC	Sam Barry		Forrest Twogood
Washington & Lee	Conn Davis		Scotty Hamilton

References

1. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
2. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
3. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.