1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1947, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1948 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1948, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Kentucky Wildcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–42 victory over the Baylor Bears.

Season headlines

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Conference membership changes

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School Former conference New conference
Colorado Buffaloes Skyline Conference Big Seven Conference
Dickinson College Red Devils Middle Atlantic States Conference North No NCAA basketball program
Miami (OH) Redskins Independent Mid-American Conference
Washington University Bears Missouri Valley Conference Independent
Wayne Warriors Mid-American Conference Independent
Western Michigan Broncos Independent Mid-American Conference

Regular season

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Conferences

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Conference winners and tournaments

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Conference Regular
season winner[2]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Big Seven Conference Kansas State None selected No Tournament
Big Nine Conference Michigan None selected No Tournament
Border Conference Arizona None selected No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Yale None selected No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference Columbia No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Cincinnati None selected No Tournament
Middle Atlantic States Conference North Muhlenberg No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Oklahoma A&M None selected No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference BYU No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference Washington (North); USC (South) No Tournament;
Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Southeastern Conference Kentucky None selected 1948 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory,
(Louisville, Kentucky)
Kentucky
Southern Conference NC State None selected 1948 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Duke Indoor Stadium
(Durham, North Carolina)
NC State[3]
Southwest Conference Baylor None selected No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference Niagara No Tournament
Yankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament

Conference standings

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1947–48 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Kansas State 9 3   .750 22 6   .786
Oklahoma 7 5   .583 13 9   .591
Missouri 7 5   .583 14 10   .583
Iowa State 6 6   .500 15 8   .652
Nebraska 5 7   .417 11 13   .458
Kansas 4 8   .333 9 15   .375
Colorado 4 8   .333 7 14   .333
1947–48 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Michigan 10 2   .833 16 6   .727
Iowa 8 4   .667 15 4   .789
Illinois 7 5   .583 15 5   .750
Wisconsin 7 5   .583 12 8   .600
Purdue 6 6   .500 11 9   .550
Minnesota 5 7   .417 10 10   .500
Ohio State 5 7   .417 10 10   .500
Indiana 3 9   .250 8 12   .400
Northwestern 3 9   .250 6 14   .300
1947–48 Border Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Arizona 12 4   .750 19 10   .655
Texas Tech 10 6   .625 16 12   .571
Arizona State–Tempe 9 11   .450 13 11   .542
Arizona State–Flagstaff 8 8   .500 13 8   .619
New Mexico 8 8   .500 14 15   .483
West Texas State 7 9   .438 11 13   .458
New Mexico A&M 6 10   .375 12 11   .522
Texas State M&M 6 10   .375 13 16   .448
Hardin–Simmons 6 10   .375 6 10   .375
1947–48 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Columbia 11 1   .917 20 3   .870
Cornell 9 3   .750 16 9   .640
Princeton 6 6   .500 12 11   .522
Dartmouth 6 6   .500 12 12   .500
Pennsylvania 5 7   .417 10 14   .417
Yale 4 8   .333 14 13   .519
Harvard 1 11   .083 5 20   .200
1947–48 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
NYU 5 1   .833 22 4   .846
CCNY 4 1   .800 18 3   .857
Fordham 3 3   .500 17 6   .739
Manhattan 3 3   .500 22 6   .786
St. John's 3 3   .500 12 11   .522
St. Francis (NY) 2 3   .400 16 9   .640
Brooklyn 0 6   .000 10 10   .500
1947–48 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Cincinnati 7 2   .778 17 7   .708
Butler 4 2   .667 14 7   .667
Ohio 4 4   .500 10 10   .500
Miami (Ohio) 3 5   .375 13 15   .464
Western Reserve 2 6   .250 14 10   .583
Western Michigan 1 2   .333 12 10   .545
1947–48 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Muhlenberg 8 0   1.000 21 4   .840
Lafayette 5 3   .625 12 9   .571
Gettysburg 4 4   .500 10 10   .500
Bucknell 2 6   .250 5 17   .227
Lehigh 1 7   .125 2 16   .111
1947–48 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Oklahoma A&M 10 0   1.000 27 4   .871
Saint Louis 8 2   .800 24 3   .889
Drake 5 5   .500 14 12   .538
Creighton 4 6   .400 10 13   .435
Tulsa 2 8   .200 7 16   .304
Wichita Municipal 1 9   .100 12 13   .480
1947–48 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
BYU 8 2   .800 16 11   .593
Wyoming 6 4   .600 18 9   .667
Denver 6 4   .600 18 11   .621
Utah 6 4   .600 11 9   .550
Utah State 3 7   .300 8 16   .333
Colorado State 1 9   .100 6 15   .286
1947–48 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North
Washington 10 6   .625 23 11   .676
Oregon State 10 6   .625 21 13   .618
Washington State 9 7   .563 19 10   .655
Oregon 8 8   .500 18 11   .621
Idaho 3 13   .188 17 15   .531
South
California 11 1   .917 25 9   .735
USC 7 5   .583 14 10   .583
UCLA 3 9   .250 12 13   .480
Stanford 3 9   .250 15 11   .577
† Conference playoff series winner
1947–48 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Kentucky 9 0   1.000 36 3   .923
Tulane 13 1   .929 23 3   .885
Tennessee 10 2   .833 20 5   .800
Alabama 8 8   .500 15 12   .556
Auburn 7 7   .500 12 10   .545
Georgia 6 8   .429 18 10   .643
Florida 5 7   .417 15 10   .600
Georgia Tech 6 10   .375 12 16   .429
Mississippi State 6 10   .375 6 12   .333
Ole Miss 5 9   .357 11 12   .478
LSU 4 10   .286 8 18   .308
Vanderbilt 4 11   .267 8 14   .364
† Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner
1947–48 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North Carolina State 12 0   1.000 29 3   .906
George Washington 13 3   .813 19 7   .731
North Carolina 11 4   .733 20 7   .741
Maryland 9 6   .600 11 14   .440
Davidson 10 7   .588 19 9   .679
Virginia Tech 7 5   .583 14 9   .609
Duke 8 6   .571 17 12   .586
Wake Forest 8 7   .533 18 11   .621
William & Mary 8 7   .533 13 10   .565
South Carolina 8 7   .533 12 11   .522
Washington and Lee 5 9   .357 7 17   .292
The Citadel 4 8   .333 8 9   .471
Richmond 4 9   .308 8 14   .364
Furman 3 10   .231 11 15   .423
Clemson 3 14   .176 6 17   .261
VMI 1 12   .077 3 16   .158
Southern Conference Tournament winner
1947–48 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Baylor 11 1   .917 24 8   .750
Texas 9 3   .750 20 5   .800
Arkansas 8 4   .667 16 8   .667
Rice 6 6   .500 10 14   .417
SMU 5 7   .417 13 10   .565
Texas A&M 2 10   .167 7 17   .292
TCU 1 11   .083 3 20   .130
1947–48 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Niagara 3 1   .750 15 9   .625
Canisius 2 2   .500 10 15   .400
St. Bonaventure 1 3   .250 12 10   .545
1947–48 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Connecticut 6 1   .857 17 6   .739
Rhode Island State 5 1   .833 17 6   .739
Vermont 2 1   .667 14 6   .700
Maine 2 5   .286 11 7   .611
New Hampshire 2 5   .286 5 12   .294
Massachusetts 0 4   .000 2 14   .125

Major independents

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A total of 56 college teams played as major independents. Western Kentucky State (28–2) had the best winning percentage (.933) and Louisville (29–6) finished with the most wins.[4]

1947–48 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Western Kentucky State   28 2   .933
Bradley   28 3   .903
Hamline   28 3   .903
Holy Cross   26 4   .867
West Virginia   17 3   .850
La Salle   20 4   .833
Louisville   29 6   .829
Bowling Green State   27 6   .818
Seton Hall   18 4   .818
LIU   17 4   .810
Toledo   21 5   .808
Indiana State   27 7   .794
Lawrence Tech   22 6   .786
Siena   22 6   .786
Xavier   24 8   .750
Loyola (Ill.)   26 9   .743
Baldwin Wallace   17 6   .739
Duquesne   17 6   .739
Colgate   14 5   .737
DePaul   22 8   .733
Eastern Kentucky State   17 7   .708
Notre Dame   17 7   .708
Marshall   22 11   .667
Montana State   18 9   .667
Montana   21 11   .656
Kent State   15 8   .652
Texas Wesleyan   19 11   .633
Akron   15 9   .625
Villanova   15 9   .625
Virginia   16 10   .615
Rutgers   14 9   .609
Navy   10 7   .588
Boston College   13 10   .565
Michigan State   12 10   .545
St. Joseph's   13 11   .542
San Francisco   13 11   .542
Boston University   10 9   .526
Temple   12 11   .522
Santa Clara   11 11   .500
Pittsburgh   10 11   .476
Washington University   10 11   .476
Penn State   9 10   .474
Army   8 9   .471
Georgetown   13 15   .464
Dayton   12 14   .462
Saint Mary's   11 13   .458
Syracuse   11 13   .458
Youngstown   10 14   .417
John Carroll   9 14   .391
Wayne   8 13   .381
Marquette   9 15   .375
Nevada   9 16   .360
Valparaiso   8 15   .348
Detroit   7 15   .318
Brown   6 14   .300
Scranton   7 20   .259

Statistical leaders

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Post-season tournaments

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NCAA tournament

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Semifinals & finals

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National Semifinals National Finals
    
Kentucky 60
Holy Cross 52
Kentucky 58
Baylor 42
Kansas State 52
Baylor 60 Third place
Holy Cross 60
Kansas State 54

National Invitation tournament

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Semifinals & finals

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Semifinals Finals
    
Western Kentucky State 53
Saint Louis 60
Saint Louis 65
NYU 52
NYU 72
DePaul 59 Third place
Western Kentucky State 61
DePaul 59

Awards

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Consensus All-American teams

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Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Ralph Beard G Junior Kentucky
Ed Macauley F Junior Saint Louis
Jim McIntyre C Junior Minnesota
Kevin O'Shea G Sophomore Notre Dame
Murray Wier G Senior Iowa


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Dick Dickey F Sophomore NC State
Arnie Ferrin F Senior Utah
Alex Groza C Junior Kentucky
Hal Haskins F/G Sophomore Hamline
George Kaftan F Senior Holy Cross
Duane Klueh G Junior Indiana State
Tony Lavelli F Junior Yale
Jack Nichols C Senior Washington
Andy Wolfe G/F Senior California

Major player of the year awards

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Other major awards

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Coaching changes

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

Team Former
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
Holy Cross Doggie Julian Buster Sheary
Rhode Island State Frank Keaney Red Haire

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  3. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  4. ^ "1947-48 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
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Note 1