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

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.
• Winning the NCAA championship game in New York City, CCNY became the first school to win the NCAA championship in its home city.
• CCNY became the first NCAA championship team to have an integrated roster of white and African American players, starting three African Americans.
• Although the Border Conference did not play as a major conference during the season, conference member Arizona was ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll of the season.

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

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	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
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	BYU		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
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
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

Conference standings

1949–50 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 14 Kansas State 8 – 4   .667 17 – 7   .708 Nebraska 8 – 4   .667 16 – 7   .696 No. 19 Kansas 8 – 4   .667 14 – 11   .560 Colorado 6 – 6   .500 14 – 8   .636 Oklahoma 6 – 6   .500 12 – 10   .545 Missouri 4 – 8   .333 14 – 10   .583 Iowa State 2 – 10   .167 6 – 17   .261 Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Ohio State 11 – 1   .917 22 – 4   .846 No. 16 Wisconsin 9 – 3   .750 17 – 5   .773 No. 20 Indiana 7 – 5   .583 17 – 5   .773 Illinois 7 – 5   .583 14 – 8   .636 Iowa 6 – 6   .500 15 – 7   .682 Minnesota 4 – 8   .333 13 – 9   .591 Michigan 4 – 8   .333 11 – 11   .500 Northwestern 3 – 9   .250 10 – 12   .455 Purdue 3 – 9   .250 9 – 13   .409 Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Princeton 11 – 1   .917 14 – 9   .609 Columbia 9 – 3   .750 21 – 7   .750 Cornell 7 – 5   .583 18 – 7   .720 Yale 7 – 5   .583 17 – 9   .654 Pennsylvania 4 – 8   .333 11 – 14   .440 Harvard 3 – 9   .250 9 – 15   .375 Dartmouth 1 – 11   .083 8 – 17   .320 Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT CCNY 6 – 0   1.000 24 – 5   .828 Fordham 3 – 2   .600 15 – 12   .556 Brooklyn 2 – 2   .500 24 – 5   .828 No. 9 St. John's 3 – 3   .500 24 – 5   .828 Manhattan 3 – 3   .500 14 – 11   .560 NYU 1 – 4   .200 8 – 11   .421 St. Francis (NY) 0 – 4   .000 8 – 18   .308 Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Cincinnati 10 – 0   1.000 20 – 6   .769 Western Michigan 6 – 4   .600 12 – 10   .545 Butler 6 – 4   .600 12 – 12   .500 Ohio 3 – 7   .300 6 – 14   .300 Miami (Ohio) 3 – 7   .300 5 – 15   .250 Western Reserve 2 – 6   .250 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Bradley 11 – 1   .917 32 – 5   .865 Saint Louis 8 – 4   .667 17 – 9   .654 Detroit 7 – 5   .583 20 – 6   .769 Oklahoma A&M 7 – 5   .583 18 – 9   .667 Drake 5 – 7   .417 14 – 12   .538 Tulsa 3 – 9   .250 12 – 11   .522 Wichita Municipal 1 – 11   .083 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT BYU 14 – 6   .700 22 – 12   .647 Wyoming 13 – 7   .650 25 – 11   .694 Denver 13 – 7   .650 18 – 13   .581 Utah State 10 – 10   .500 17 – 17   .500 Utah 8 – 12   .400 16 – 18   .471 Colorado State 2 – 18   .100 7 – 23   .233 Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Western Kentucky State –   – 25 – 6   .806 Eastern Kentucky State† –   – 16 – 6   .727 Marshall –   – 15 – 9   .625 Morehead State –   – 12 – 10   .545 Murray State –   – 18 – 13   .581 Evansville –   – 14 – 14   .500 Tennessee Tech –   – 9 – 12   .429 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North No. 18 Washington State 11 – 5   .688 19 – 13   .594 Washington 8 – 8   .500 19 – 10   .655 Oregon State 8 – 8   .500 13 – 14   .481 Idaho 7 – 9   .438 15 – 17   .469 Oregon 6 – 10   .375 9 – 19   .321 South No. 7 UCLA † 10 – 2   .833 24 – 7   .774 USC 7 – 5   .583 16 – 8   .667 California 4 – 8   .333 10 – 17   .370 Stanford 3 – 9   .250 11 – 14   .440 † Conference playoff series winner As of 1950 Rankings from AP Poll
1949–50 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Kentucky † 11 – 2   .846 25 – 5   .833 Vanderbilt 11 – 3   .786 17 – 8   .680 Auburn 12 – 6   .667 17 – 7   .708 Tulane 8 – 4   .667 15 – 7   .682 Alabama 8 – 9   .471 9 – 12   .429 Georgia 6 – 7   .462 15 – 9   .625 Tennessee 5 – 6   .455 15 – 11   .577 Georgia Tech 7 – 9   .438 14 – 13   .519 LSU 5 – 8   .385 13 – 12   .520 Mississippi State 6 – 10   .375 7 – 11   .389 Florida 4 – 10   .286 9 – 14   .391 Ole Miss 4 – 13   .235 8 – 17   .320 † 1950 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 NC State † 12 – 2   .857 27 – 6   .818 William & Mary 12 – 4   .750 23 – 9   .719 George Washington 12 – 4   .750 17 – 8   .680 South Carolina 12 – 5   .706 13 – 9   .591 North Carolina 13 – 6   .684 17 – 12   .586 Virginia Tech 9 – 5   .643 16 – 9   .640 Wake Forest 11 – 8   .579 14 – 16   .467 Duke 9 – 7   .563 15 – 15   .500 Clemson 8 – 8   .500 10 – 10   .500 Davidson 6 – 12   .333 10 – 16   .385 Furman 4 – 8   .333 9 – 12   .429 Washington and Lee 4 – 9   .308 8 – 12   .400 Maryland 5 – 13   .278 7 – 18   .280 Richmond 4 – 13   .235 8 – 16   .333 The Citadel 2 – 10   .167 4 – 16   .200 VMI 2 – 11   .154 4 – 17   .190 † 1950 Southern Conference tournament winner As of April 30, 1950 Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Baylor 8 – 4   .667 14 – 13   .519 Arkansas 8 – 4   .667 12 – 12   .500 SMU 7 – 5   .583 10 – 13   .435 Texas 6 – 6   .500 13 – 11   .542 Texas A&M 6 – 6   .500 10 – 14   .417 TCU 5 – 7   .417 13 – 11   .542 Rice 2 – 10   .167 8 – 15   .348 Rankings from AP poll
1949–50 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. Bonaventure 2 – 2   .500 17 – 5   .773 Niagara 2 – 2   .500 20 – 7   .741 Canisius 2 – 2   .500 17 – 8   .680 Rankings from AP Poll	1949–50 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island State 6 – 1   .857 18 – 8   .692 Connecticut 5 – 2   .714 17 – 8   .680 Vermont 2 – 3   .400 9 – 11   .450 Massachusetts 2 – 3   .400 8 – 11   .421 Maine 3 – 5   .375 13 – 6   .684 New Hampshire 1 – 5   .167 4 – 11   .267

Major independents

A total of 46 college teams played as major independents. Among major independents, Holy Cross (27–4) finished with both the best winning percentage (.871) and the most wins.

Although not considered a major independent during the season, San Jose State (21–7) played as an independent and was ranked No. 15 in the season's final AP Poll.

1949–50 NCAA men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Holy Cross –   – 27 – 4   .871 No. 11 Villanova –   – 25 – 4   .862 No. 10 La Salle –   – 21 – 4   .840 No. 13 LIU –   – 20 – 5   .800 No. 6 Duquesne –   – 23 – 6   .793 Toledo –   – 22 – 6   .786 Dayton –   – 24 – 8   .750 Lafayette –   – 18 – 6   .750 Muhlenberg –   – 17 – 6   .739 Washington University –   – 17 – 6   .739 No. 12 San Francisco –   – 19 – 7   .731 Navy –   – 14 – 7   .667 Syracuse –   – 18 – 9   .667 Louisville –   – 21 – 11   .656 Valparaiso –   – 15 – 8   .652 Akron –   – 16 – 9   .640 Santa Clara –   – 14 – 8   .636 Bowling Green State –   – 19 – 11   .633 Notre Dame –   – 15 – 9   .625 Miami (Fla.) –   – 14 – 9   .609 Temple –   – 14 – 10   .583 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 17 – 13   .567 Penn State –   – 13 – 10   .565 Colgate –   – 10 – 8   .556 Boston College –   – 11 – 9   .550 West Virginia –   – 13 – 11   .542 Army –   – 9 – 8   .529 Creighton –   – 13 – 13   .500 Georgetown –   – 12 – 12   .500 Gettysburg –   – 12 – 12   .500 DePaul –   – 12 – 13   .480 Virginia –   – 12 – 13   .480 Rutgers –   – 13 – 15   .464 John Carroll –   – 9 – 11   .450 Baldwin Wallace –   – 11 – 14   .440 Brown –   – 11 – 14   .440 Xavier –   – 12 – 16   .429 Seton Hall –   – 11 – 15   .423 St. Joseph's –   – 10 – 15   .400 Loyola (Calif.) –   – 9 – 17   .346 Wayne –   – 7 – 15   .318 Marquette –   – 6 – 17   .261 Bucknell –   – 5 – 16   .238 Lehigh –   – 4 – 14   .222 Pittsburgh –   – 4 – 14   .222 Saint Mary's –   – 3 – 22   .120 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

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

NOTE: Despite its name, the Middle Three Conference was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In 1949–50, Lafayatte and Rutgers finished tied for the best record in games played between the three members.

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