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.
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
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Metropolitan New York Conference Non-major basketball program Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent Independent Missouri Valley Conference Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent Ohio Valley Conference Independent Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerBig Seven Conference Kansas, , & Nebraska None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Ohio State None selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Princeton None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference CCNY No TournamentMid-American Conference Cincinnati None selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Bradley None selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference BYU No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky State None selected 1950 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Eastern Kentucky StatePacific Coast Conference ; No Tournament;UCLA defeated Washington State in best-of-three conference championship playoff seriesSoutheastern Conference Kentucky None selected 1950 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory,(Louisville, Kentucky) KentuckySouthern Conference NC State None selected 1950 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Duke Indoor Stadium(Durham, NC State2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference Arkansas & Baylor None selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Canisius, Niagara, & No TournamentYankee Conference Rhode Island State None selected No Tournament Conference standings
Major independents A total of 46 college teams played as major independents. Among major independents, (27–4) finished with both the best winning percentage (.871) and the most wins.
Although not considered a major independent during the season, (21–7) played as an independent and was ranked No. 15 in the season's final AP Poll.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerMiddle Three Conference Lafayatte & Rutgers None selectedNo 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.1949-50 Men's Middle Three Conference Season Summary @ sports-reference.com
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Semifinals & finals
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ 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. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonColoradoFrosty CoxBebe LeeColorado StateBebe LeeBill Strannigan Lee left to coach Colorado.ColumbiaGordon RidingsLou RossiniDartmouthElmer A. LampeDoggie Julian DukeGerry GerardHarold BradleyFordhamFrank AdamsJohnny BachFurmanMelvin BellLyles AlleyGeorgiaRalph JordanJim WhatleyIdaho StateEd WillettSteve BelkoIowaPops HarrisonBucky O'ConnorRollie Williams Harrison suffered from kidney stones during the season and was relieved of head coaching duties. O'Connor took over as coach for the last 11 games. LehighDan YarbroTony PackerLoyola (Ill.)Tom HaggertyJohn JordanMarylandFlucie StewartBud MillikanMichigan StateAl KircherPete NewellNew HampshireEd StanczykAndy MoordianNorthwesternDutch LonborgHarold OlsenOhio StateTippy DyeFloyd StahlPurdueMel TaubeRay EddySaint Mary'sBenjamin NeffThomas FoleySan FranciscoPete NewellPhil WoolpertSanta ClaraRay PescoBob FeerickSyracuseLew AndreasMarc GuleyTexas A&MMarty KarowJohn FloydUSCSam BarryForrest TwogoodUtah StateJoe WhitesidesH. Cecil BakerWashington & LeeConn DavisScotty Hamilton
References