The 1948–49 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1948, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1949 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1949, at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington. The Kentucky Wildcats won their second NCAA national championship with a 46–36 victory over the Oklahoma A&M Aggies.
Rule changes Coaches were permitted to speak to players during time-outs. Previously, under a rule in place since the 1910–11 season, no coaching of players had been permitted during the progress of a game.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
Season headlines
The Associated Press (AP) Poll debuted. The first national poll for ranking college basketball teams, it was modeled after the AP college football poll, which had begun in the mid-1930s. It ranked the Top 20 teams, and continued to do so until the 1961–62 season, when it became a Top 10 poll.sports-reference.com Matchup Finder The Ohio Valley Conference began play, with six original members. The Border Conference began a hiatus from major college basketball competition, playing at the non-major level for two seasons. It would return to major competition in the 1950–51 season. The Middle Atlantic States Conference North disbanded at the end of the season. The National Invitation Tournament expanded from eight to 12 teams. Kentucky became the first team to finish the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and go on to win the NCAA tournament. Jim Lacy of Loyola (Maryland) completed his collegiate career with 2,154 points, the first player to score 2,000 or more points in his career.
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Independent Missouri Valley Conference Missouri Valley Conference Independent Independent Ohio Valley Conference Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference Independent Ohio Valley Conference Independent Ohio Valley Conference Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference Independent Ohio Valley Conference
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerBig Seven Conference Nebraska & Oklahoma None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Illinois None selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Yale None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference Manhattan & No TournamentMid-American Conference Cincinnati None selected No TournamentMiddle Atlantic States Conference North Lafayette & Muhlenberg No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Oklahoma A&M None selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Wyoming No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky State None selected 1949 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Western Kentucky StatePacific Coast Conference ; No Tournament;Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff seriesSoutheastern Conference Kentucky None selected 1949 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory,(Louisville, Kentucky) KentuckySouthern Conference NC State None selected 1949 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, & Rice None selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Niagara No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament
Conference standings
Major independents A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. (23–4) had the best winning percentage (.852). (25–5) and (25–6) finished with the most wins.
Although not considered a major independent during the season, (28–3) played as an independent and was ranked No. 19 in the season's final AP Poll.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerMiddle Three Conference 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 play among the three member schools in 1948–49, Rutgers finished with a 3–1 record.1948–49 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 Ralph Beard G Senior Kentucky Vince Boryla F Junior Denver Alex Groza C Senior Kentucky Tony Lavelli F Senior Yale Ed Macauley F Senior Saint Louis
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Bill Erickson G Junior Illinois Vern Gardner F Senior Utah Wallace Jones F Senior Kentucky Jim McIntyre C Senior Minnesota Ernie Vandeweghe G Senior Colgate
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Tony Lavelli, Yale
Other major awards
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Dick McGuire, St. John's
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArkansasEugene LambertPresley AskewAuburnDanny DoyleJoel EavesBoston UniversityCharles CummingsVin CroninBYUFloyd MilletStan WattsColgateKarl J. LawrenceHoward HartmanColorado StateE. D. TaylorBebe LeeDavidsonNorman ShepardBoydson Baird Shepard left to coach Harvard.DenverEllison KetchumHoyt BrawnerFurmanLyles AlleyMelvin BellGeorge WashingtonGeorge GarberBill ReinhartGeorgetownElmer RipleyBuddy O'GradyHarvardBill BarclayNorman ShepardJohn CarrollNorb RascherElmer RipleyLafayetteBill AndersonRay StanleyLa SalleCharles McGloneKen LoefflerMaineGeorge E. AllenRome RankinMiami (Ohio)Blue FosterJohn BrickelsOhioDutch TrautweinJim SnyderOle MissJim WhatleyB. L. GrahamPenn StateJohn LawtherElmer GrossProvidenceLawrence DrewJames CuddyRiceJoe DavisDon SumanSeton HallJack ReitmeierHoney RussellTulsaJohn GarrisonClarence Iba ValparaisoDon WarnkeWilbur AllenVMIFrank SummersBill O'HaraWashington & LeeBob SpessardConn DavisWestern MichiganBuck ReadWilliam Pergio
References