The 1940 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the participating champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 2nd edition of the tournament began on March 20, 1940, and ended with the championship game on March 30, at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of eight games were played, including a single third place game in the West region.
Indiana, coached by Branch McCracken, won the tournament title with a 60–42 victory in the final game over Kansas, coached by Phog Allen. Marvin Huffman of Indiana was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
This would be the only tournament to feature Springfield College, the school James Naismith worked for when he invented the sport of basketball. They were the first of fourteen colleges and universities to compete in the tournament that are no longer in Division I. This was also the first appearance of the Kansas Jayhawks, whose first coach was Naismith.
Locations The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1940 tournament:
Regionals
March 20 and 21 East Regional, Butler Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana (Host: Butler University) West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
Championship Game
March 30 Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
Teams East Regional - IndianapolisSchoolCoachConferenceRecord Duquesne Chick Davies Independent 19–2 Indiana Branch McCracken Big Ten 17–3 Ed Hickox Independent 16–2 Western Kentucky Ed Diddle SIAA 24–5
West Regional - Kansas CitySchoolCoachConferenceRecord Frosty Cox Mountain States 17–2 Kansas Phog Allen Big Six 17–5 Buster Brannon Southwest 21–2 USC Sam Barry Pacific Coast 19–2
Bracket
See also 1940 National Invitation Tournament 1940 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
References