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1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season
| 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season |
|---|
| 1948 |
| March 19 – 23, 1948 |
| Madison Square GardenNew York City, New York |
| Kentucky Wildcats |
| Kentucky Wildcats |
| Saint Louis Billikens (NIT) |
| Ed Macauley, Saint Louis Billikens |
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.
- In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Kentucky as its top-ranked team for the 1947–48 season.
- The Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball won the N.I.T
- The dispute among basketball fans over which was more prestigious, the National Invitation Tournament(more commonly referred to as the N.I.T.) or the NCAA Tournament, continued throughout the entire year.
| 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 Tartars | Mid-American Conference | Independent |
| Western Michigan Broncos | Independent | Mid-American Conference |
| Conference | Regular season winner | 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 |
| Southwest Conference | Baylor | None selected | No Tournament | ||
| Western New York Little Three Conference | Niagara | No Tournament | |||
| Yankee Conference | Connecticut | None selected | No Tournament |
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.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Column 5 | Column 6 | Column 7 | Column 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Column 5 | Column 6 | Column 7 | Column 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
-
Helms Player of the Year: Ed Macauley, Saint Louis
-
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Dolph Schayes, NYU
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | FormerCoach | InterimCoach | NewCoach | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State–Tempe | Rudy Lavik | Bill Kajikawa | ||
| Boston University | Russ Peterson | Charles Cummings | ||
| Bradley | Alfred J. Robertson | Forddy Anderson | Robertson also stepped down from the baseball team, football team, and athletic director duties. | |
| Canisius | Earl Brown | Joseph Niland | ||
| Detroit | John Shada | Bob Calihan | ||
| Drake | Forddy Anderson | Jack McClelland | Anderson left to coach Bradley. | |
| Duquesne | Chick Davies | Dudey Moore | ||
| Holy Cross | Doggie Julian | Buster Sheary | ||
| Indiana State | John Wooden | John Longfellow | ||
| Kent State | Harry C. Adams | David E. McDowell | ||
| Michigan | Osborne Cowles | Ernie McCoy | McCoy is also the assistant athletic director. Cowles left to coach Minnesota. | |
| Minnesota | Dave MacMillan | Osborne Cowles | ||
| Montana State | Max Worthington | Brick Breeden | ||
| Penn | Red Kellett | Howie Dallmar | ||
| Rhode Island State | Frank Keaney | Red Haire | ||
| St. Francis (NY) | Joseph Brennan | Daniel Lynch | ||
| Texas State M&M | Ross Moore | Dale Waters | ||
| TCU | Herb McQuillan | Buster Brannon | ||
| UCLA | Wilbur Johns | John Wooden | ||
| Valparaiso | Emory Bauer | Don Warnke | ||
| Wichita Municipal | Melvin J. Binford | Ken Gunning |
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