The 1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1944, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1945 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1945, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Oklahoma A&M Aggies won their first NCAA national championship with a 49–45 victory over the NYU Violets.
Rule changes
Along with the ball on the rim, defensive interference by touching the ball after it had started its downward flight during an opponent's field goal attempt was declared a goal for the shooting team.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes A player fouls out after committing five fouls, including fouls committed in overtime. Previously, a player fouled out after committing four fouls in regulation or a fifth foul in overtime. An extra foul was not permitted in overtime games. Unlimited substitution is permitted for the first time. Previously, a player could re-enter a game only twice. It became a violation for an offensive player to remain in the free-throw lane for more than three seconds.p. 277
Season headlines The three-point shot — called a "long goal" at the time — was used experimentally for the first time in a college basketball game, played between Columbia and Fordham on February 7, 1945, with the three-point line from the basket. Columbia made 11 "long goals," while Fordham made nine. The game also experimented with allowing free-throw shooters to take their shots from the normal for one point or to attempt a "long foul" shot from for two points. The teams combined for eight "long fouls" during the game, which Columbia won 73–58. The February 7, 1945, game between Columbia and Fordham also saw the first use of the free-throw lane, an experiment at a time when the free-throw lane was standardized at wide. The free-throw lane eventually was adopted for the 1955–56 season. After its football team won the 1945 Cotton Bowl Classic on January 1, Oklahoma A&M's basketball team won the 1945 NCAA tournament on March 27, making Oklahoma A&M the first school to win both a college football bowl game and the NCAA basketball tournament in the same academic year. More than 18,000 fans attended the final installment of an annual American Red Cross benefit game between the NCAA Tournament and NIT champions at Madison Square Garden. Oklahoma A&M, led by Bob Kurland, defeated George Mikan's DePaul 52–44. Kurland scored 14 points while Mikan scored 9 before fouling out in only 14 minutes of playing time. In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Iowa as its top-ranked team for the 1944–45 season.
Premo-Porretta Power Poll In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively ranked teams during the 1944–45 season as follows by reviewing results, opponents, and margins of victory.
1945 Premo-Porretta PollRankingTeam1 Iowa (17–1)2 Oklahoma A&M (27–4)3 DePaul (21–3)4 Rice (20–1)5 Army (14–1)6 Navy (12–2)7 Ohio State (15–5)8 Bowling Green (24–4)9 Notre Dame (15–5)10 Kentucky (22–4)11 St. John's (21–3)12 RPI (13–1)13 Akron (21–2)14 NYU (16–8)15 Muhlenberg (24–4)16 South Carolina (19–3)17 Valparaiso (21–3)18 Tennessee (18–5)19 Rhode Island State (20–5)20 Hamline (20–4)21 North Carolina (22–6)22 Temple (16–7)23 Illinois (13–7)24 Penn (12–5)25 Yale (14–4)
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular Season WinnerConference player of the yearConference TournamentTournament Venue (City)Tournament winnerBig Six Conference Iowa State None Selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Iowa None Selected No TournamentBorder Conference New Mexico None Selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Penn None Selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Oklahoma A&M None Selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Utah None Selected No TournamentNew England Conference Rhode Island State None Selected No TournamentPacific Coast Conference & None Selected No Tournament;Oregon defeated Washington State in North Division best-of-three championship playoff series and defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff seriesRocky Mountain Conference Colorado College None Selected No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Kentucky & Tennessee None Selected 1945 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory(Louisville, Kentucky) Kentucky Southern Conference South Carolina None Selected 1945 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Thompson Gym(Raleigh, ) North Carolina Southwest Conference Rice None Selected No Tournament Conference standings
Major independents A total of 62 college teams played as major independents. (14–1) had the best winning percentage (.933). (24–4) and (24–4) finished with the most wins.
Statistical leaders Scoring leader – George Mikan averaged 23.3 points per game and was retroactively declared the "unofficial" season scoring leader. Between 1935–36 and 1946–47, there were no official NCAA scoring champions. The statistics during that era were compiled from the National Basketball Committee Official Basketball Guide, which was not regulated by NCAA authorities. Therefore, those players are included in the annual NCAA men's basketball media guide, but are listed as unofficial season scoring leaders. No other personal statistics were tracked during the 1944–45 basketball season.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Semifinals & final
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Arnie Ferrin F Sophomore Utah Wyndol Gray F Junior Bowling Green William Hassett G Junior Notre Dame Bill Henry C Senior Rice Walt Kirk G/F Junior Illinois Bob Kurland C Junior Oklahoma A&M George Mikan C Junior DePaul
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Howie Dallmar F Junior Pennsylvania Don Grate G Senior Ohio State Dale Hall F Senior Army Vince Hanson C Sophomore Washington State Dick Ives F Sophomore Iowa Max Morris F Senior Northwestern Herb Wilkinson G Sophomore Iowa
Major player of the year awards Helms Foundation Player of the Year: George Mikan, DePaul Sporting News Player of the Year: George Mikan, DePaul
Other major awards NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC area): Bill Kotsores, St. John's
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonAlabamaMalcolm LaneyHank Crisp ArmyEd KelleherStu Holcomb AuburnBob K. EvansRalph Jordan BaylorVan SweetBill Henderson Boston UniversityMel CollardRuss PetersonThe CitadelErnest WehmanEugene Clark Colorado StateJohn S. DavisE. D. Taylor ColumbiaElmer RipleyPaul Mooney Ripley left to coach Notre Dame.ConnecticutDonald WhiteBlair Gullion White left to coach Rutgers.DenverCliff RockKen Loeffler FurmanSlewyn EdwardsLyles Alley GeorgetownNoneKen EnglesAfter a two-year suspension of all athletic programs during World War II, Georgetown University decided to reconstitute its basketball program during the 1945–46 season with a mostly walk-on team. Engles – a Georgetown player returning to school for the 1945–46 academic year after military service – was named the coach, becoming the only player-coach in Georgetown men's basketball history.Holy CrossAlbert RiopelDoggie JulianKent StateWilliam A. SatterleeHarry C. Adams LafayetteArthur R. WintersBill Anderson Loyola (Md.)Albert BarthelmeLefty Reitz LSUJesse FatherreeA. L. SwansonHarry Rabenhorst MaineWilliam C. KenyonGeorge E. Allen MinnesotaWeston MitchellDave MacMillan NebraskaAdolph J. LewandowskiL. F. "Pop" Klein NevadaJim AikenJake Lawlor NortheasternFoxy FlumereEugene Pare Notre DameClem CroweElmer Ripley Ole MissEdwin HaleBuster Poole OregonJohn A. WarrenHoward Hobson PennRed KellettRob Dougherty PrincetonWilliam Francis LoganLeonard HattingerWes FeslerRiceJoe DavisBuster Brannon RutgersThomas KenneallyDonald White Saint LouisDukes DufordJohn FlanniganSanta ClaraGeorge BarsiRay Pesco SMURoy BccusF. C. Baccus South CarolinaJohn D. McMillanFrank Johnson TexasBully GilstrapJack Gray Texas A&MManning SmithMarty Karow Texas State M&MCharles FinleyDale Waters TulaneVernon HayesClifford Wells TulsaPaul AlyeaDon Shields Utah StateD. D. YoungBebe Lee USCBobby MuthSam Barry VMIJoe DaherJay McWilliams West VirginiaJohn BricklesLee Patton William & MaryRube McCraySam B. Holt
References