The 1952–53 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1952, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1953 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 18, 1953, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Indiana Hoosiers won their second NCAA national championship with a 69–68 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.
Rule changes Teams must take a free throw after a foul, as had been the practice through the 1938–39 season. Previously, under a rule that had been in effect since the 1939–40 season, a team could waive its free throw and instead take the ball at mid-court after a foul.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
Season headlines
Prior to the season, the NCAA ruled that colleges and universities could no longer count games played against non-collegiate opponents in their annual won-loss records. Previously, it had been a common practice for many years for colleges and universities to include non-collegiate opponents in their schedules, with the games recognized as part of their official record for the season. The California Basketball Association began play, with five original members. It would be renamed the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956 and the West Coast Conference in 1989. The NCAA forced Kentucky to suspend its men's basketball program for the entire 1952–53 season as a result of the CCNY point-shaving scandal, which had been revealed in 1951.Goldstein, Joe, "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops" - ESPN - November 19, 2003 The NCAA tournament expanded from 16 to 22 teams. Bill Chambers of William and Mary grabbed 51 rebounds against Virginia on February 14, 1953, becoming the first player with more than 50 rebounds in one game. Bob Houbregs of Washington became the first player to score 40 or more points in an NCAA tournament Final Four game when he scored 42 against LSU in the national third-place game on March 18, 1953. Walter Dukes of Seton Hall finished the season with 734 rebounds for the year, the first player to grab 700 rebounds in a single season.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1La Salle2Kansas State3Illinois4Seton Hall5Oklahoma A&M6NC State7Notre Dame8Holy Cross9Washington10LSU11Western Kentucky State12UCLA13Oklahoma City14St. Bonaventure15Tulsa16Minnesota17Saint Louis18California19Indiana20(tie)NavyKansas UP CoachesRankingTeam1Illinois2Kansas State3La Salle4Washington5NC State6Oklahoma A&M7UCLA8Indiana9Seton Hall10Saint Louis11Holy Cross12Santa Clara13Notre Dame14Duquesne15Wyoming16St. John's17(tie)BYUMinnesota19Kansas20St. Bonaventure
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Ohio Valley Conference Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference Independent Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference Non-major basketball program California Basketball Association Independent California Basketball Association Independent California Basketball Association Non-major basketball program California Basketball Association Independent California Basketball Association
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerBig Seven Conference Kansas None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Indiana None selected No TournamentBorder Conference Arizona & No TournamentCalifornia Basketball Association Santa Clara None selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Penn None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference Manhattan No TournamentMid-American Conference Miami (OH) None selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference None selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Wyoming No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Eastern Kentucky State None selected 1953 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Western Kentucky StatePacific Coast Conference ; No Tournament;Washington defeated California in best-of-three conference championship playoff seriesSoutheastern Conference LSU None selected No TournamentSouthern Conference NC State Frank Selvy, Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1953 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, Wake Forest2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference TCU 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 44 college teams played as major independents. Among them, (31–2) finished with both the best winning percentage (.939) and the most wins.
Although not considered a major independent during the season, (24–4) played as an independent and was ranked No. 20 in the season's final AP Poll.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Ernie Beck F Senior Pennsylvania Walter Dukes C Senior Seton Hall Tom Gola F Sophomore La Salle Bob Houbregs F Senior Washington Johnny O'Brien G Senior Seattle
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Dick Knostman F Senior Kansas State Bob Pettit C Junior Louisiana State Joe Richey G Senior Brigham Young Don Schlundt C Sophomore Indiana Frank Selvy G Junior Furman
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Bob Houbregs, Washington
Other major awards
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Walter Dukes, Seton Hall
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArmyElmer RipleyBob Vanatta Boston CollegeAl McClellanDino Martin CanisiusJoseph NilandJoseph Curran Kansas StateJack GardnerTex Winter Gardner left to coach Utah.Loyola (Calif.)Edwin PowellBill Donovan MarquetteTex WinterJack Nagle Winter left to coach Kansas State.Morehead StateEllis T. JohnsonBobby Laughlin New Mexico M&MGeorge McCartyPresley Askew PittsburghDoc CarlsonBob TimmonsSt. Joseph'sBill FergusonJohn McMenamin St. BonaventureEd MelvinEddie Donovan UtahVadal PetersonJack Gardner
References