The 1946–47 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1946, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1947 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1947, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Holy Cross Crusaders won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–47 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Season headlines
The Mid-American Conference began play, with five original members. The Western New York Little Three Conference began play. The Yankee Conference began play, with six original members."New England/Yankee regular-season champions," Coaches Database Accessed April 27, 2021 Ben Carnevale of Navy took the Midshipmen to the 1947 NCAA basketball tournament, becoming the first head coach to take two different teams to the NCAA tournament. He previously had taken North Carolina to the 1946 NCAA basketball tournament. George Kaftan of Holy Cross became the first player to score 30 points or more in a Final Four game of the NCAA basketball tournament, scoring 30 points against CCNY in a national semifinal game on March 22, 1947. Don Barksdale of UCLA was a 1947 consensus Second-Team All-American, becoming the first African-American to be named to the consensus all-America basketball team. In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Kentucky as its top-ranked team for the 1946–47 season.
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Independent Mid-American Conference Independent Western New York Little Three Conference Big Ten Conference No NCAA basketball program Independent Mid-American Conference New England Conference Yankee Conference No NCAA basketball program Middle Atlantic States Conference North Independent Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League New England Conference Yankee Conference Independent Yankee Conference New England Conference Yankee Conference Independent Western New York Little Three Conference New England Conference Non-major basketball program Independent Mid-American Conference New England Conference Yankee Conference Independent Western New York Little Three Conference Independent Yankee Conference No NCAA basketball program Mid-American Conference No NCAA basketball program Mid-American Conference Independent Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerBig Six Conference Oklahoma None selected No TournamentBig Nine Conference Wisconsin None selected No TournamentBorder Conference Arizona None selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Columbia None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference St. John's No TournamentMid-American Conference Butler & Cincinnati None selected No TournamentMiddle Atlantic States Conference North Muhlenberg No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Saint Louis None selected No TournamentPacific Coast Conference ; No Tournament;Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff seriesSoutheastern Conference Kentucky None selected 1947 SEC men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory,(Louisville, Kentucky) KentuckySouthern Conference NC State None selected 1947 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 Texas None selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Canisius No TournamentYankee Conference Vermont None selected No Tournament Conference standings
Major independents A total of 50 college teams played as major independents. (20–2) had the best winning percentage (.909) and (32–5) finished with the most wins.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Semifinals and finals
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals and finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Ralph Beard G Sophomore Kentucky Alex Groza C Sophomore Kentucky Ralph Hamilton G Senior Indiana Sid Tanenbaum G Senior New York University Gerry Tucker C Senior Oklahoma
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Don Barksdale C Senior UCLA Arnie Ferrin F Junior Utah Vern Gardner C Senior Utah John Hargis G Senior Texas George Kaftan F Junior Holy Cross Ed Koffenberger C Junior Duke Andy Phillip G/F Senior Illinois
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Gerald Tucker, Oklahoma
Other major awards
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sid Tanenbaum, NYU
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArmyStu HolcombJohn MauerAuburnV. J. EdneyDanny DoyleBrownWeeb EwbankRobert MorrisBucknellJ. Ellwood LudwigJack GuyThe CitadelWhitey PiroBernard O'NeilCreightonEddie HickeyDuce BelfordDaytonJames CarterTom BlackburnGeorge WashingtonOtts ZahnGeorge GarberIdahoGuy WicksCharles FinleyIllinoisDouglas R. MillsHarry CombsIowa StateLouis MenzeClay SutherlandMarylandBurton ShipleyFlucie StewartMississippi StateStanfield HittPaul GregoryMontana StateBrick BreedenMax WorthingtonNew Mexico A&MJerry HinesJohn GunnArizona State–FlagstaffFrank BrickeyNick RagusOregonHoward HobsonJohn A. WarrenSaint LouisJohn FlanniganEddie HickeySaint Mary'sClarence AndersenBenjamin NeffSeton HallBob DaviesJack ReitmeierSMUF. C. BaccusDoc HayesSt. BonaventureHarry SingletonEd MelvinSt. John'sJoe LapchickFrank McGuire TennesseeJohn MauerEmmett Lowery Mauer left to coach Army.Texas State M&MDale WatersRoss MooreTexas TechBerl HuffmanPolk RobisonToledoBill OrwigJerry BushTulsaDon ShieldsJohn GarrisonUtah StateBebe LeeJoe WhitesidesValparaisoLoren EllisEmory BauerVanderbiltNorm CooperBob PolkVirginia TechGeorge S. ProctorRed LairdVMILoyd RobertsFrank SummersWilliam & MaryRichard F. GallagherBarney WilsonYaleIvy WilliamsonHoward Hobson
References