The 1937–38 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1937, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1938.
Rule changes After a field goal, the opposing team receives possession of the ball. Previously, a jump ball at center court had taken place after every field goal.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
Season headlines
The New England Conference played its first season at the major-program level. The Northern California Conference began play. Hank Luisetti of Stanford became the first player to score 50 or more points in one game when he scored 50 in a win over Duquesne on January 1, 1938. The Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association founded the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which was played for the first time in 1938. A field of six teams participated, with the Temple Owls winning the first NIT championship. Although the NCAA tournament began play the following season, the NIT, playing its games at Madison Square Garden and easily accessible to the New York City media, was considered the more glamorous and prestigious of the two tournaments until at least the mid-1950s Anonymous, "How the NCAA Overtook Its Rival, the NIT," Sport History Weekly, March 24, 2019 Accessed May 4, 2021 In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Temple as its national champion for the 1937–38 season. In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Temple as its top-ranked team for the 1937–38 season.
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Non-major basketball program Non-major basketball program New England Conference Non-major basketball program Northern California Conference Independent Missouri Valley Conference Independent Northern California Conference Independent Northern California Conference Non-major basketball program Northern California Conference Independent Northern California Conference Southern Conference Independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerBig Six Conference Kansas None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Purdue None selected No TournamentBorder Conference New Mexico State None selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Dartmouth None selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Conference Temple None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference NYU None selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Oklahoma A&M None selected No TournamentNew England Conference Rhode Island State No TournamentNorthern California Conference & No TournamentPacific Coast Conference ; No Tournament;Stanford defeated in best-of-three conference championship playoff seriesRocky Mountain Athletic Conference Colorado & Utah No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Georgia Tech None selected 1938 SEC men's basketball tournament Huey Long Field House Louisiana) Georgia TechSouthern Conference North Carolina None selected 1938 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Thompson Gym(Raleigh, Duke2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference Arkansas None selected No Tournament Conference standings
Major independents A total of 46 college teams played as major independents. (9–0) was undefeated, and (30–3) finished with the most wins.
Post-season tournaments
National Invitation Tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American team
+ Consensus Team Player Class Team Meyer Bloom Senior Temple Hank Luisetti Senior Stanford John Moir Senior Notre Dame Paul Nowak Senior Notre Dame Fred Pralle Senior Kansas Jewell Young Senior Purdue
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Hank Luisetti, Stanford (retroactive selection in 1944)
Other major awards
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Bernie Fliegel, CCNY
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReason Brown Art Kahler George E. Allen BYU Fred Dixon Edwin R. Kimball Cornell Bo Rowland Blair Gullion Fordham Vincent Cavanaugh Ed Kelleher Georgia Rex Enright Elmer A. Lampe Georgetown Fred Mesmer Elmer Ripley Mesmer stepped aside after seven seasons to allow Ripley to return for a second stint as head coach. Indiana Everett Dean Branch McCracken Dean left to coach at Stanford. Indiana State Wally Marks Glenn M. Curtis Lafayette Mike Michalske Richard Madison Miami (Ohio) John Mauer Weeb Ewbank Mauer left to coach at Tennessee. Michigan Franklin Cappon Bennie Oosterbaan Cappon left to coach at Princeton. Ohio Butch Grover Dutch Trautwein Oklahoma Hugh McDermott Bruce Drake Ole Miss George Bohler Frank Johnson Princeton Ken Fairman Franklin Cappon Rice Jimmy Kitts Buster Brannon Saint Louis Ed Davidson Jack Sterrett Saint Mary's Harlan Dykes Jack Otten SMU James W. St. Clair F. C. Baccus Stanford John Bunn Everett Dean Tennessee Blair Gullion John Mauer Gullion left to coach Cornell. Tulane Ray G. Dauber Claude Simons Jr. VMI Albert Elmore Jimmy Walker West Virginia Marshall Glenn Dyke Raese
References