1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season

1944–45 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1944–45 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
NCAA Tournament	1945
Tournament dates	March 22, 1945 – ; March 27, 1945
National Championship	Madison Square Garden; New York City
NCAA Champions	Oklahoma A&M
Helms National Champions	Oklahoma A&M
Other champions	DePaul (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	George Mikan, DePaul

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

Defensive goaltending was prohibited.[1]
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.[1]
Unlimited substitution is permitted for the first time. Previously, a player could re-enter a game only twice.[1]
No offensive player may stand in the free-throw lane (also known as the "key") for more than three seconds.[1]

Season headlines

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.[2] Kurland scored 14 points while Mikan scored 9 before fouling out in only 14 minutes of playing time.[2]
In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Iowa as its national champion for the 1944–45 season.[3]

Major rule changes

Beginning in 1944–45, the following rules changes were implemented:

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.
Five personal fouls disqualify a player. An extra foul was not permitted in overtime games.
Unlimited substitution was permitted.
It became a violation for an offensive player to remain in the free-throw lane for more than three seconds.[4]

Premo-Porretta Power Poll

In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively ranked teams during the 1944–45 as follows by reviewing results, opponents, and margins of victory.[2][3]

1945 Premo-Porretta Poll
Ranking	Team
1	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

School	Former conference	New conference
Harvard Crimson	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
Yale Bulldogs	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular Season Winner[5]	Conference player of the year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Iowa State	None Selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Iowa	None Selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	New Mexico	None Selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Penn	None Selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None Selected	No Tournament
New England Conference	Rhode Island State	None Selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon & Washington State (North); UCLA (South)	None Selected	No Tournament; Oregon defeated Washington State in North Division playoff game and defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Conference	Colorado College	None Selected	No Tournament
Skyline Conference	Utah	None Selected	No Tournament
Southeastern 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)	North Carolina
Southwest Conference	Rice	None Selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1944–45 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North
Oregon †	11	–	5	.688	30	–	15	.667
Washington State	11	–	5	.688	23	–	13	.639
Oregon State	10	–	6	.625	20	–	8	.714
Washington	5	–	11	.313	22	–	18	.550
Idaho	3	–	13	.188	13	–	20	.394
South
UCLA	3	–	1	.750	12	–	12	.500
USC	2	–	2	.500	15	–	9	.625
California	1	–	3	.250	7	–	8	.467

† North division playoff winner Rankings from AP Poll

1944–45 New England Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Rhode Island	5	–	1	.833	20	–	5	.800
Connecticut	4	–	2	.667	5	–	11	.313
Northeastern	2	–	4	.333	7	–	8	.467
Maine	1	–	5	.167	4	–	8	.333

1944–45 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Iowa	11	–	1	.917	17	–	1	.944
Ohio State	10	–	2	.833	15	–	5	.750
Illinois	7	–	5	.583	13	–	7	.650
Purdue	6	–	6	.500	9	–	11	.450
Michigan	5	–	7	.417	12	–	7	.632
Wisconsin	4	–	8	.333	10	–	11	.476
Minnesota	4	–	8	.333	8	–	13	.381
Northwestern	4	–	8	.333	7	–	12	.368
Indiana	3	–	9	.250	10	–	11	.476
Chicago	0	–	0	–	7	–	8	.467

Rankings from AP Poll

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.[6] No other personal statistics were tracked during the 1944–45 basketball season.

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Semifinals & finals

National Semifinals		National Finals

NYU	70^OT

Ohio State	65
		NYU	45

		Oklahoma A&M	49
Arkansas	41

Oklahoma A&M	68

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals			Finals

	Rhode Island State	53

	DePaul	97
				DePaul	71

				Bowling Green State	54
	Bowling Green State	57

	St. John's	44

Third Place – St. John's 64, Rhode Island State 57

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.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Columbia	Elmer Ripley		Paul Mooney
Georgetown	None		Ken Engles	After 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.[7]
Holy Cross	Albert Riopel		Doggie Julian
Notre Dame	Clem Crowe		Elmer Ripley
Ole Miss	Edwin Hale		Buster Poole
Oregon	John A. Warren		Howard Hobson
Penn	Red Kellett		Rob Dougherty
Princeton	William Francis Logan	Leonard Hattinger	Wes Fesler

References

orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
ESPN (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
Official 2008 NCAA men's basketball records book. NCAA. 2007.p. 277
"2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
"2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). 2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Media Guide. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
"The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

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[rules-1] rangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes

[CBBENCY-2] ESPN (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[ESPN_526-3] ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[4] Official 2008 NCAA men's basketball records book. NCAA. 2007.p. 277

[5] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2010.

[6] "2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). 2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Media Guide. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2011.

[7] "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24