# 1929–30 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1929–30 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1929, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1930.

## Rules changes

* The practice of enclosing basketball courts in chicken wire, chain-link fencing, or rope — giving basketball the nickname "the cage game" — ended. Intended to increase the tempo of play by keeping the ball from going out of bounds, to protect players and rowdy spectators from each other, and to prevent fans from throwing objects onto the court, the use of these "cages" had led to rough physical play in which players body-checked each other into the barrier, resulting in injuries. The slang term "cager" for a basketball player derives from the use of these "cages."
* The number of referees increased from one to two.

## Season headlines

* Pittsburgh defeated Montana State 37–36 in what was billed as a national championship game.
* In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Pittsburgh as its national champion for the 1929–30 season.
* In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Alabama as its national champion for the 1929–30 season.

## Regular season
### Conferences
#### Conference winners and tournaments

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Big Six Conference | Missouri | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Purdue | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Columbia | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Creighton & Washington University | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington (North); USC (South) | | No Tournament; USC defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; USC defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; USC defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Colorado (Eastern); Montana State & Utah State (Western) | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Southern Conference | Alabama | None selected | 1930 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta, Georgia) | Alabama |
| Southwest Conference | Arkansas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1929–30 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1929–30 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Missouri8–2 .80015–3  .833 Kansas7–3 .70014–4  .778 Nebraska6–4 .6009–9  .500 Iowa State5–5 .5009–8  .529 Kansas State4–6 .4009–7  .563 Oklahoma0–10 .0006–12  .333 | 1929–30 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Purdue10–0 1.00013–2  .867 Wisconsin8–2 .80015–2  .882 Illinois7–5 .5838–8  .500 Indiana7–5 .5838–9  .471 Michigan6–4 .6009–5  .643 Northwestern6–6 .5008–8  .500 Minnesota3–9 .2508–9  .471 Chicago2–10 .1675–12  .294 Ohio State1–9 .1004–11  .267 Iowa0–0 –4–13  .235 | 1929–30 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Columbia9–1 .90015–5  .750 Penn7–3 .70020–6  .769 Yale4–6 .40013–8  .619 Dartmouth4–6 .40011–9  .550 Princeton3–7 .30013–12  .520 Cornell3–7 .3006–12  .333 |
| 1929–30 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Creighton6–2 .75012–7  .632 Washington University6–2 .7508–8  .500 Drake4–4 .50010–9  .526 Grinnell4–4 .5006–9  .400 Oklahoma A&M0–8 .0001–15  .063 | 1929–30 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Washington12–4 .75021–7  .750 Washington State9–7 .56314–12  .538 Oregon8–8 .50014–12  .538 Oregon State7–9 .43814–13  .519 Idaho4–12 .2507–18  .280 South USC †7–2 .77815–5  .750 California6–3 .6679–8  .529 UCLA3–6 .33314–8  .636 Stanford2–7 .22210–9  .526 † Conference playoff series winner | 1929–30 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Eastern Colorado11–3 .78611–6  .647 Wyoming7–3 .70013–6  .684 Colorado College9–5 .64320–11  .645 Western State6–6 .5009–6  .600 Denver7–7 .50010–7  .588 Northern Colorado7–7 .5007–7  .500 Colorado Agricultural4–10 .2864–10  .286 Colorado Mines1–11 .0831–11  .083 Western Utah State7–5 .58315–7  .682 Montana State7–5 .58321–10  .677 BYU6–6 .50023–7  .767 Utah4–8 .33315–12  .556 |
| 1929–30 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Alabama †10–0 1.00020–0  1.000 Duke9–1 .90018–2  .900 Kentucky9–1 .90016–3  .842 Washington and Lee9–2 .81816–4  .800 Tennessee7–2 .77813–4  .765 Georgia7–3 .70017–6  .739 Tulane7–3 .70016–7  .696 Clemson8–4 .66716–9  .640 Sewanee5–3 .6259–11  .450 Maryland8–5 .61516–6  .727 NC State7–5 .58311–6  .647 Ole Miss6–6 .5006–7  .462 LSU6–7 .46210–11  .476 Florida2–3 .40010–4  .714 Georgia Tech5–8 .38511–13  .458 North Carolina4–7 .36414–11  .560 VMI2–6 .2504–10  .286 Mississippi A&M2–7 .2225–8  .385 Virginia2–8 .2003–12  .200 Virginia Tech2–10 .1675–14  .263 Vanderbilt1–9 .1006–16  .273 Auburn1–10 .0911–10  .091 South Carolina0–10 .0006–10  .375 † Southern Conference Tournament winner | 1929–30 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Arkansas10–2 .83316–7  .696 Texas8–4 .66712–8  .600 SMU6–6 .5008–10  .444 Baylor4–6 .40010–6  .625 Texas A&M4–6 .4008–10  .444 Rice4–8 .3337–9  .438 TCU4–8 .3337–10  .412 |

### Major independents

A total of 92 college teams played as major independents. Northwest Missouri State (31–0) was undefeated and finished with the most wins. Pittsburg State (20–0) and Western State Teachers College (17–0) also were undefeated.
1929–30 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1929–30 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* Northwest Missouri State– –31–0
* 1.000
* Pittsburg State– –20–0
* 1.000
* Western State Teachers– –17–0
* 1.000
* St. John's (N.Y.)– –23–1
* .958
* Furman– –16–1
* .941
* Buffalo– –15–1
* .938
* East Central– –23–2
* .920
* Pittsburgh– –23–2
* .920
* Syracuse– –18–2
* .900
* Indiana State– –16–2
* .889
* Carleton– –14–2
* .875
* Westminster (Pa.)– –14–2
* .875
* Marshall– –13–2
* .867
* Temple– –18–3
* .857
* Wooster– –12–2
* .857
* Rider– –17–3
* .850
* New York University– –13–3
* .813
* New Mexico– –16–4
* .800
* Providence– –15–4
* .789
* CCNY– –11–3
* .786
* West Texas State– –18–5
* .783
* Cincinnati– –13–4
* .765
* Wichita Municipal– –14–4
* .778
* St. Bonaventure– –17–5
* .773
* Bradley– –13–4
* .765
* DePaul– –15–5
* .750
* Michigan State– –12–4
* .750
* William & Mary– –16–6
* .727
* Fordham– –13–5
* .722
* Loyola (Ill.)– –13–5
* .722
* Arizona– –15–6
* .714
* Rutgers– –10–4
* .714
* Manhattan– –12–5
* .706
* Notre Dame– –14–6
* .700
* Saint Louis– –14–6
* .700
* Santa Clara– –14–6
* .700
* Harvard– –9–4
* .692
* St. Ignatius– –9–4
* .692
* Texas Tech– –13–6
* .684
* Texas State M&M– –13–6
* .684
* Rhode Island State– –10–5
* .667
* Loyola (Md.)– –11–6
* .647
* Villanova– –11–6
* .647
* Duquesne– –18–10
* .643
* Lehigh– –9–5
* .643
* Davidson– –12–7
* .632
* Holy Cross– –12–7
* .632
* Mount Union– –10–6
* .625
* Navy– –10–6
* .625
* Army– –9–6
* .600
* Butler– –12–8
* .600
* Colgate– –12–8
* .600
* Louisville– –9–6
* .600
* Montana– –13–9
* .591
* Seton Hall– –13–9
* .591
* Springfield (Mass.)– –10–7
* .588
* LIU– –14–10
* .583
* Ohio– –12–9
* .571
* St. Joseph's– –12–9
* .571
* DePauw– –9–7
* .563
* George Washington– –9–7
* .563
* Connecticut– –8–7
* .533
* Muhlenberg– –9–8
* .529
* Northern Arizona State– –9–8
* .529
* Detroit– –10–9
* .526
* West Virginia– –11–10
* .524
* Georgetown– –13–12
* .520
* Xavier– –8–8
* .500
* Marquette– –11–12
* .478
* Richmond– –7–8
* .467
* New Mexico A&M– –12–14
* .462
* Lafayette– –9–11
* .450
* Niagara– –9–11
* .450
* The Citadel– –9–11
* .450
* Washburn– –8–13
* .381
* Brown– –7–12
* .368
* Penn State– –5–9
* .357
* Toledo– –5–9
* .357
* Arizona State– –6–11
* .353
* Boston University– –4–8
* .333
* Bucknell– –6–12
* .333
* Miami (Ohio)– –5–10
* .333
* Saint Francis (N.Y.)– –6–12
* .333
* Bowling Green State– –5–11
* .313
* Kent State– –4–9
* .308
* Canisius– –5–12
* .294
* Valparaiso– –4–11
* .267
* Saint Mary's (Calif.)– –5–15
* .250
* Tulsa– –2–6
* .250
* Western Kentucky State– –4–12
* .250
* Dayton– –4–14
* .222
* Wake Forest– –2–11
* .154

### Statistical leaders
## Awards
### Consensus All-American team

Consensus Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| Charley Hyatt | Senior | Pittsburgh |
| Branch McCracken | Senior | Indiana |
| Stretch Murphy | Senior | Purdue |
| Cat Thompson | Senior | Montana State |
| Frank Ward | Senior | Montana State |
| John Wooden | Sophomore | Purdue |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Chuck Hyatt, Pittsburgh (retroactive selection in 1944)

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach | Reason |
| Georgetown | Bill Dudack | John Colrick | Georgetown did not rehire Dudack to coach for a second season. |
| Kentucky | John Mauer | Adolph Rupp | |
| Miami (Ohio) | Roy Tillotson | John Mauer | |