# 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1949, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 28, 1950, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The City College of New York Beavers won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–68 victory over the Bradley Braves.

## Season headlines

* CCNY became the only team ever to win both the NCAA tournament and the National Invitation Tournament in the same season. CCNY defeated Bradley in the championship game of both tournaments.
* Winning the NCAA championship game in New York City, CCNY became the first school to win the NCAA championship in its home city.
* CCNY became the first NCAA championship team to have an integrated roster of white and African American players, starting three African Americans.
* Although the Border Conference did not play as a major conference during the season, conference member Arizona was ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll of the season.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Brooklyn Bulldogs | Metropolitan New York Conference | Non-major basketball program |
| Bucknell Bison | Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Independent |
| Detroit Titans | Independent | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Gettysburg Bullets | Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Independent |
| Lafayette Leopards | Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Independent |
| Lehigh Engineers | Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Independent |
| Louisville Cardinals | Ohio Valley Conference | Independent |
| Muhlenberg Mules | Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Independent |

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

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Big Seven Conference | Kansas, Kansas State, & Nebraska | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Ohio State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Princeton | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | CCNY | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Cincinnati | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Bradley | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | BYU | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Western Kentucky State | None selected | 1950 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) | Eastern Kentucky State |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington State (North); UCLA (South) | | No Tournament; UCLA defeated Washington State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; UCLA defeated Washington State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; UCLA defeated Washington State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None selected | 1950 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Kentucky |
| Southern Conference | NC State | None selected | 1950 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Duke Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina) | NC State |
| Southwest Conference | Arkansas & Baylor | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western New York Little Three Conference | Canisius, Niagara, & St. Bonaventure | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Rhode Island State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1949–50 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1949–50 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 14 Kansas State8–4 .66717–7  .708 Nebraska8–4 .66716–7  .696 No. 19 Kansas8–4 .66714–11  .560 Colorado6–6 .50014–8  .636 Oklahoma6–6 .50012–10  .545 Missouri4–8 .33314–10  .583 Iowa State2–10 .1676–17  .261 Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Ohio State11–1 .91722–4  .846 No. 16 Wisconsin9–3 .75017–5  .773 No. 20 Indiana7–5 .58317–5  .773 Illinois7–5 .58314–8  .636 Iowa6–6 .50015–7  .682 Minnesota4–8 .33313–9  .591 Michigan4–8 .33311–11  .500 Northwestern3–9 .25010–12  .455 Purdue3–9 .2509–13  .409 Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Princeton11–1 .91714–9  .609 Columbia9–3 .75021–7  .750 Cornell7–5 .58318–7  .720 Yale7–5 .58317–9  .654 Pennsylvania4–8 .33311–14  .440 Harvard3–9 .2509–15  .375 Dartmouth1–11 .0838–17  .320 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1949–50 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT CCNY6–0 1.00024–5  .828 Fordham3–2 .60015–12  .556 Brooklyn2–2 .50024–5  .828 No. 9 St. John's3–3 .50024–5  .828 Manhattan3–3 .50014–11  .560 NYU1–4 .2008–11  .421 St. Francis (NY)0–4 .0008–18  .308 Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Cincinnati10–0 1.00020–6  .769 Western Michigan6–4 .60012–10  .545 Butler6–4 .60012–12  .500 Ohio3–7 .3006–14  .300 Miami (Ohio)3–7 .3005–15  .250 Western Reserve2–6 .2507–17  .292 Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 1 Bradley11–1 .91732–5  .865 Saint Louis8–4 .66717–9  .654 Detroit7–5 .58320–6  .769 Oklahoma A&M7–5 .58318–9  .667 Drake5–7 .41714–12  .538 Tulsa3–9 .25012–11  .522 Wichita Municipal1–11 .0837–17  .292 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1949–50 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT BYU14–6 .70022–12  .647 Wyoming13–7 .65025–11  .694 Denver13–7 .65018–13  .581 Utah State10–10 .50017–17  .500 Utah8–12 .40016–18  .471 Colorado State2–18 .1007–23  .233 Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 8 Western Kentucky State– –25–6  .806 Eastern Kentucky State†– –16–6  .727 Marshall– –15–9  .625 Morehead State– –12–10  .545 Murray State– –18–13  .581 Evansville– –14–14  .500 Tennessee Tech– –9–12  .429 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North No. 18 Washington State11–5 .68819–13  .594 Washington8–8 .50019–10  .655 Oregon State8–8 .50013–14  .481 Idaho7–9 .43815–17  .469 Oregon6–10 .3759–19  .321 South No. 7 UCLA †10–2 .83324–7  .774 USC7–5 .58316–8  .667 California4–8 .33310–17  .370 Stanford3–9 .25011–14  .440 † Conference playoff series winner As of 1950 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1949–50 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 3 Kentucky †11–2 .84625–5  .833 Vanderbilt11–3 .78617–8  .680 Auburn12–6 .66717–7  .708 Tulane8–4 .66715–7  .682 Alabama8–9 .4719–12  .429 Georgia6–7 .46215–9  .625 Tennessee5–6 .45515–11  .577 Georgia Tech7–9 .43814–13  .519 LSU5–8 .38513–12  .520 Mississippi State6–10 .3757–11  .389 Florida4–10 .2869–14  .391 Ole Miss4–13 .2358–17  .320 † 1950 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 5 NC State †12–2 .85727–6  .818 William & Mary12–4 .75023–9  .719 George Washington12–4 .75017–8  .680 South Carolina12–5 .70613–9  .591 North Carolina13–6 .68417–12  .586 Virginia Tech9–5 .64316–9  .640 Wake Forest11–8 .57914–16  .467 Duke9–7 .56315–15  .500 Clemson8–8 .50010–10  .500 Davidson6–12 .33310–16  .385 Furman4–8 .3339–12  .429 Washington and Lee4–9 .3088–12  .400 Maryland5–13 .2787–18  .280 Richmond4–13 .2358–16  .333 The Citadel2–10 .1674–16  .200 VMI2–11 .1544–17  .190 † 1950 Southern Conference tournament winner As of April 30, 1950 Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Baylor8–4 .66714–13  .519 Arkansas8–4 .66712–12  .500 SMU7–5 .58310–13  .435 Texas6–6 .50013–11  .542 Texas A&M6–6 .50010–14  .417 TCU5–7 .41713–11  .542 Rice2–10 .1678–15  .348 Rankings from AP poll |
| 1949–50 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT St. Bonaventure2–2 .50017–5  .773 Niagara2–2 .50020–7  .741 Canisius2–2 .50017–8  .680 Rankings from AP Poll | 1949–50 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Rhode Island State 6–1 .85718–8  .692 Connecticut 5–2 .71417–8  .680 Vermont 2–3 .4009–11  .450 Massachusetts 2–3 .4008–11  .421 Maine 3–5 .37513–6  .684 New Hampshire 1–5 .1674–11  .267 |

### Major independents

A total of 46 college teams played as major independents. Among major independents, Holy Cross (27–4) finished with both the best winning percentage (.871) and the most wins.
Although not considered a major independent during the season, San Jose State (21–7) played as an independent and was ranked No. 15 in the season's final AP Poll.
1949–50 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* No. 4 Holy Cross– –27–4
* .871
* No. 11 Villanova– –25–4
* .862
* No. 10 La Salle– –21–4
* .840
* No. 13 LIU– –20–5
* .800
* No. 6 Duquesne– –23–6
* .793
* Toledo– –22–6
* .786
* Dayton– –24–8
* .750
* Lafayette– –18–6
* .750
* Muhlenberg– –17–6
* .739
* Washington University– –17–6
* .739
* No. 12 San Francisco– –19–7
* .731
* Navy– –14–7
* .667
* Syracuse– –18–9
* .667
* Louisville– –21–11
* .656
* Valparaiso– –15–8
* .652
* Akron– –16–9
* .640
* Santa Clara– –14–8
* .636
* Bowling Green State– –19–11
* .633
* Notre Dame– –15–9
* .625
* Miami (Fla.)– –14–9
* .609
* Temple– –14–10
* .583
* Loyola (Ill.)– –17–13
* .567
* Penn State– –13–10
* .565
* Colgate– –10–8
* .556
* Boston College– –11–9
* .550
* West Virginia– –13–11
* .542
* Army– –9–8
* .529
* Creighton– –13–13
* .500
* Georgetown– –12–12
* .500
* Gettysburg– –12–12
* .500
* DePaul– –12–13
* .480
* Virginia– –12–13
* .480
* Rutgers– –13–15
* .464
* John Carroll– –9–11
* .450
* Baldwin Wallace– –11–14
* .440
* Brown– –11–14
* .440
* Xavier– –12–16
* .429
* Seton Hall– –11–15
* .423
* St. Joseph's– –10–15
* .400
* Loyola (Calif.)– –9–17
* .346
* Wayne– –7–15
* .318
* Marquette– –6–17
* .261
* Bucknell– –5–16
* .238
* Lehigh– –4–14
* .222
* Pittsburgh– –4–14
* .222
* Saint Mary's– –3–22
* .120
* Rankings from AP Poll

### Informal championships

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Middle Three Conference | Lafayatte & Rutgers | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
NOTE: Despite its name, the Middle Three Conference was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In 1949–50, Lafayatte and Rutgers finished tied for the best record in games played between the three members.

### Statistical leaders
## Post-season tournaments
### NCAA tournament
#### Semifinals & finals

| National semifinals | National semifinals | National Finals | National Finals |
| CCNY | 78 | | |
| NC State | 73 | | |
| NC State | 73 | CCNY | 71 |
| | | Bradley | 68 |
| Baylor | 66 | Bradley | 68 |
| Bradley | 68 | Third place | Third place |
| | | NC State | 53 |
| | | Baylor | 41 |

### National Invitation tournament
#### Semifinals & finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| St. John's | 72 | | |
| Bradley | 82 | | |
| Bradley | 82 | Bradley | 61 |
| | | CCNY | 69 |
| Duquesne | 52 | CCNY | 69 |
| CCNY | 62 | Third place | Third place |
| | | St. John's | 69 |
| | | Duquesne | 67 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Paul Arizin | F | Senior | Villanova |
| Bob Cousy | G | Senior | Holy Cross |
| Dick Schnittker | F | Senior | Ohio State |
| Bill Sharman | G | Senior | Southern California |
| Paul Unruh | F | Senior | Bradley |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Chuck Cooper | F | Senior | Duquesne |
| Don Lofgran | F/C | Senior | San Francisco |
| Kevin O'Shea | G | Senior | Notre Dame |
| Don Rehfeldt | F | Senior | Wisconsin |
| Sherman White | C | Junior | Long Island |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Paul Arizin, Villanova
* Sporting News Player of the Year: Paul Arizin, Villanova

### Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sherman White, Long Island

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach |
| Dartmouth | Elmer A. Lampe | Doggie Julian |
| Northwestern | Dutch Lonborg | Harold Olsen |
| USC | Sam Barry | Forrest Twogood |
| Washington & Lee | Conn Davis | Scotty Hamilton |