# 1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1950, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1951 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1951, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Kentucky Wildcats won their third NCAA national championship with a 68–58 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats.

## Season headlines

* The United Press (later United Press International) Coaches Poll made its debut.
* After a two-season hiatus during which its teams competed as non-major programs, the Border Conference resumed basketball competition as a major conference.
* During January and February 1951, the CCNY point-shaving scandal was revealed. Over the next few months, it results in the arrests of 32 players from seven schools for point shaving in 86 games between 1947 and 1950.
* The NCAA tournament expanded for the first time, from eight to 16 teams.
* Conference champions qualified automatically for the NCAA tournament for the first time.
* Columbia (21–0) became the first undefeated team to play in an NCAA tournament. The Lions lost to Illinois 79-71 in the first round.

## Season outlook
### Pre-season polls

The Top 20 from the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
UP Coaches :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | CCNY |
| 2 | Bradley |
| 3 | Kentucky |
| 4 | NC State |
| 5 | Kansas |
| 6 | Oklahoma A&M |
| 7 | Long Island |
| 8 | Iowa |
| 9 | St. John's |
| 10 | Indiana |
| 11 | UCLA |
| 12 | Kansas State |
| 13 (tie) | Arkansas |
| 13 (tie) | Syracuse |
| 13 (tie) | Western Kentucky State |
| 16 | Washington |
| 17 (tie) | DePaul |
| 17 (tie) | Illinois |
| 19 | Ohio State |
| 20 | BYU |

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Butler Bulldogs | Mid-American Conference | Independent |
| Houston Cougars | Non-major basketball program | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Wayne Warriors | Independent | No NCAA basketball program |
| West Virginia Mountaineers | Independent | Southern Conference |

## 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 State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Illinois | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | Arizona | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Columbia | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | St. John's | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Cincinnati | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Oklahoma A&M | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Murray State | None selected | 1951 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) | Murray State |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington (North); UCLA (South) | | No Tournament; Washington defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Skyline Conference | BYU | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None selected | 1951 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Vanderbilt |
| Southern Conference | NC State | None selected | 1951 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina) | NC State |
| Southwest Conference | Texas, Texas A&M, & TCU | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western New York Little Three Conference | St. Bonaventure | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Connecticut | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1950–51 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1950–51 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 Kansas State11–1 .91725–4  .862 Kansas8–4 .66716–8  .667 Missouri8–4 .66716–8  .667 Oklahoma6–6 .50014–10  .583 Nebraska4–8 .3339–14  .391 Iowa State3–9 .2509–12  .429 Colorado2–10 .1674–20  .167 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 5 Illinois13–1 .92922–5  .815 No. 7 Indiana12–2 .85719–3  .864 Iowa9–5 .64315–7  .682 Minnesota7–7 .50013–9  .591 Northwestern7–7 .50012–10  .545 Wisconsin7–7 .50010–12  .455 Michigan State5–9 .35710–11  .476 Purdue4–10 .2868–14  .364 Michigan3–11 .2147–15  .318 Ohio State3–11 .2146–16  .273 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 12 Arizona15–1 .93824–6  .800 New Mexico A&M10–6 .62519–14  .576 Texas Tech10–6 .62514–14  .500 New Mexico9–7 .56313–11  .542 West Texas State9–7 .56314–12  .538 Hardin–Simmons6–10 .37513–15  .464 Arizona State–Tempe6–10 .3759–16  .360 Texas Western4–12 .25010–15  .400 Arizona State–Flagstaff3–13 .1888–19  .296 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1950–51 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 3 Columbia12–0 1.00021–1  .955 Cornell10–2 .83320–5  .800 Pennsylvania7–5 .58319–8  .704 Princeton5–7 .41715–7  .682 Yale4–8 .33314–13  .519 Harvard3–9 .2508–18  .308 Dartmouth1–11 .0833–23  .115 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 9 St. John's (NY)6–0 1.00026–5  .839 Fordham3–3 .50019–8  .704 NYU3–2 .60012–4  .750 Manhattan3–2 .60016–6  .727 CCNY2–2 .50012–7  .632 St. Francis (NY)1–5 .16719–11  .633 Brooklyn0–5 .0009–7  .563 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 17 Cincinnati7–1 .87518–4  .818 Western Michigan4–4 .50013–9  .591 Ohio4–4 .50013–11  .542 Miami (Ohio)4–4 .50010–13  .435 Western Reserve1–7 .1253–7  .300 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1950–51 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Oklahoma A&M12–2 .85729–6  .829 No. 6 Bradley11–3 .78632–6  .842 No. 10 Saint Louis11–3 .78622–8  .733 Detroit7–7 .50017–14  .548 Wichita Municipal5–9 .3579–16  .360 Drake4–10 .28611–14  .440 Tulsa4–10 .28610–17  .370 Houston2–12 .14311–17  .393 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 11 BYU15–5 .75028–9  .757 Wyoming13–7 .65026–11  .703 Utah12–8 .60023–13  .639 Denver8–12 .40014–16  .467 Colorado A&M6–14 .30013–20  .394 Utah State6–14 .30012–22  .353 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 16 Murray State†– –21–6  .778 Eastern Kentucky State– –18–8  .692 Evansville– –23–7  .767 Western Kentucky State– –19–10  .655 Morehead State– –14–12  .538 Marshall– –13–13  .500 Tennessee Tech– –12–9  .571 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1950–51 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North No. 15 Washington †11–5 .68824–6  .800 Oregon10–6 .62518–13  .581 Washington State7–9 .43817–15  .531 Idaho6–10 .37515–14  .517 Oregon State6–10 .37514–18  .438 South UCLA8–4 .66719–10  .655 No. 19 USC8–4 .66721–6  .778 Stanford5–7 .41712–14  .462 California3–9 .25016–16  .500 † Conference playoff series winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 1 Kentucky14–0 1.00032–2  .941 Vanderbilt †10–4 .71419–8  .704 Alabama10–4 .71415–8  .652 Tulane8–6 .57112–12  .500 Auburn6–8 .42912–10  .545 Georgia6–8 .42913–11  .542 Florida6–8 .42911–12  .478 LSU6–8 .42910–14  .417 Georgia Tech6–8 .4298–19  .296 Ole Miss5–9 .35712–12  .500 Tennessee5–9 .35710–13  .435 Mississippi State2–12 .1433–16  .158 † 1951 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 8 North Carolina State †13–1 .92930–7  .811 West Virginia9–3 .75018–9  .667 Clemson9–4 .69211–7  .611 William & Mary13–6 .68420–11  .645 Duke13–6 .68420–13  .606 Virginia Tech9–5 .64319–10  .655 South Carolina12–7 .63213–12  .520 Maryland11–8 .57915–10  .600 North Carolina9–8 .52912–15  .444 Wake Forest8–9 .47116–14  .533 George Washington8–9 .47112–12  .500 Richmond5–10 .3337–14  .333 Washington and Lee5–13 .2788–17  .320 VMI3–11 .2143–18  .143 Davidson5–15 .2507–19  .269 The Citadel2–7 .2226–11  .353 Furman1–13 .0713–20  .130 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1950–51 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT TCU8–4 .66716–9  .640 Texas A&M8–4 .66717–12  .586 Texas8–4 .66713–14  .481 Arkansas7–5 .58313–11  .542 SMU6–6 .50014–10  .583 Baylor3–9 .2508–16  .333 Rice2–10 .1678–15  .348 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT St. Bonaventure3–1 .75019–6  .760 Niagara2–2 .50018–10  .643 Canisius1–3 .25015–10  .600 Rankings from AP Poll | 1950–51 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Connecticut 6–1 .85722–4  .846 Vermont 4–1 .80014–6  .700 Rhode Island State 5–2 .71413–15  .464 Maine 2–5 .2865–13  .278 Massachusetts 1–3 .2506–15  .286 New Hampshire 0–6 .0004–12  .250 |

### Major independents

A total of 44 college teams played as major independents. Among them, Dayton (27–5) finished with both the best winning percentage (.844) and the most wins.
1950–51 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1950–51 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* No. 13 Dayton– –27–5
* .844
* LIU– –20–4
* .833
* Holy Cross– –20–5
* .800
* No. 20 Villanova– –25–7
* .781
* Seton Hall– –24–7
* .774
* La Salle– –22–7
* .759
* No. 14 Toledo– –22–7
* .759
* Baldwin Wallace– –19–7
* .731
* Louisville– –19–7
* .731
* Navy– –16–6
* .727
* No. 18 Siena– –19–8
* .704
* Syracuse– –19–9
* .679
* Xavier– –16–10
* .615
* Penn State– –14–9
* .609
* Boston College– –17–11
* .607
* Duquesne– –16–11
* .593
* Lafayette– –14–11
* .560
* Loyola (Calif.)– –14–11
* .560
* Bowling Green State– –15–12
* .556
* Colgate– –12–10
* .545
* Valparaiso– –12–10
* .545
* Notre Dame– –13–11
* .542
* Oklahoma City– –16–14
* .533
* Army– –9–8
* .529
* DePaul– –13–12
* .520
* Loyola (Ill.)– –15–14
* .517
* St. Joseph's– –13–14
* .481
* Temple– –12–13
* .480
* Miami (Fla.)– –10–12
* .455
* Saint Mary's– –9–11
* .450
* Muhlenberg– –11–14
* .440
* Brown– –8–11
* .421
* Bucknell– –9–13
* .409
* Santa Clara– –9–15
* .375
* Georgetown– –8–14
* .364
* Marquette– –8–14
* .364
* Virginia– –8–14
* .364
* Pittsburgh– –9–17
* .346
* San Francisco– –9–17
* .346
* Creighton– –9–18
* .333
* Rutgers– –7–14
* .333
* Lehigh– –6–13
* .316
* Butler– –5–19
* .208
* John Carroll– –2–21
* .087
* 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 | 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 1950–51, Rutgers finished with 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 |
| Illinois | 74 | | |
| Kentucky | 76 | | |
| Kentucky | 76 | Kentucky | 68 |
| | | Kansas State | 58 |
| Kansas State | 68 | Kansas State | 58 |
| Oklahoma A&M | 44 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Illinois | 61 |
| | | Oklahoma A&M | 46 |

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

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| BYU | 69 | | |
| Seton Hall | 59 | | |
| Seton Hall | 59 | BYU | 62 |
| | | Dayton | 43 |
| St. John's | 62 | Dayton | 43 |
| Dayton | 69 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Seton Hall | 68 |
| | | St. John's | 70 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Clyde Lovellette | C | Junior | Kansas |
| Gene Melchiorre | G | Senior | Bradley |
| Bill Mlkvy | F | Junior | Temple |
| Sam Ranzino | G | Senior | North Carolina State |
| Bill Spivey | C | Junior | Kentucky |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Ernie Barrett | G/F | Senior | Kansas State |
| Bill Garrett | F | Senior | Indiana |
| Dick Groat | G | Junior | Duke |
| Mel Hutchins | F/C | Senior | BYU |
| Gale McArthur | G | Senior | Oklahoma A&M |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Dick Groat, Duke
* Sporting News Player of the Year: Sherman White, Long Island

### Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): John Azary, Columbia

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach |
| Iowa | Rollie Williams | Bucky O'Connor |
| John Carroll | Elmer Ripley | Fred George |
| Notre Dame | Moose Krause | John Jordan |
| Stanford | Everett Dean | Bob Burnett |