# 1938–39 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1938–39 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1938, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1939 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1939, at Patten Gymnasium in Evanston, Illinois. The Oregon Webfoots won the first NCAA national championship with a 46–33 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

## Rule changes

After a team makes a free throw as a result of a technical foul, it retains possession and throws the ball in from out of bounds. Previously, a jump ball at center court had taken place after a team shot a free throw as a result of a technical foul.

## Season headlines

* The Mountain States Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Mountain States Conference and the Skyline Conference, began play, with seven original members. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference became a non-major conference after the departure of seven of its larger members for the Skyline Conference.
* The practice of naming a Consensus All-American Second Team began.
* The NCAA tournament was held for the first time, operated by the National Association of Basketball Coaches rather than the National Collegiate Athletic Association itself. Eight teams competed. In the first game, Villanova defeated Brown 42–30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 17, and Oregon defeated Ohio State 46–33 in Evanston, Illinois, in the first championship game on March 27. Jimmy Hull of Ohio State was named the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player. The tournament lost $2,500; although 5,000 fans attended the championship game, many of the tickets were given away. The NCAA viewed its champion as the official national champion, the National Invitation Tournament, which had debuted the previous year, widely was considered the more prestigious of the two tournaments and the "true" national championship tournament through at least the mid-1950s, with better teams often choosing the NIT over the NCAA or playing in both tournaments in the same year.
* Howard Hobson of Oregon became the first head coach to win the NCAA tournament at his alma mater.
* Bruce Drake of Oklahoma became the first head coach to lead his team to a finish among the final four teams in the NCAA tournament in his first season as a head coach.
* The Eastern Intercollegiate Conference and the Northern California Conference both disbanded at the end of the season.
* In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Long Island, the 1938 National Invitation Tournament winner, as its national champion for the 1938–39 season.
* In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Long Island as its national champion for the 1938–39 season.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| BYU Cougars | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| Colorado Buffaloes | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| Colorado State Rams | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| Denver Pioneers | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| Utah Redskins | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| Utah State Aggies | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| Wyoming Cowboys | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) 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 Six Conference | Missouri & Oklahoma | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Ohio State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | New Mexico State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Dartmouth | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Conference | Carnegie Tech & Georgetown | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | Long Island | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Drake & Oklahoma A&M | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | Colorado | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| New England Conference | Rhode Island State | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Northern California Conference | Santa Clara | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Oregon (North); USC (South) | | No Tournament; Oregon defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Oregon defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Oregon defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None selected | 1939 SEC men's basketball tournament | Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, Tennessee) | Kentucky |
| Southern Conference | Wake Forest | None selected | 1939 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina) | Clemson |
| Southwest Conference | Texas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1938–39 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1938–39 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Missouri7–3 .70012–6  .667 Oklahoma7–3 .70012–6  .667 Kansas6–4 .60013–7  .650 Iowa State5–5 .5008–9  .471 Nebraska3–7 .3007–13  .350 Kansas State2–8 .2005–13  .278 | 1938–39 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Ohio State10–2 .83316–7  .696 Indiana9–3 .75017–3  .850 Illinois8–4 .66714–5  .737 Minnesota7–5 .58314–6  .700 Purdue6–6 .50012–7  .632 Northwestern5–7 .4177–13  .350 Michigan4–8 .33311–9  .550 Wisconsin4–8 .33310–10  .500 Chicago4–8 .3339–11  .450 Iowa3–9 .2508–11  .421 | 1938–39 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT New Mexico A&M14–2 .87520–4  .833 Texas Tech13–5 .72213–6  .684 Arizona State–Flagstaff12–6 .66713–11  .542 Arizona State–Tempe11–11 .50013–13  .500 Arizona8–10 .44412–11  .522 Texas State M&M6–12 .3336–13  .316 New Mexico4–16 .2004–21  .160 |
| 1938–39 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Dartmouth10–2 .83318–5  .783 Columbia9–3 .75011–5  .688 Cornell7–5 .58312–12  .500 Princeton6–6 .50010–9  .526 Penn6–6 .5007–11  .389 Yale3–9 .2504–16  .200 Harvard1–11 .0835–14  .263 | 1938–39 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Carnegie Tech6–4 .60012–7  .632 Georgetown6–4 .60013–9  .591 Penn State5–5 .50013–10  .565 Pittsburgh5–5 .50010–8  .556 West Virginia4–6 .40010–9  .526 Temple4–6 .40010–12  .455 | 1938–39 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT LIU21–0 1.00024–0  1.000 St. John's17–2 .89518–4  .818 Manhattan12–5 .70612–5  .706 St. Francis (NY)15–7 .68215–7  .682 CCNY11–6 .64711–6  .647 Fordham10–8 .55610–8  .556 Brooklyn9–8 .5299–8  .529 NYU11–11 .50011–11  .500 |
| 1938–39 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Oklahoma A&M11–3 .78619–8  .704 Drake11–3 .78614–7  .667 Grinnell8–6 .57114–7  .667 Tulsa8–6 .57115–8  .652 Creighton7–7 .50011–12  .478 Washington University6–8 .42911–10  .524 Saint Louis3–11 .2145–16  .238 Washburn2–12 .1434–18  .182 | 1938–39 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Colorado10–2 .83314–4  .778 Utah State8–4 .66717–7  .708 Utah7–5 .58313–7  .650 Wyoming7–5 .58310–11  .476 BYU4–8 .33312–12  .500 Denver4–8 .3335–13  .278 Colorado State2–10 .1672–14  .125 | 1938–39 New England Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Rhode Island State 7–1 .87517–4  .810 Connecticut 6–2 .75012–6  .667 Maine 4–4 .5008–4  .667 Northeastern 3–5 .3756–12  .333 New Hampshire 0–8 .0003–14  .176 |
| 1938–39 Northern California Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Santa Clara7–1 .87515–5  .750 San Jose State5–3 .62511–7  .611 San Francisco4–4 .5007–10  .412 Saint Mary's3–5 .37511–10  .524 Pacific1–7 .1255–14  .263 | 1938–39 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Oregon †14–2 .87529–5  .853 Washington11–5 .68820–5  .800 Washington State8–8 .50023–10  .697 Oregon State6–10 .37513–11  .542 Idaho1–15 .06312–19  .387 South California9–3 .75024–8  .750 USC9–3 .75020–5  .800 Stanford6–6 .50016–9  .640 UCLA0–12 .0007–20  .259 † Conference playoff series winner | 1938–39 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Alabama13–4 .76516–5  .762 Georgia8–3 .72711–6  .647 Kentucky †5–2 .71416–4  .800 LSU10–5 .66713–7  .650 Auburn8–4 .66716–6  .727 Vanderbilt7–5 .58314–7  .667 Florida5–4 .5569–6  .600 Tennessee6–5 .54514–7  .667 Georgia Tech4–7 .3646–9  .400 Mississippi State5–10 .3338–12  .400 Tulane3–6 .3335–13  .278 Ole Miss4–10 .28610–16  .385 Sewanee0–13 .0001–16  .059 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner |
| 1938–39 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Wake Forest15–3 .83318–6  .750 Maryland8–3 .72715–9  .625 Washington and Lee8–3 .72713–9  .591 The Citadel7–3 .70014–5  .737 Davidson9–7 .56319–10  .655 North Carolina8–7 .53310–11  .476 North Carolina State7–6 .53810–7  .588 Duke8–8 .50010–12  .455 Clemson †6–6 .50016–8  .667 VMI6–6 .5007–10  .412 Richmond5–5 .50010–10  .500 William & Mary4–9 .3089–12  .429 South Carolina2–8 .2005–18  .217 Virginia Tech2–10 .1673–14  .176 Furman0–10 .0006–16  .273 † Southern Conference Tournament winner | 1938–39 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Texas10–2 .83319–6  .760 Arkansas9–3 .75018–5  .783 SMU8–4 .66714–8  .636 Baylor7–5 .58314–7  .667 Rice6–6 .50010–11  .476 Texas A&M2–10 .1677–16  .304 TCU0–12 .0002–17  .105 |

### Major independents

A total of 48 college teams played as major independents. Loyola of Illinois (21–1) had the best winning percentage (.955). Western Kentucky State| (22–3) and Marshall (22–5) finished with the most wins.
1938–39 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1938–39 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* Loyola (Ill.)– –21–1
* .955
* Western Kentucky State– –22–3
* .880
* Army– –13–2
* .867
* Bradley– –19–3
* .864
* Marshall– –22–5
* .815
* Brown– –16–4
* .800
* Siena– –8–2
* .800
* Villanova– –20–5
* .800
* Syracuse– –15–4
* .789
* Duquesne– –14–4
* .778
* Detroit– –15–5
* .750
* Virginia– –15–5
* .750
* Boston University– –10–4
* .714
* Notre Dame– –15–6
* .714
* Cincinnati– –12–5
* .706
* Marquette– –12–5
* .706
* Butler– –14–6
* .700
* La Salle– –13–6
* .684
* DePaul– –15–7
* .682
* Seton Hall– –15–7
* .682
* Lehigh– –10–5
* .667
* Xavier– –13–7
* .650
* Bowling Green State– –12–7
* .632
* Toledo– –17–10
* .630
* Montana State– –18–11
* .621
* George Washington– –13–8
* .619
* Muhlenberg– –13–8
* .619
* Ohio– –12–8
* .600
* St. Bonaventure– –10–7
* .588
* Niagara– –11–8
* .579
* Navy– –8–6
* .571
* Rutgers– –8–6
* .571
* Montana– –17–13
* .567
* Michigan State Normal– –9–8
* .529
* Indiana State– –10–9
* .526
* Kent State– –12–11
* .522
* Bucknell– –8–8
* .500
* Loyola (Md.)– –10–13
* .435
* St. Joseph's– –9–12
* .429
* Wichita Municipal– –9–12
* .429
* Western State Teachers– –7–10
* .412
* Lafayette– –6–11
* .353
* Valparaiso– –5–10
* .333
* Colgate– –6–13
* .316
* Miami (Ohio)– –5–13
* .278
* Dayton– –2–12
* .143
* Louisville– –1–15
* .063
* Canisius– –0–13
* .000

### Statistical leaders
## Post-Season Tournaments
### NCAA Tournament
#### Semifinals & final

| National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Final | National Final |
| Villanova | 36 | | |
| Ohio State | 53 | | |
| Ohio State | 53 | Ohio State | 33 |
| | | Oregon | 46 |
| Oregon | 55 | Oregon | 46 |
| Oklahoma | 37 | | |

### National Invitation Tournament
#### Semifinals & finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| Bradley | 32 | | |
| Long Island | 36 | | |
| Long Island | 36 | Long Island | 44 |
| | | Loyola (Ill.) | 32 |
| Loyola (Ill.) | 51 | Loyola (Ill.) | 32 |
| St. John's | 46 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Bradley | 40 |
| | | St. John's | 35 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| Ernie Andres | Senior | Indiana |
| Jimmy Hull | Senior | Ohio State |
| Chet Jaworski | Senior | Rhode Island State |
| Irving Torgoff | Senior | Long Island |
| Slim Wintermute | Senior | Oregon |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| Bobby Anet | Senior | Oregon |
| Bob Calihan | Junior | Detroit |
| Bob Hassmiller | Senior | Fordham |
| Mike Novak | Senior | Loyola-Chicago |
| Bernard Opper | Senior | Kentucky |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Chet Jaworski, Rhode Island State (retroactive selection in 1944)

### Other major awards

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

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | Interim Coach | New Coach | Reason |
| Kansas State | Frank Root | | Jack Gardner | |
| Wyoming | Willard Witte | | Everett Shelton | |