# 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1951, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1952 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1952, at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington. The Kansas Jayhawks won their first NCAA national championship with an 80–63 victory over the St. John's Redmen.

## Season headlines

* The 1951–52 season was the last one in which colleges and universities could include non-collegiate opponents in their schedules with the games recognized as part of their official record for the season, a common practice for many years. After the season, the NCAA ruled that colleges and universities could no longer count games played against non-collegiate opponents in their annual won-loss records.
* Long Island University began the first season of its six-year ban from playing NCAA basketball as a result of the CCNY point-shaving scandal that had been revealed in 1951.
* After finishing second in the Southern Conference in regular-season play, North Carolina State became the first team to receive an automatic NCAA tournament bid by winning its conference tournament championship without finishing first in its conference during the regular season.
* The 1952 NCAA tournament was the first NCAA tournament to have four regional sites, and therefore was the first to have a true "Final Four," with the winners at four regional sites advancing to play at the finals site. Although four teams had advanced to the finals site since 1946, they previously had come from only two regional sites.
* Elmer Gross of Penn State became the first head coach to lead his alma mater into the NCAA tournament after having played in the tournament. He had played for Penn State in the 1942 NCAA basketball tournament.
* Doyle Parrack of Oklahoma City became the first head coach to lead a school other than his alma mater into the NCAA tournament after having played in the tournament. He had played for Oklahoma A&M in the 1945 NCAA basketball tournament.
* Clyde Lovellette of Kansas became the first player to score 40 or more points in an NCAA tournament game when he scored 44 against Saint Louis in a West Region final game on March 22, 1952. He was the first player to lead the United States in scoring and win the NCAA title in the same year.
* The NCAA tournament received regional television coverage for the first time.

## Harlem Globetrotters vs. Seattle University

On January 21, 1952, the Harlem Globetrotters played Seattle in a game designed to raise funds for the United States Olympic efforts. Five days before the game was held, Royal Brougham received a call from Howard Hobson, who was the Yale basketball coach and a United States Olympic Committee member. It was reported that money was needed to support the country's Olympic effort for the games held in Helsinki, Finland. The Globetrotters had agreed to a three-game fund-raiser against college teams in the West, Midwest and East.
Tickets cost $1.50 and they were sold out in 48 hours. Jazz great Louis Armstrong played at halftime and actress Joan Caulfield performed a ceremonial opening tip off. The game was played at the University of Washington's Hec Edmondson Pavilion and was filled to its 12,500 capacity.
The Globetrotters were considered the best basketball team in the world and the club paid their two star players "Goose" Tatum and Marques Hayes twenty five thousand dollars each. Entering the game with Seattle, the Globetrotters had played 3571 games winning 93 percent of their contests.
Seattle player Johnny O'Brien was the nation's leading scorer at that time. O'Brien would become the first player in the history of college basketball to score 1000 points in a single season. He would finish the season with 1,051 points. Against the Globetrotters, O'Brien poured in 43 points. Johnny's brother Eddie played point guard for Chieftains and his half court shot lifted the club to a 10-point lead.
After halftime, the Globetrotters got back in the game as Johnny O'Brien sat out most of the third quarter. With seconds left in the game, the Globetrotters called a time out they did not have. A free throw was made by Johnny O'Brien and there was a possession change. The Chieftains were ahead 84–81.
Globetrotter owner Abe Saperstein was so upset that he canceled the rest of the Trotters benefit schedule that year.

## Major rule changes

Beginning in 1951–52, the following rules change was implemented:
* Games were divided into four 10-minute quarters. Previously, they had been divided into two 20-minute halves.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Bradley Braves | Missouri Valley Conference | Independent |
| Drake Bulldogs | Missouri Valley Conference | Independent |
| Kent State Golden Flashes | Non-major basketball program | Mid-American Conference |
| Montana Grizzlies | Non-major independent | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| New Mexico Lobos | Border Conference | Mountain States (Skyline) Conference |
| Toledo Rockets | Independent | Mid-American Conference |

## New arenas

Georgetown, which had played since the 1927–28 season at various off-campus sites, opened McDonough Gymnasium, its first on-campus intercollegiate basketball venue since its final season as Ryan Gymnasium in the 1926–27 season. In the first regular-season game in the new gymnasium, played the day before McDonough's official opening, the Hoyas lost to Fordham 57–50 on December 7, 1951, their only home loss of the season. McDonough served as Georgetown's home court until the Hoyas moved to the Capital Centre (later USAir Arena and USAirways Arena) in Landover, Maryland, for the 1981–82 season, but has hosted occasional Hoya home games since then.

## 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 | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Illinois | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | New Mexico A&M & West Texas 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 | St. John's | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Miami & Western Michigan | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Saint Louis | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | Wyoming | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Western Kentucky State | None Selected | 1952 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Western Kentucky State |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington (North); UCLA (South) | None Selected | No Tournament; UCLA defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; UCLA defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; UCLA defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None Selected | 1952 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Kentucky |
| Southern Conference | West Virginia | Dick Groat, Duke | 1952 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina) | North Carolina State |
| Southwest Conference | TCU | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western New York Little Three Conference | Canisius & St. Bonaventure | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Connecticut | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1951–52 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1951–52 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 8 Kansas11–1 .91728–3  .903 No. 3 Kansas State10–2 .83319–5  .792 Missouri6–6 .50014–10  .583 Iowa State4–8 .33310–11  .476 Colorado4–8 .3338–16  .333 Oklahoma4–8 .3337–17  .292 Nebraska3–9 .2507–17  .292 Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Illinois12–2 .85722–4  .846 No. 7 Iowa11–3 .78619–3  .864 Minnesota10–4 .71415–7  .682 Indiana9–5 .64316–6  .727 Michigan State6–8 .42913–9  .591 Ohio State6–8 .4298–14  .364 Wisconsin5–9 .35710–12  .455 Michigan4–10 .2867–15  .318 Northwestern4–10 .2867–15  .318 Purdue3–11 .2148–14  .364 Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT West Texas State†12–2 .85719–9  .679 New Mexico A&M†14–4 .77822–11  .667 Texas Tech9–5 .64314–10  .583 Arizona6–8 .42911–16  .407 Arizona State–Tempe6–8 .4298–16  .333 Hardin–Simmons5–9 .35717–15  .531 Texas Western5–9 .3578–17  .320 Arizona State–Flagstaff1–13 .0714–23  .148 † Regular-season co-championship winner Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1951–52 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Princeton10–2 .83316–11  .593 Pennsylvania9–3 .75021–8  .724 Cornell8–4 .66716–9  .640 Columbia7–5 .58312–10  .545 Yale4–8 .33314–14  .500 Dartmouth4–8 .33311–19  .367 Harvard0–12 .0005–17  .227 Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 10 St. John's6–0 1.00025–6  .806 St. Francis (NY)4–2 .66720–8  .714 Manhattan4–2 .66712–9  .571 Fordham3–3 .50020–8  .714 NYU2–3 .40017–8  .680 CCNY1–5 .1678–11  .421 Brooklyn0–5 .0009–7  .563 Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Miami (Ohio)9–3 .75019–6  .760 Western Michigan9–3 .75016–8  .667 Toledo8–4 .66720–11  .645 Ohio6–6 .50012–12  .500 Cincinnati5–5 .50011–16  .407 Kent State3–7 .30014–10  .583 Western Reserve0–12 .0001–23  .042 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1951–52 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 5 Saint Louis9–1 .90023–8  .742 Oklahoma A&M7–3 .70019–8  .704 Tulsa5–5 .50014–10  .583 Detroit4–6 .40014–12  .538 Houston3–7 .3007–14  .333 Wichita Municipal2–8 .20011–19  .367 Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 16 Wyoming13–1 .92928–7  .800 BYU9–5 .64314–10  .583 Utah State9–5 .64316–15  .516 Utah8–6 .57119–9  .679 Montana7–7 .50012–14  .462 Denver6–8 .42911–15  .423 Colorado A&M3–11 .21413–15  .464 New Mexico1–13 .0716–19  .240 Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Western Kentucky State†11–1 .91726–5  .839 Eastern Kentucky State10–2 .83313–11  .542 Murray State– –24–10  .706 Marshall– –15–11  .577 Morehead State– –11–14  .440 Tennessee Tech– –9–13  .409 Evansville– –7–20  .259 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1951–52 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North No. 6 Washington14–2 .87525–6  .806 Idaho9–7 .56319–13  .594 Oregon8–8 .50014–16  .467 Washington State6–10 .37519–16  .543 Oregon State3–13 .1889–19  .321 South No. 19 UCLA †8–4 .66719–12  .613 Stanford6–6 .50019–8  .704 California6–6 .50017–13  .567 USC4–8 .33316–14  .533 † Conference playoff series winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 1 Kentucky †14–0 1.00029–3  .906 LSU9–5 .64317–7  .708 Vanderbilt9–5 .64318–9  .667 Alabama9–5 .64313–9  .591 Ole Miss8–6 .57115–11  .577 Florida7–7 .50015–9  .625 Tennessee7–7 .50013–9  .591 Tulane7–7 .50012–12  .500 Auburn6–8 .42914–12  .538 Mississippi State4–10 .28612–11  .522 Georgia Tech2–12 .1437–15  .318 Georgia2–12 .1433–22  .120 † 1952 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 9 West Virginia15–1 .93823–4  .852 North Carolina State †12–2 .85724–10  .706 No. 12 Duke13–3 .81324–6  .800 Clemson11–4 .73317–7  .708 George Washington12–6 .66715–9  .625 Maryland9–5 .64313–9  .591 Furman9–5 .64318–6  .750 William & Mary10–6 .62515–13  .536 South Carolina8–7 .53314–10  .583 Wake Forest7–9 .43810–19  .345 North Carolina8–11 .42112–15  .444 Virginia Tech3–10 .2314–16  .200 Richmond3–11 .2147–15  .318 Washington and Lee3–11 .2146–21  .222 Davidson4–15 .2117–18  .280 VMI2–13 .1333–21  .125 The Citadel1–11 .0838–20  .286 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1951–52 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT TCU11–1 .91724–4  .857 Texas8–4 .66716–8  .667 SMU5–7 .41711–13  .458 Texas A&M5–7 .4179–15  .375 Baylor5–7 .4176–18  .250 Arkansas4–8 .33310–14  .417 Rice4–8 .3339–15  .375 Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 15 St. Bonaventure†– –21–6  .778 Canisius†– –15–9  .625 Niagara– –8–21  .276 † Regular-season co-championship winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1951–52 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Connecticut 6–1 .85720–7  .741 Rhode Island 6–2 .75010–13  .435 Vermont 3–1 .75014–6  .700 New Hampshire 4–5 .44411–9  .550 Maine 2–6 .2507–12  .368 Massachusetts 0–6 .0004–17  .190 |

### Major independents

A total of 45 college teams played as major independents. Among them, Seton Hall (25–3) finished with the best winning percentage (.853) and Dayton (28–5) with the most wins.
Although not considered major independents during the season, Seattle (27–8) and Texas State (30–1) played as independents and finished the season with national rankings. In the season's final AP Poll, Seattle was ranked No. 18 and Texas State was No. 20.
1951–52 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* No. 14 Seton Hall– –25–3
* .893
* No. 13 Holy Cross– –24–4
* .857
* No. 4 Duquesne– –23–4
* .852
* No. 11 Dayton– –28–5
* .848
* La Salle– –24–5
* .828
* Boston College– –22–5
* .815
* Siena– –24–6
* .800
* No. 17 Louisville– –20–6
* .769
* Penn State– –20–6
* .769
* St. Joseph's– –20–7
* .741
* DePaul– –19–8
* .704
* Oklahoma City– –19–8
* .704
* Villanova– –19–8
* .704
* Syracuse– –14–6
* .700
* Navy– –16–7
* .696
* Loyola (Ill.)– –17–8
* .680
* Miami (Fla.)– –14–8
* .636
* Bowling Green State– –17–10
* .630
* Lafayette– –15–9
* .625
* Notre Dame– –16–10
* .615
* Saint Mary's– –16–10
* .615
* Georgetown– –15–10
* .600
* Bradley– –17–12
* .586
* Santa Clara– –17–12
* .586
* Loyola (La.)– –16–13
* .552
* Drake– –13–12
* .520
* Butler– –12–12
* .500
* Valparaiso– –12–12
* .500
* Army– –8–9
* .471
* Loyola (Calif.)– –12–14
* .462
* Marquette– –12–14
* .462
* San Francisco– –11–13
* .458
* Virginia– –11–13
* .458
* Colgate– –10–12
* .455
* Pittsburgh– –10–12
* .455
* John Carroll– –11–14
* .440
* Muhlenberg– –10–13
* .435
* Baldwin Wallace– –9–12
* .429
* Xavier– –10–14
* .417
* Temple– –9–15
* .375
* Lehigh– –7–12
* .368
* Bucknell– –8–16
* .333
* Rutgers– –6–13
* .316
* Creighton– –6–15
* .286
* Brown– –5–15
* .250
* 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 | Lafayette | 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 1951–52, Lafayette finished with the best record in games played between the three members.

### Statistical leaders

| "Points per game | "Points per game | "Points per game | Rebounds per game | Rebounds per game | Rebounds per game | Assists per game | Assists per game | Assists per game | Field goal percentage | Field goal percentage | Field goal percentage |
| Player | School | PPG | Player | School | RPG | Player | School | APG | Player | School | FG% |
| Clyde Lovellette | Kansas | 28.4 | Bill Hannon | Army | 20.9 | Tom O'Toole | Boston College | 7.9 | Art Spoelstra | Western Kentucky State | 51.6 |
| Dick Groat | Duke | 26.0 | Walter Dukes | Seton Hall | 19.7 | Dick Groat | Duke | 7.6 | Gerald Rogers | Texas Western | 50.4 |
| Bob Pettit | LSU | 25.5 | Ernie Beck | Penn | 19.0 | Malcolm McLean | Davidson | 7.5 | Norm Swanson | Detroit | 50.3 |
| Chuck Darling | Iowa | 25.5 | Elston Tuttle | Creighton | 18.9 | Larry Friedman | Muhlenberg | 7.3 | Karl Klinar | VMI | 49.2 |
| Frank Selvy | Furman | 24.6 | Bill Chambers | William & Mary | 18.2 | Roger Chadwick | Cornell | 6.9 | Tom Marshall | Western Kentucky State | 49.1 |
Free throw percentage :
| Name | School | FT% |
| Sy Chadroff | Miami (FL) | 80.5 |
| Bob Kenney | Kansas | 80.3 |
| Drew Turner | St. Mary's (CA) | 80.2 |
| Tommy Bartlett | Tennessee | 80.2 |
| Russell Rerucha | Colorado A&M | 80.0 |

## Year-end polls

The final regular-season top 20 from the AP and Coaches Polls.
Associated Press :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Kentucky |
| 2 | Illinois |
| 3 | Kansas State |
| 4 | Duquesne |
| 5 | Saint Louis |
| 6 | Washington |
| 7 | Iowa |
| 8 | Kansas |
| 9 | West Virginia |
| 10 | St. John's |
| 11 | Dayton |
| 12 | Duke |
| 13 | Holy Cross |
| 14 | Seton Hall |
| 15 | St. Bonaventure |
| 16 | Wyoming |
| 17 | Louisville |
| 18 | Seattle |
| 19 | UCLA |
| 20 | Texas State |
Coaches :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Kentucky |
| 2 | Illinois |
| 3 | Kansas |
| 4 | Duquesne |
| 5 | Washington |
| 6 | Kansas State |
| 7 | Saint Louis |
| 8 | Iowa |
| 9 | St. John's |
| 10 | Wyoming |
| 11 | St. Bonaventure |
| 12 | Seton Hall |
| 13 | Texas Christian |
| 14 | West Virginia |
| 15 | Holy Cross |
| 16 | Western Kentucky State |
| 17 | La Salle |
| 18 | Dayton |
| 19 | Louisville |
| 20 | UCLA |
| 20 | Indiana |

## Postseason tournaments
### NCAA tournament

Phog Allen led the Kansas Jayhawks to their first NCAA tournament title, defeating St. John's 80–63. Jayhawk All-American Clyde Lovellette broke the NCAA record by scoring 141 points in the tournament and was named tournament Most Outstanding Player.

#### Final Four

| National semifinals | National semifinals | National championship game | National championship game |
| St. John's | 61 | | |
| Illinois | 59 | | |
| Illinois | 59 | St. John's | 63 |
| | | Kansas | 80 |
| Kansas | 74 | Kansas | 80 |
| Santa Clara | 55 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Illinois | 67 |
| | | Santa Clara | 64 |

### National Invitation tournament

La Salle won the National Invitation Tournament by beating Dayton, 75–64. Tom Gola and Norm Grekin were named co-MVPs.

#### NIT semifinals and final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| St. Bonaventure | 62 | | |
| Dayton | 69 | | |
| Dayton | 69 | Dayton | 64 |
| | | La Salle | 75 |
| Duquesne | 46 | La Salle | 75 |
| La Salle | 59 | Third place | Third place |
| | | St. Bonaventure | 48 |
| | | Duquesne | 34 |

## Award winners
### Consensus All-American team

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Chuck Darling | C | Senior | Iowa |
| Rod Fletcher | G | Senior | Illinois |
| Dick Groat | G | Senior | Duke |
| Cliff Hagan | F | Junior | Kentucky |
| Clyde Lovellette | C | Senior | Kansas |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Bob Houbregs | F | Junior | Washington |
| Don Meineke | F | Senior | Dayton |
| Johnny O'Brien | G | Junior | Seattle |
| Mark Workman | C | Senior | West Virginia |
| Bob Zawoluk | F | Senior | St. John's |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Foundation Player of the Year: Clyde Lovellette, Kansas

### Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC): Ron MacGilvray, St. John's

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach | Reason |
| Georgetown | Buddy O'Grady | Buddy Jeannette | After three seasons, O'Grady resigned. |
| North Carolina | Tom Scott | Frank McGuire | |
| St. John's | Frank McGuire | Al DeStefano | |
| Temple | Josh Cody | Harry Litwack | |
| Washington & Lee | Scotty Hamilton | Billy McCann | |