# 1946–47 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1946–47 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1946, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1947 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1947, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Holy Cross Crusaders won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–47 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.

## Season headlines

* The Mid-American Conference began play, with five original members.
* The Western New York Little Three Conference began play.
* The Yankee Conference began play, with six original members.
* Ben Carnevale of Navy took the Midshipmen to the 1947 NCAA basketball tournament, becoming the first head coach to take two different teams to the NCAA tournament. He previously had taken North Carolina to the 1946 NCAA basketball tournament.
* George Kaftan of Holy Cross became the first player to score 30 points or more in a Final Four game of the NCAA basketball tournament, scoring 30 points against CCNY in a national semifinal game on March 22, 1947.
* Don Barksdale of UCLA was a 1947 consensus Second-Team All-American, becoming the first African-American to be named to the consensus all-America basketball team.
* In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Kentucky as its national champion for the 1946–47 season.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Butler Bulldogs | Independent | Mid-American Conference |
| Canisius Golden Griffins | Independent | Western New York Little Three Conference |
| Chicago Maroons | Big Ten Conference | No NCAA basketball program |
| Cincinnati Bearcats | Independent | Mid-American Conference |
| Connecticut Huskies | New England Conference | Yankee Conference |
| Dickinson College Red Devils | No NCAA basketball program | Middle Atlantic States Conference North |
| Harvard Crimson | Independent | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League |
| Maine Black Bears | New England Conference | Yankee Conference |
| Massachusetts Minutemen | Independent | Yankee Conference |
| New Hampshire Wildcats | New England Conference | Yankee Conference |
| Niagara Purple Eagles | Independent | Western New York Little Three Conference |
| Ohio Bobcats | Independent | Mid-American Conference |
| Rhode Island State Rams | New England Conference | Yankee Conference |
| St. Bonaventure Brown Indians | Independent | Western New York Little Three Conference |
| Vermont Catamounts | Independent | Yankee Conference |
| Wayne State Warriors | No NCAA basketball program | Mid-American Conference |
| Western Reserve Red Cats | No NCAA basketball program | Mid-American Conference |
| Yale Bulldogs | Independent | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League |

## 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 | Oklahoma | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Nine Conference | Wisconsin | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | Arizona | None selected | 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 | Butler & Cincinnati | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Muhlenberg | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Saint Louis | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Oregon State (North); UCLA (South) | | No Tournament; Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None selected | 1947 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Kentucky |
| Southern Conference | NC State | None selected | 1947 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Duke Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina) | NC State |
| Southwest Conference | Texas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western New York Little Three Conference | Canisius | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Vermont | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1946–47 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1946–47 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Oklahoma8–2 .80024–7  .774 Missouri6–4 .60015–10  .600 Kansas5–5 .50016–11  .593 Iowa State5–5 .5007–14  .333 Kansas State3–7 .30014–10  .583 Nebraska3–7 .30010–14  .417 | 1946–47 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Wisconsin9–3 .75016–6  .727 Illinois8–4 .66714–6  .700 Indiana8–4 .66712–8  .600 Minnesota7–5 .58314–7  .667 Michigan6–6 .50012–8  .600 Iowa5–7 .41712–7  .632 Ohio State5–7 .4177–13  .350 Purdue4–8 .3339–11  .450 Northwestern2–10 .1677–13  .350 | 1946–47 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Arizona14–2 .87521–3  .875 Arizona State–Flagstaff11–5 .68820–7  .741 New Mexico10–6 .62511–8  .579 Texas State M&M9–7 .56312–8  .600 West Texas State8–8 .50012–12  .500 Texas Tech8–8 .50010–12  .455 Arizona State–Tempe5–11 .3137–13  .350 Hardin–Simmons5–11 .3138–21  .276 New Mexico A&M2–14 .1258–17  .320 |
| 1946–47 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Columbia11–1 .91715–5  .750 Cornell8–4 .66714–8  .636 Pennsylvania7–5 .58314–8  .636 Harvard5–7 .41716–9  .640 Dartmouth5–7 .4179–15  .375 Yale4–8 .3337–18  .280 Princeton2–10 .1677–16  .304 | 1946–47 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT St. John's6–0 1.00016–7  .696 CCNY4–1 .80017–6  .739 Fordham4–2 .66719–5  .792 NYU3–3 .50012–9  .571 St. Francis (NY)2–3 .40014–7  .667 Manhattan1–5 .16713–13  .500 Brooklyn0–6 .00012–8  .600 | 1946–47 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Butler6–2 .75016–7  .696 Cincinnati6–2 .75017–9  .654 Ohio5–3 .62513–10  .565 Western Reserve2–6 .2507–11  .389 Wayne1–7 .1253–15  .167 |
| 1946–47 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Muhlenberg7–1 .87519–7  .731 Dickinson4–1 .80015–2  .882 Lafayette6–2 .75015–7  .682 Bucknell6–3 .66711–8  .579 Gettysburg2–8 .2007–14  .333 Lehigh0–10 .0005–13  .278 | 1946–47 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Saint Louis11–1 .91718–11  .621 Oklahoma A&M8–4 .66724–8  .750 Drake8–4 .66718–11  .621 Creighton7–5 .58317–8  .680 Washington University3–9 .25011–14  .440 Tulsa3–9 .2505–19  .208 Wichita Municipal2–10 .1678–17  .320 | 1946–47 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Wyoming11–1 .91722–6  .786 Utah10–2 .83319–5  .792 Denver6–6 .50016–10  .615 Utah State6–6 .50014–10  .583 Colorado5–7 .4177–11  .389 BYU3–9 .2509–16  .360 Colorado State1–11 .0833–18  .143 |
| 1946–47 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Oregon State †13–3 .81328–5  .848 Washington State11–5 .68823–10  .697 Washington8–8 .50016–8  .667 Oregon7–9 .43818–9  .667 Idaho1–15 .0634–24  .143 South UCLA9–3 .75018–7  .720 California8–4 .66720–11  .645 Stanford5–7 .41715–16  .484 USC2–10 .16710–14  .417 † Conference playoff series winner | 1946–47 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kentucky †11–0 1.00034–3  .919 LSU9–2 .81817–4  .810 Tennessee10–3 .76916–5  .762 Alabama13–5 .72216–6  .727 Tulane8–4 .66722–9  .710 Georgia Tech6–6 .50012–11  .522 Florida4–4 .50017–9  .654 Vanderbilt4–7 .3647–8  .467 Mississippi State4–9 .30810–11  .476 Georgia4–9 .3085–14  .263 Ole Miss2–11 .1547–14  .333 Auburn1–15 .0633–18  .143 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner | 1946–47 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Carolina State †11–2 .84626–5  .839 North Carolina10–2 .83319–8  .704 Duke10–4 .71419–8  .704 George Washington9–4 .69221–7  .750 Maryland9–5 .64314–10  .583 Richmond8–5 .61517–9  .654 South Carolina7–5 .58316–9  .640 Washington and Lee7–6 .53816–7  .696 Davidson7–7 .50017–8  .680 William & Mary6–6 .50014–12  .538 Wake Forest8–9 .47111–13  .458 Furman5–7 .4179–10  .474 Virginia Tech4–9 .30813–13  .500 Clemson2–12 .1437–13  .350 The Citadel1–11 .0835–11  .313 VMI1–11 .0832–14  .125 † Southern Conference Tournament winner |
| 1946–47 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Texas12–0 1.00026–2  .929 SMU8–4 .66714–8  .636 Arkansas8–4 .66714–10  .583 Baylor6–6 .50011–11  .500 Texas A&M4–8 .3338–17  .320 Rice3–9 .2507–17  .292 TCU1–11 .0831–22  .043 | 1946–47 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Canisius3–0 1.00018–13  .581 Niagara2–2 .50013–8  .619 St. Bonaventure0–3 .00010–11  .476 | 1946–47 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Vermont 1–0 1.00019–3  .864 Connecticut 6–1 .85716–2  .889 Rhode Island State 4–1 .80017–3  .850 Maine 2–4 .3339–8  .529 Massachusetts 0–2 .0004–12  .250 New Hampshire 0–5 .0006–11  .353 |

### Major independents

A total of 50 college teams played as major independents. Duquesne (20–2) had the best winning percentage (.909) and Marshall (32–5) finished with the most wins.
1946–47 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1946–47 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* Duquesne– –20–2
* .909
* Holy Cross– –27–3
* .900
* Seton Hall– –24–3
* .889
* Marshall– –32–5
* .865
* West Virginia– –19–3
* .864
* Western Kentucky State– –25–4
* .862
* Navy– –16–3
* .842
* Santa Clara– –21–4
* .840
* Notre Dame– –20–4
* .833
* Hamline– –22–5
* .815
* Bowling Green State– –28–7
* .800
* Bradley– –25–7
* .781
* LIU– –17–5
* .773
* La Salle– –20–6
* .769
* Syracuse– –19–6
* .760
* Toledo– –18–6
* .750
* Louisville– –17–6
* .739
* Georgetown– –19–7
* .731
* St. Joseph's– –16–6
* .727
* Villanova– –17–7
* .708
* Western Michigan– –17–7
* .708
* Montana State– –25–11
* .694
* Loyola (Ill.)– –20–9
* .690
* Miami (Ohio)– –15–7
* .682
* Indiana State– –17–8
* .680
* Boston University– –14–7
* .667
* Colgate– –11–6
* .647
* DePaul– –16–9
* .640
* Loyola (Md.)– –20–12
* .625
* Nevada– –19–13
* .594
* Army– –9–7
* .563
* Penn State– –10–8
* .556
* Boston College– –12–10
* .545
* Kent State– –13–11
* .542
* Michigan State– –11–10
* .524
* Siena– –12–11
* .522
* San Francisco– –13–14
* .481
* Detroit– –12–13
* .480
* Virginia– –10–11
* .476
* Pittsburgh– –8–10
* .444
* Saint Mary's– –13–17
* .433
* Montana– –12–16
* .429
* Brown– –8–12
* .400
* Temple– –8–12
* .400
* Marquette– –9–14
* .391
* Rutgers– –7–12
* .368
* Valparaiso– –11–20
* .355
* Merchant Marine– –8–16
* .333
* Xavier– –8–17
* .320
* Dayton– –4–17
* .190

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

| National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Finals | National Finals |
| Holy Cross | 60 | | |
| CCNY | 45 | | |
| CCNY | 45 | Holy Cross | 58 |
| | | Oklahoma | 47 |
| Texas | 54 | Oklahoma | 47 |
| Oklahoma | 55 | Third place | Third place |
| | | CCNY | 50 |
| | | Texas | 54 |

### National Invitation tournament
#### Semifinals and finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| Utah | 64 | | |
| West Virginia | 62 | | |
| West Virginia | 62 | Utah | 49 |
| | | Kentucky | 45 |
| Kentucky | 60 | Kentucky | 45 |
| NC State | 42 | Third place | Third place |
| | | West Virginia | 52 |
| | | NC State | 64 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Ralph Beard | G | Sophomore | Kentucky |
| Alex Groza | C | Sophomore | Kentucky |
| Ralph Hamilton | G | Senior | Indiana |
| Sid Tanenbaum | G | Senior | New York University |
| Gerry Tucker | C | Senior | Oklahoma |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Don Barksdale | C | Senior | UCLA |
| Arnie Ferrin | F | Junior | Utah |
| Vern Gardner | C | Senior | Utah |
| John Hargis | G | Senior | Texas |
| George Kaftan | F | Junior | Holy Cross |
| Ed Koffenberger | C | Junior | Duke |
| Andy Phillip | G/F | Senior | Illinois |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Gerald Tucker, Oklahoma

### Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sid Tanenbaum, NYU

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach |
| Oregon | Howard Hobson | John A. Warren |
| St. John's | Joe Lapchick | Frank McGuire |
| Yale | Ivy Williamson | Howard Hobson |