# 1940–41 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1940–41 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1940, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1941 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 29, 1941, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Wisconsin Badgers won their first NCAA national championship with a 39–34 victory over the Washington State Cougars.

## Season headlines

* The Border Conference and the Metropolitan New York Conference did not play as conferences during the season. Their members competed as independents.
* The National Invitation Tournament — considered by some until at least the mid-1950s to be more prestigious than the NCAA tournament — expanded from six to eight teams.
* The National Association of Basketball Coaches turned over operation of the NCAA tournament to the NCAA itself.
* George Glamack of North Carolina became the first player to score 30 or more points in an NCAA tournament game, scoring 31 points against Dartmouth in a regional third-place game of the 1941 NCAA basketball tournament on March 22, 1941.
* In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Wisconsin as its national champion for the 1940–41 season.
* In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Long Island as its national champion for the 1940–41 season.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Sewanee Tigers | Southeastern Conference | 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 Six Conference | Iowa State & Kansas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Wisconsin | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Dartmouth | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference | Did not play as conference |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Creighton | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | Wyoming | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| New England Conference | Connecticut & Rhode Island State | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington State (North); Stanford (South) | | No Tournament; Washington State defeated Stanford in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington State defeated Stanford in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington State defeated Stanford in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Southeastern Conference | Tennessee | None selected | 1941 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Tennessee |
| Southern Conference | North Carolina | None selected | 1941 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina) | Duke |
| Southwest Conference | Arkansas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1940–41 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1940–41 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Iowa State7–3 .70015–4  .789 Kansas7–3 .70012–6  .667 Nebraska6–4 .6008–10  .444 Oklahoma5–5 .5006–12  .333 Kansas State3–7 .3006–12  .333 Missouri2–8 .2006–10  .375 | 1940–41 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Wisconsin11–1 .91720–3  .870 Indiana10–2 .83317–3  .850 Illinois7–5 .58313–7  .650 Minnesota7–5 .58311–9  .550 Ohio State7–5 .58310–10  .500 Purdue6–6 .50013–7  .650 Michigan5–7 .4179–10  .474 Iowa4–8 .33312–8  .600 Northwestern3–9 .2507–11  .389 Chicago0–12 .0004–16  .200 | 1940–41 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Dartmouth10–2 .83319–5  .792 Cornell9–3 .75017–6  .739 Columbia8–4 .66711–5  .688 Harvard4–8 .33310–9  .526 Yale4–8 .33310–12  .455 Princeton4–8 .33310–13  .435 Penn3–9 .2505–12  .294 |
| 1940–41 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Creighton9–3 .75018–7  .720 Oklahoma A&M8–4 .66718–7  .720 Tulsa7–5 .58312–9  .571 Washington University6–6 .5009–8  .529 Drake6–6 .5009–11  .450 Washburn4–8 .3337–12  .368 Saint Louis2–10 .1673–14  .176 | 1940–41 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Wyoming10–2 .83314–6  .700 Utah9–3 .75014–7  .667 Colorado7–5 .58310–6  .625 BYU6–6 .50014–9  .609 Colorado State4–8 .33310–9  .526 Denver4–8 .3338–9  .471 Utah State2–10 .1675–16  .238 | 1940–41 New England Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Connecticut 7–1 .87514–2  .875 Rhode Island State 7–1 .87521–4  .840 New Hampshire 3–5 .37510–8  .556 Maine 2–6 .2504–8  .333 Northeastern 1–7 .1253–13  .188 |
| 1940–41 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Washington State †13–3 .81326–6  .813 Oregon State9–7 .56319–9  .679 Oregon7–9 .43818–18  .500 Washington7–9 .43812–13  .480 Idaho4–12 .25014–15  .483 South Stanford10–2 .83321–5  .808 California6–6 .50015–12  .556 USC6–6 .50015–10  .600 UCLA2–10 .1676–20  .231 † Conference playoff series winner | 1940–41 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kentucky8–1 .88917–8  .680 Florida6–2 .75015–9  .625 Tennessee †8–3 .72717–5  .773 Alabama11–7 .61114–8  .636 LSU7–5 .5839–9  .500 Auburn6–5 .54513–6  .684 Tulane6–5 .5458–6  .571 Mississippi State6–6 .50012–10  .545 Georgia6–7 .46213–11  .542 Georgia Tech4–8 .3338–11  .421 Vanderbilt3–9 .2508–9  .471 Ole Miss2–15 .1182–18  .100 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner |
| 1940–41 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Carolina14–1 .93319–9  .679 South Carolina8–3 .72715–9  .625 William & Mary8–3 .72715–10  .600 Washington and Lee9–4 .69211–11  .500 Duke †8–4 .66714–8  .636 VMI8–4 .66710–6  .625 Richmond7–5 .58311–10  .524 Wake Forest7–6 .5389–9  .500 Clemson7–8 .4678–14  .364 Davidson5–7 .41711–12  .478 North Carolina State6–9 .4006–9  .400 Virginia Tech4–8 .3338–13  .381 The Citadel1–8 .1115–13  .278 Furman1–10 .0914–13  .235 Maryland0–13 .0001–21  .045 † Southern Conference Tournament winner | 1940–41 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Arkansas12–0 1.00020–3  .870 Rice8–4 .66718–6  .750 Texas7–5 .58314–10  .583 SMU6–6 .50010–10  .500 Baylor6–6 .50010–12  .455 Texas A&M3–9 .2507–13  .350 TCU0–12 .0005–16  .238 |

### Major independents

A total of 73 college teams played as major independents. LIU (25–2) had the best winning percentage (.926) and finished with the most wins.
1940–41 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1940–41 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConf.Overall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* LIU– –25–2
* .926
* Seton Hall– –20–2
* .909
* Toledo– –21–3
* .875
* Duquesne– –17–3
* .850
* Western Kentucky State– –22–4
* .846
* George Washington– –18–4
* .818
* Loyola (Md.)– –18–4
* .818
* Ohio– –18–4
* .818
* Boston University– –13–3
* .813
* Villanova– –13–3
* .813
* Bradley– –16–4
* .800
* Georgetown– –16–4
* .800
* CCNY– –17–5
* .773
* Notre Dame– –17–5
* .773
* Texas Tech– –19–6
* .760
* Penn State– –15–5
* .750
* Virginia– –18–6
* .750
* Syracuse– –14–5
* .737
* St. Bonaventure– –12–5
* .706
* NYU– –13–6
* .684
* Pittsburgh– –13–6
* .684
* Santa Clara– –15–7
* .682
* St. Joseph's– –12–6
* .667
* Niagara– –13–7
* .650
* Brooklyn– –11–6
* .647
* Michigan State Normal– –11–6
* .647
* St. John's– –11–6
* .647
* Navy– –9–5
* .643
* DePaul– –13–8
* .619
* Loyola (Ill.)– –13–8
* .619
* Arizona– –11–7
* .611
* Manhattan– –11–7
* .611
* Marshall– –14–9
* .609
* Texas State M&M– –14–9
* .609
* Colgate– –9–6
* .600
* Butler– –13–9
* .591
* Xavier– –13–9
* .591
* Bucknell– –10–7
* .588
* Miami (Ohio)– –10–7
* .588
* Indiana State– –11–8
* .579
* La Salle– –11–8
* .579
* Fordham– –12–9
* .571
* Temple– –12–9
* .571
* Muhlenberg– –13–10
* .565
* West Virginia– –13–10
* .565
* Western State Teachers– –10–8
* .556
* Kent State– –12–10
* .545
* New Mexico A&M– –14–12
* .538
* Canisius– –10–9
* .526
* Detroit– –11–10
* .524
* Montana State– –13–12
* .520
* Brown– –10–10
* .500
* Montana– –14–14
* .500
* Arizona State–Flagstaff– –9–9
* .500
* Siena– –9–9
* .500
* St. Francis (NY)– –9–9
* .500
* Bowling Green State– –10–11
* .476
* Wichita Municipal– –9–11
* .450
* Lafayette– –8–10
* .444
* Rutgers– –8–10
* .444
* Arizona State–Tempe– –8–11
* .421
* Dayton– –9–14
* .391
* Holy Cross– –4–7
* .364
* Cincinnati– –6–12
* .333
* Saint Mary's– –6–13
* .316
* Army– –5–11
* .313
* Lehigh– –5–12
* .294
* Valparaiso– –4–12
* .250
* New Mexico– –5–18
* .217
* Marquette– –2–13
* .133
* San Francisco– –2–13
* .133
* Louisville– –2–14
* .125
* Sewanee– –1–14
* .067

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

| National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Final | National Final |
| Wisconsin | 36 | | |
| Pittsburgh | 30 | | |
| Pittsburgh | 30 | Wisconsin | 39 |
| | | Washington State | 34 |
| Arkansas | 53 | Washington State | 34 |
| Washington State | 64 | | |

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

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| CCNY | 43 | | |
| Ohio | 45 | | |
| Ohio | 45 | Ohio | 42 |
| | | Long Island | 56 |
| Seton Hall | 26 | Long Island | 56 |
| Long Island | 49 | Third place | Third place |
| | | CCNY | 42 |
| | | Seton Hall | 27 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| John Adams | Senior | Arkansas |
| Gus Broberg | Senior | Dartmouth |
| Howard Engleman | Senior | Kansas |
| Gene Englund | Senior | Wisconsin |
| George Glamack | Senior | North Carolina |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| Frank Baumholtz | Senior | Ohio |
| Bob Kinney | Junior | Rice |
| Paul Lindemann | Senior | Washington State |
| Stan Modzelewski | Junior | Rhode Island State |
| Oscar Schectman | Senior | Long Island |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: George Glamack, North Carolina (retroactive selection in 1944)

### Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jack Garfinkel, St. John's