# 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1947, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1948 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1948, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Kentucky Wildcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–42 victory over the Baylor Bears.

## Season headlines

* In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Kentucky as its national champion for the 1947–48 season.
* The Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball won the N.I.T
* The dispute among basketball fans over which was more prestigious, the National Invitation Tournament(more commonly referred to as the N.I.T.) or the NCAA Tournament, continued throughout the entire year.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Colorado Buffaloes | Skyline Conference | Big Seven Conference |
| Dickinson College Red Devils | Middle Atlantic States Conference North | No NCAA basketball program |
| Miami (OH) Redskins | Independent | Mid-American Conference |
| Washington University Bears | Missouri Valley Conference | Independent |
| Wayne Warriors | Mid-American Conference | Independent |
| Western Michigan Broncos | Independent | Mid-American 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 Nine Conference | Michigan | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | Arizona | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Yale | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | Columbia | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Cincinnati | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Muhlenberg | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Oklahoma A&M | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | BYU | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington (North); USC (South) | | No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None selected | 1948 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Kentucky |
| Southern Conference | NC State | None selected | 1948 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Duke Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina) | NC State |
| Southwest Conference | Baylor | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western New York Little Three Conference | Niagara | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Connecticut | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1947–48 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1947–48 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kansas State9–3 .75022–6  .786 Oklahoma7–5 .58313–9  .591 Missouri7–5 .58314–10  .583 Iowa State6–6 .50015–8  .652 Nebraska5–7 .41711–13  .458 Kansas4–8 .3339–15  .375 Colorado4–8 .3337–14  .333 | 1947–48 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Michigan10–2 .83316–6  .727 Iowa8–4 .66715–4  .789 Illinois7–5 .58315–5  .750 Wisconsin7–5 .58312–8  .600 Purdue6–6 .50011–9  .550 Minnesota5–7 .41710–10  .500 Ohio State5–7 .41710–10  .500 Indiana3–9 .2508–12  .400 Northwestern3–9 .2506–14  .300 | 1947–48 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Arizona12–4 .75019–10  .655 Texas Tech10–6 .62516–12  .571 Arizona State–Tempe9–11 .45013–11  .542 Arizona State–Flagstaff8–8 .50013–8  .619 New Mexico8–8 .50014–15  .483 West Texas State7–9 .43811–13  .458 New Mexico A&M6–10 .37512–11  .522 Texas State M&M6–10 .37513–16  .448 Hardin–Simmons6–10 .3756–10  .375 |
| 1947–48 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Columbia11–1 .91720–3  .870 Cornell9–3 .75016–9  .640 Princeton6–6 .50012–11  .522 Dartmouth6–6 .50012–12  .500 Pennsylvania5–7 .41710–14  .417 Yale4–8 .33314–13  .519 Harvard1–11 .0835–20  .200 | 1947–48 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT NYU5–1 .83322–4  .846 CCNY4–1 .80018–3  .857 Fordham3–3 .50017–6  .739 Manhattan3–3 .50022–6  .786 St. John's3–3 .50012–11  .522 St. Francis (NY)2–3 .40016–9  .640 Brooklyn0–6 .00010–10  .500 | 1947–48 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Cincinnati7–2 .77817–7  .708 Butler4–2 .66714–7  .667 Ohio4–4 .50010–10  .500 Miami (Ohio)3–5 .37513–15  .464 Western Reserve2–6 .25014–10  .583 Western Michigan1–2 .33312–10  .545 |
| 1947–48 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Muhlenberg8–0 1.00021–4  .840 Lafayette5–3 .62512–9  .571 Gettysburg4–4 .50010–10  .500 Bucknell2–6 .2505–17  .227 Lehigh1–7 .1252–16  .111 | 1947–48 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Oklahoma A&M10–0 1.00027–4  .871 Saint Louis8–2 .80024–3  .889 Drake5–5 .50014–12  .538 Creighton4–6 .40010–13  .435 Tulsa2–8 .2007–16  .304 Wichita Municipal1–9 .10012–13  .480 | 1947–48 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT BYU8–2 .80016–11  .593 Wyoming6–4 .60018–9  .667 Denver6–4 .60018–11  .621 Utah6–4 .60011–9  .550 Utah State3–7 .3008–16  .333 Colorado State1–9 .1006–15  .286 |
| 1947–48 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Washington †10–6 .62523–11  .676 Oregon State10–6 .62521–13  .618 Washington State9–7 .56319–10  .655 Oregon8–8 .50018–11  .621 Idaho3–13 .18817–15  .531 South California11–1 .91725–9  .735 USC7–5 .58314–10  .583 UCLA3–9 .25012–13  .480 Stanford3–9 .25015–11  .577 † Conference playoff series winner | 1947–48 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kentucky †9–0 1.00036–3  .923 Tulane13–1 .92923–3  .885 Tennessee10–2 .83320–5  .800 Alabama8–8 .50015–12  .556 Auburn7–7 .50012–10  .545 Georgia6–8 .42918–10  .643 Florida5–7 .41715–10  .600 Georgia Tech6–10 .37512–16  .429 Mississippi State6–10 .3756–12  .333 Ole Miss5–9 .35711–12  .478 LSU4–10 .2868–18  .308 Vanderbilt4–11 .2678–14  .364 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner | 1947–48 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Carolina State †12–0 1.00029–3  .906 George Washington13–3 .81319–7  .731 North Carolina11–4 .73320–7  .741 Maryland9–6 .60011–14  .440 Davidson10–7 .58819–9  .679 Virginia Tech7–5 .58314–9  .609 Duke8–6 .57117–12  .586 Wake Forest8–7 .53318–11  .621 William & Mary8–7 .53313–10  .565 South Carolina8–7 .53312–11  .522 Washington and Lee5–9 .3577–17  .292 The Citadel4–8 .3338–9  .471 Richmond4–9 .3088–14  .364 Furman3–10 .23111–15  .423 Clemson3–14 .1766–17  .261 VMI1–12 .0773–16  .158 † Southern Conference Tournament winner |
| 1947–48 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Baylor11–1 .91724–8  .750 Texas9–3 .75020–5  .800 Arkansas8–4 .66716–8  .667 Rice6–6 .50010–14  .417 SMU5–7 .41713–10  .565 Texas A&M2–10 .1677–17  .292 TCU1–11 .0833–20  .130 | 1947–48 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Niagara3–1 .75015–9  .625 Canisius2–2 .50010–15  .400 St. Bonaventure1–3 .25012–10  .545 | 1947–48 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Connecticut 6–1 .85717–6  .739 Rhode Island State 5–1 .83317–6  .739 Vermont 2–1 .66714–6  .700 Maine 2–5 .28611–7  .611 New Hampshire 2–5 .2865–12  .294 Massachusetts 0–4 .0002–14  .125 |

### Major independents

A total of 56 college teams played as major independents. Western Kentucky State (28–2) had the best winning percentage (.933) and Louisville (29–6) finished with the most wins.
1947–48 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConf.Overall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* Western Kentucky State– –28–2
* .933
* Bradley– –28–3
* .903
* Hamline– –28–3
* .903
* Holy Cross– –26–4
* .867
* West Virginia– –17–3
* .850
* La Salle– –20–4
* .833
* Louisville– –29–6
* .829
* Bowling Green State– –27–6
* .818
* Seton Hall– –18–4
* .818
* LIU– –17–4
* .810
* Toledo– –21–5
* .808
* Indiana State– –27–7
* .794
* Lawrence Tech– –22–6
* .786
* Siena– –22–6
* .786
* Xavier– –24–8
* .750
* Loyola (Ill.)– –26–9
* .743
* Baldwin Wallace– –17–6
* .739
* Duquesne– –17–6
* .739
* Colgate– –14–5
* .737
* DePaul– –22–8
* .733
* Eastern Kentucky State– –17–7
* .708
* Notre Dame– –17–7
* .708
* Marshall– –22–11
* .667
* Montana State– –18–9
* .667
* Montana– –21–11
* .656
* Kent State– –15–8
* .652
* Texas Wesleyan– –19–11
* .633
* Akron– –15–9
* .625
* Villanova– –15–9
* .625
* Virginia– –16–10
* .615
* Rutgers– –14–9
* .609
* Navy– –10–7
* .588
* Boston College– –13–10
* .565
* Michigan State– –12–10
* .545
* St. Joseph's– –13–11
* .542
* San Francisco– –13–11
* .542
* Boston University– –10–9
* .526
* Temple– –12–11
* .522
* Santa Clara– –11–11
* .500
* Pittsburgh– –10–11
* .476
* Washington University– –10–11
* .476
* Penn State– –9–10
* .474
* Army– –8–9
* .471
* Georgetown– –13–15
* .464
* Dayton– –12–14
* .462
* Saint Mary's– –11–13
* .458
* Syracuse– –11–13
* .458
* Youngstown– –10–14
* .417
* John Carroll– –9–14
* .391
* Wayne– –8–13
* .381
* Marquette– –9–15
* .375
* Nevada– –9–16
* .360
* Valparaiso– –8–15
* .348
* Detroit– –7–15
* .318
* Brown– –6–14
* .300
* Scranton– –7–20
* .259

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

| National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Finals | National Finals |
| Kentucky | 60 | | |
| Holy Cross | 52 | | |
| Holy Cross | 52 | Kentucky | 58 |
| | | Baylor | 42 |
| Kansas State | 52 | Baylor | 42 |
| Baylor | 60 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Holy Cross | 60 |
| | | Kansas State | 54 |

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

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| Western Kentucky State | 53 | | |
| Saint Louis | 60 | | |
| Saint Louis | 60 | Saint Louis | 65 |
| | | NYU | 52 |
| NYU | 72 | NYU | 52 |
| DePaul | 59 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Western Kentucky State | 61 |
| | | DePaul | 59 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Ralph Beard | G | Junior | Kentucky |
| Ed Macauley | F | Junior | Saint Louis |
| Jim McIntyre | C | Junior | Minnesota |
| Kevin O'Shea | G | Sophomore | Notre Dame |
| Murray Wier | G | Senior | Iowa |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Dick Dickey | F | Sophomore | NC State |
| Arnie Ferrin | F | Senior | Utah |
| Alex Groza | C | Junior | Kentucky |
| Hal Haskins | F/G | Sophomore | Hamline |
| George Kaftan | F | Senior | Holy Cross |
| Duane Klueh | G | Junior | Indiana State |
| Tony Lavelli | F | Junior | Yale |
| Jack Nichols | C | Senior | Washington |
| Andy Wolfe | G/F | Senior | California |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Ed Macauley, Saint Louis

### Other major awards

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

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | Interim Coach | New Coach | Reason |
| Holy Cross | Doggie Julian | | Buster Sheary | |
| Rhode Island State | Frank Keaney | | Red Haire | |