# 1935–36 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1935–36 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1935, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1936.

## Rule changes

A new rule prohibited any offensive player with the ball from standing in the free-throw lane (also known as the "key") for more than three seconds. Previously, this rule had applied only to a player who had possession of the ball.

## Season headlines

* In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Notre Dame as its national champion for the 1935–36 season.
* In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Long Island as its national champion for the 1935–36 season.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Brooklyn Bulldogs | Non-major basketball program | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| CCNY Beavers | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Fordham Rams | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Long Island Blackbirds | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Manhattan Jaspers | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| NYU Violets | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | Independent | Eastern Intercollegiate Conference |
| St. Francis (NY) Terriers | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| St. John's Redmen | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Texas State M&M Miners | Independent | Border 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 | Kansas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Indiana & Purdue | 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 |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Conference | Carnegie Tech & Pittsburgh | None selected | No Tournament; Carnegie Tech defeated Pittsburgh in a single-game conference playoff | No Tournament; Carnegie Tech defeated Pittsburgh in a single-game conference playoff | No Tournament; Carnegie Tech defeated Pittsburgh in a single-game conference playoff |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | Long Island | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Creighton, Drake, & Oklahoma A&M | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington (North); Stanford & USC (South) | | No Tournament; Stanford defeated USC in divisional playoff game; Stanford defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Stanford defeated USC in divisional playoff game; Stanford defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Stanford defeated USC in divisional playoff game; Stanford defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Wyoming (Eastern); Utah State (Western) | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | Tennessee | None selected | 1936 SEC men's basketball tournament | Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, Tennessee) | Tennessee |
| Southern Conference | Washington and Lee | None selected | 1936 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina) | North Carolina |
| Southwest Conference | Arkansas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1935–36 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1935–36 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kansas10–0 1.00021–2  .913 Nebraska7–3 .70013–8  .619 Oklahoma5–5 .5009–8  .529 Iowa State3–7 .3008–8  .500 Kansas State3–7 .3009–9  .500 Missouri2–8 .2005–12  .294 | 1935–36 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Indiana11–1 .91718–2  .900 Purdue11–1 .91716–4  .800 Michigan7–5 .58315–5  .750 Illinois7–5 .58313–6  .684 Northwestern7–5 .58313–6  .684 Ohio State5–7 .41712–8  .600 Iowa5–7 .4179–10  .474 Wisconsin4–8 .33311–9  .550 Minnesota3–9 .2507–17  .292 Chicago0–12 .0006–14  .300 | 1935–36 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Arizona†11–5 .68816–7  .696 Arizona State–Tempe11–7 .61112–14  .462 Texas Tech8–6 .57114–6  .700 New Mexico11–9 .55016–10  .615 Arizona State–Flagstaff7–7 .50015–9  .625 New Mexico A&M8–8 .50010–9  .526 Texas State M&M0–8 .0000–12  .000 † Conference championship winner |
| 1935–36 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Columbia12–0 1.00019–3  .864 Penn7–5 .58312–9  .571 Dartmouth6–6 .50011–10  .524 Yale6–6 .5008–16  .333 Princeton5–7 .4179–14  .391 Harvard3–9 .2507–15  .318 Cornell3–9 .2505–12  .294 | 1935–36 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Carnegie Tech†7–3 .7008–3  .727 Pittsburgh7–3 .70018–9  .667 Temple6–4 .60018–6  .750 West Virginia6–4 .60016–8  .667 Georgetown4–6 .4007–11  .389 Penn State0–10 .0006–11  .353 † Postseason conference championship playoff game winner As of end of 1935-36 season | 1935–36 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT LIU3–0 1.00025–0  1.000 NYU7–1 .87514–4  .778 Manhattan5–1 .83317–3  .850 St. John's4–3 .57118–4  .818 CCNY3–3 .50010–4  .714 St. Francis (NY)4–6 .40015–8  .652 Fordham2–4 .33310–5  .667 Brooklyn0–7 .00018–9  .667 |
| 1935–36 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Creighton8–4 .66713–6  .684 Oklahoma A&M8–4 .66716–8  .667 Drake8–4 .66716–12  .571 Washburn6–4 .6007–14  .333 Grinnell4–6 .4007–11  .389 Washington University3–9 .2506–13  .316 Tulsa3–9 .2506–14  .300 | 1935–36 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Washington13–3 .81325–7  .781 Oregon State10–6 .62516–9  .640 Washington State8–8 .50022–8  .733 Oregon7–9 .43820–11  .645 Idaho2–14 .12512–15  .444 South Stanford †8–4 .66722–7  .759 USC8–4 .66714–12  .538 California6–6 .50013–16  .448 UCLA2–10 .16710–13  .435 † Conference playoff series winner | 1935–36 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Eastern Wyoming11–3 .78612–7  .632 Northern Colorado10–4 .71414–6  .700 Denver8–4 .66711–5  .688 Colorado College9–5 .64314–9  .609 Western State5–5 .50013–7  .650 Colorado6–8 .4296–8  .429 Colorado State3–9 .2507–9  .438 Colorado Mines0–14 .0000–14  .000 Western Utah State9–3 .75017–9  .654 BYU6–6 .50016–9  .640 Montana State5–7 .41711–8  .579 Utah4–8 .3337–15  .318 |
| 1935–36 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kentucky6–2 .75015–6  .714 Vanderbilt9–4 .6929–14  .391 Tennessee †8–4 .66715–6  .714 Mississippi State9–5 .64311–6  .647 Auburn7–4 .63610–5  .667 Alabama9–6 .60015–9  .625 LSU9–6 .60010–10  .500 Georgia Tech7–5 .58310–8  .556 Ole Miss7–5 .58311–9  .550 Georgia6–7 .4629–11  .450 Florida2–8 .2005–10  .333 Tulane1–14 .0672–17  .105 Sewanee0–10 .0002–13  .133 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner | 1935–36 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Washington and Lee10–1 .90919–2  .905 North Carolina †13–3 .81321–4  .840 North Carolina State10–3 .76915–4  .789 Maryland4–3 .57114–6  .700 Clemson5–5 .50015–7  .682 Duke4–5 .44420–6  .769 Virginia4–8 .33311–13  .458 South Carolina1–6 .14311–8  .579 Virginia Tech1–9 .1005–16  .238 VMI0–10 .0003–14  .176 † Southern Conference Tournament winner | 1935–36 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Arkansas11–1 .91724–3  .889 Texas8–4 .66715–9  .625 Rice8–4 .66712–10  .545 Baylor6–6 .50012–13  .480 SMU4–8 .3334–8  .333 Texas A&M3–9 .2509–9  .500 TCU2–10 .1673–11  .214 |

### Major independents

A total of 57 college teams played as major independents. Notre Dame (22–2) had the best winning percentage (.917) and Western Kentucky State (26–4) finished with the most wins.
1935–36 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1935–36 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* Notre Dame– –22–2
* .917
* Western Kentucky State– –26–4
* .867
* George Washington– –16–3
* .842
* Western State Teachers– –15–3
* .833
* Duquesne– –14–3
* .824
* DePaul– –18–4
* .818
* Indiana State– –11–3
* .786
* St. Bonaventure– –7–2
* .778
* Bucknell– –13–4
* .765
* Colgate– –12–4
* .750
* Furman– –12–4
* .750
* Toledo– –12–4
* .750
* Niagara– –17–6
* .739
* St. Joseph's– –14–5
* .737
* Rhode Island State– –13–5
* .722
* Detroit– –12–5
* .706
* Syracuse– –12–5
* .706
* Richmond– –14–6
* .700
* Loyola (Md.)– –13–6
* .684
* Saint Mary's (Calif.)– –14–7
* .667
* Santa Clara– –12–6
* .667
* Ohio– –13–7
* .650
* William & Mary– –11–6
* .647
* Canisius– –10–7
* .588
* Cincinnati– –10–7
* .588
* Kent State– –10–7
* .588
* The Citadel– –7–5
* .583
* Louisville– –14–11
* .560
* San Francisco– –11–9
* .550
* Montana– –13–11
* .542
* Rutgers– –8–7
* .533
* Xavier– –8–7
* .533
* Miami (Ohio)– –9–8
* .529
* Army– –7–7
* .500
* Brown– –8–8
* .500
* Loyola (Ill.)– –8–8
* .500
* Navy– –7–7
* .500
* Valparaiso– –8–8
* .500
* Wichita Municipal– –12–12
* .500
* Michigan State Normal– –8–9
* .471
* Bowling Green State– –7–8
* .467
* Saint Louis– –9–11
* .450
* Lafayette– –7–9
* .438
* Wake Forest– –9–12
* .429
* Lehigh– –5–7
* .417
* Bradley– –6–10
* .375
* Marshall– –6–10
* .375
* Marquette– –7–12
* .368
* Villanova– –6–12
* .333
* Butler– –6–15
* .286
* Seton Hall– –4–11
* .267
* Muhlenberg– –5–16
* .238
* La Salle– –4–13
* .235
* Connecticut– –3–11
* .214
* Davidson– –4–15
* .211
* Dayton– –3–13
* .188
* Boston University– –1–13
* .071

### Statistical leaders
## Awards
### Consensus All-American team

Consensus Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| Vern Huffman | Senior | Indiana |
| Robert Kessler | Senior | Purdue |
| Bill Kinner | Senior | Utah |
| Hank Luisetti | Sophomore | Stanford |
| John Moir | Sophomore | Notre Dame |
| Paul Nowak | Sophomore | Notre Dame |
| Ike Poole | Senior | Arkansas |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: John Moir, Notre Dame (retroactive selection in 1944)

### Other major awards

* Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jules Bender, Long Island