1941–42 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1941–42 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1941, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1942 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 28, 1942, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Stanford Indians won their first NCAA national championship with a 53–38 victory over the Dartmouth Big Green.

1941–42 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
NCAA Tournament	1942
Tournament dates	March 20 – 28, 1942
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	Stanford
Helms National Champions	Stanford (retroactive selection in 1944)
Other champions	West Virginia (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Stan Modzelewski, Rhode Island State (retroactive selection in 1944)
← 1940–41 1942–43 →

Season headlines

• The Metropolitan New York Conference did not compete during the season. Its members played as independents.
• Dartmouth and Kansas became the first teams to play in more than one NCAA tournament when they appeared in the 1942 tournament.
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Stanford as its national champion for the 1941–42 season.^[1]
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Stanford as its national champion for the 1941–42 season.^[2]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
George Washington Colonials	Independent	Southern Conference
Sewanee Tigers	Independent	Non-major basketball program
Washburn Ichabods	Missouri Valley Conference	Non-major basketball program

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[3]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Kansas & Oklahoma	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Illinois	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	West Texas State	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Did not play as conference
Missouri Valley Conference	Creighton & Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Colorado		No Tournament
New England Conference	Rhode Island State		No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State (North); Stanford (South)		No Tournament; Stanford defeated Oregon State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1942 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	Duke	None selected	1942 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke[4]
Southwest Conference	Arkansas & Rice	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1941–42 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas 8 – 2   .800 17 – 5   .773 Oklahoma 8 – 2   .800 11 – 7   .611 Iowa State 5 – 5   .500 11 – 6   .647 Nebraska 4 – 6   .400 6 – 13   .316 Kansas State 3 – 7   .300 8 – 10   .444 Missouri 2 – 8   .200 6 – 12   .333	1941–42 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Illinois 13 – 2   .867 18 – 5   .783 Indiana 10 – 5   .667 15 – 6   .714 Wisconsin 10 – 5   .667 14 – 7   .667 Iowa 10 – 5   .667 12 – 8   .600 Minnesota 9 – 6   .600 15 – 6   .714 Purdue 9 – 6   .600 14 – 7   .667 Northwestern 5 – 10   .333 8 – 13   .381 Michigan 5 – 10   .333 6 – 14   .300 Ohio State 4 – 11   .267 6 – 14   .300 Chicago 0 – 15   .000 1 – 20   .048	1941–42 Border Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT West Texas State 16 – 0   1.000 28 – 3   .903 Texas Tech 12 – 4   .750 16 – 11   .593 Arizona State–Tempe 10 – 6   .625 10 – 10   .500 Arizona State–Flagstaff 8 – 8   .500 11 – 10   .524 Texas State M&M 7 – 9   .438 11 – 11   .500 Arizona 6 – 10   .375 9 – 13   .409 Hardin–Simmons 6 – 10   .375 6 – 10   .375 New Mexico 5 – 11   .313 9 – 13   .409 New Mexico A&M 2 – 14   .125 8 – 18   .308
1941–42 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Dartmouth 10 – 2   .833 22 – 4   .846 Princeton 10 – 2   .833 16 – 5   .762 Cornell 7 – 5   .583 9 – 12   .429 Pennsylvania 5 – 7   .417 9 – 9   .500 Harvard 5 – 7   .417 8 – 16   .333 Yale 3 – 9   .250 7 – 12   .368 Columbia 2 – 10   .167 2 – 13   .133	1941–42 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Creighton 9 – 1   .900 19 – 5   .792 Oklahoma A&M 9 – 1   .900 20 – 6   .769 Washington University 4 – 6   .400 10 – 13   .435 Saint Louis 4 – 6   .400 8 – 12   .400 Tulsa 3 – 7   .300 3 – 13   .188 Drake 1 – 9   .100 2 – 13   .133	1941–42 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Colorado 11 – 1   .917 16 – 2   .889 BYU 9 – 3   .750 17 – 3   .850 Wyoming 9 – 3   .750 15 – 5   .750 Utah 7 – 5   .583 13 – 7   .650 Utah State 3 – 9   .250 6 – 10   .375 Denver 2 – 10   .167 4 – 16   .200 Colorado State 1 – 11   .083 3 – 16   .158
1941–42 New England Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island State 8 – 0   1.000 18 – 4   .818 Connecticut 6 – 2   .750 12 – 5   .706 Northeastern 4 – 4   .500 6 – 9   .400 Maine 2 – 6   .250 7 – 7   .500 New Hampshire 0 – 8   .000 4 – 15   .211	1941–42 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Oregon State 11 – 5   .688 18 – 9   .667 Washington 10 – 6   .625 18 – 7   .720 Washington State 9 – 7   .563 21 – 8   .724 Oregon 7 – 9   .438 12 – 15   .444 Idaho 3 – 13   .188 12 – 16   .429 South Stanford † 11 – 1   .917 28 – 4   .875 USC 7 – 5   .583 12 – 8   .600 California 4 – 8   .333 11 – 19   .367 UCLA 2 – 10   .167 5 – 18   .217 † Conference playoff series winner	1941–42 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Tennessee 7 – 1   .875 19 – 3   .864 Alabama 13 – 4   .765 18 – 6   .750 Kentucky † 6 – 2   .750 19 – 6   .760 LSU 8 – 3   .727 8 – 7   .533 Auburn 9 – 5   .643 11 – 6   .647 Mississippi State 9 – 6   .600 13 – 7   .650 Georgia 5 – 8   .385 7 – 10   .412 Georgia Tech 4 – 7   .364 8 – 8   .500 Florida 3 – 8   .273 8 – 9   .471 Vanderbilt 3 – 8   .273 7 – 9   .438 Tulane 3 – 9   .250 4 – 12   .250 Ole Miss 3 – 12   .200 4 – 15   .211 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner
1941–42 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Duke † 15 – 1   .938 22 – 2   .917 George Washington 8 – 3   .727 11 – 9   .550 Wake Forest 13 – 5   .722 16 – 8   .667 North Carolina State 9 – 4   .692 15 – 7   .682 William & Mary 8 – 4   .667 15 – 9   .625 South Carolina 8 – 4   .667 12 – 9   .571 North Carolina 9 – 5   .643 14 – 9   .609 Washington and Lee 7 – 7   .500 10 – 15   .400 Furman 7 – 8   .467 10 – 9   .526 Richmond 4 – 8   .333 9 – 9   .500 Virginia Tech 4 – 8   .333 10 – 10   .500 VMI 5 – 10   .333 7 – 11   .389 Maryland 3 – 8   .273 7 – 15   .318 Davidson 3 – 9   .250 12 – 13   .480 Clemson 2 – 10   .167 3 – 14   .176 The Citadel 1 – 12   .077 2 – 14   .125 † Southern Conference Tournament winner	1941–42 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Arkansas 10 – 2   .833 19 – 4   .826 Rice 10 – 2   .833 22 – 5   .815 TCU 6 – 6   .500 13 – 10   .565 Baylor 6 – 6   .500 11 – 9   .550 Texas 5 – 7   .417 14 – 9   .609 Texas A&M 4 – 8   .333 8 – 16   .333 SMU 1 – 11   .083 3 – 16   .158

Major independents

A total of 65 college teams played as major independents. LIU (25–3) had the best winning percentage (.893) and Western Kentucky State (29–5) finished with the most wins.^[5]

1941–42 NCAA men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT LIU –   – 25 – 3   .893 St. Francis (NY) –   – 16 – 2   .889 Penn State –   – 18 – 3   .857 Western Kentucky State –   – 29 – 5   .853 CCNY –   – 16 – 3   .842 Seton Hall –   – 16 – 3   .842 West Virginia –   – 19 – 4   .826 Toledo –   – 23 – 5   .821 Loyola (Md.) –   – 18 – 4   .818 Indiana State –   – 17 – 4   .810 Saint Mary's –   – 20 – 5   .800 St. John's –   – 16 – 5   .762 Bradley –   – 15 – 5   .750 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 17 – 6   .739 Niagara –   – 16 – 6   .727 Notre Dame –   – 16 – 6   .727 Duquesne –   – 15 – 6   .714 Michigan State Normal –   – 15 – 6   .714 Syracuse –   – 15 – 6   .714 Muhlenberg –   – 17 – 7   .708 Canisius –   – 12 – 6   .667 Dayton –   – 12 – 6   .667 St. Joseph's –   – 12 – 6   .667 Boston University –   – 9 – 5   .643 Montana State –   – 14 – 8   .636 Fordham –   – 12 – 7   .632 NYU –   – 12 – 7   .632 Army –   – 10 – 6   .625 Marshall –   – 15 – 9   .625 Detroit –   – 13 – 8   .619 Brown –   – 11 – 7   .611 St. Bonaventure –   – 12 – 8   .600 Western Michigan –   – 12 – 8   .600 Butler –   – 13 – 9   .591 Villanova –   – 13 – 9   .591 Montana –   – 14 – 10   .583 San Francisco –   – 14 – 10   .583 Navy –   – 8 – 6   .571 Ohio –   – 12 – 9   .571 Siena –   – 9 – 7   .563 Kent State –   – 14 – 11   .560 Brooklyn –   – 10 – 8   .556 Holy Cross –   – 5 – 4   .556 Temple –   – 10 – 8   .556 Xavier –   – 10 – 8   .556 Washington & Jefferson –   – 9 – 8   .529 Santa Clara –   – 10 – 9   .526 La Salle –   – 12 – 11   .522 Bucknell –   – 9 – 9   .500 Cincinnati –   – 10 – 10   .500 Manhattan –   – 10 – 10   .500 Lehigh –   – 7 – 8   .467 DePaul –   – 10 – 12   .455 Georgetown –   – 9 – 11   .450 Rutgers –   – 8 – 10   .444 Louisville –   – 7 – 10   .412 Virginia –   – 7 – 10   .412 Bowling Green State –   – 8 – 12   .400 Miami (Ohio) –   – 6 – 9   .400 Colgate –   – 5 – 9   .357 Marquette –   – 6 – 11   .353 Pittsburgh –   – 5 – 10   .333 Lafayette –   – 4 – 12   .250 Valparaiso –   – 4 – 13   .235 Wichita Municipal –   – 4 – 16   .200

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1942 NCAA basketball tournament and 1942 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Semifinals & final

	National Semifinals					National Final
	Dartmouth		47
	Kentucky		28
						Dartmouth		38
						Stanford		53
	Stanford		46
	Colorado		35

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1942 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	West Virginia	51
	Toledo	39
					West Virginia	47
					Western Kentucky State	45
	Creighton	36
	Western Kentucky State	49			Third place
					Toledo	46
					Creighton	48

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1942 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Class	Team
Price Brookfield	Senior	West Texas State
Bob Davies	Senior	Seton Hall
Bob Kinney	Senior	Rice
John Kotz	Junior	Wisconsin
Andy Phillip	Sophomore	Illinois

Consensus Second Team

Player	Class	Team
Don Burness	Senior	Stanford
Gus Doerner	Senior	Evansville
Bob Doll	Senior	Colorado
John Mandic	Senior	Oregon State
Stan Modzelewski	Senior	Rhode Island State
George Munroe	Junior	Dartmouth

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Stan Modzelewski, Rhode Island State

Other major awards

• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jim White, St. John's (retroactive selection in 1944)

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Bowling Green	Paul Landis		Harold Anderson
DePaul	Bill Wendt		Ray Meyer
Kansas State	Jack Gardner		Chili Cochrane
Toledo	Harold Anderson		Burl Friddle
Yale	Ken Loeffler		Red Rolfe

References

1. Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
2. ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
3. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
4. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
5. "1941-42 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 2, 2024.