1941 NCAA basketball championship game

See also: 1941 NCAA basketball tournament

The 1941 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1941 NCAA basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1940-41 NCAA men's basketball season. The game was played on March 29, 1941, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. It featured the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference, and the Washington State Cougars of the Pacific Coast Conference.

1941 NCAA Tournament Championship Game

National championship game
The Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri, hosted the championship game.
Wisconsin Badgers Washington State Cougars Big Ten PCC (19-3) (26-5) 39 34 Head coach: Harold E. Foster Head coach: Jack Friel
1st half 2nd half Total Wisconsin Badgers 21 18 39 Washington State Cougars 17 17 34
Date	March 29, 1941[1]
Venue	Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri
MVP	John Kotz, Wisconsin[2]
← 1940 1942 →

Participating teams

Wisconsin Badgers

See also: 1940-41 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

• East
  • Wisconsin 51, Dartmouth 50
• Final Four
  • Wisconsin 36, Pittsburgh 30

Washington State Cougars

See also: 1940-41 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team

• West
  • Washington State 48, Creighton 39
• Final Four
  • Washington State 64, Arkansas 53

Game summary

Source:^[3]

March 29, 1941

Wisconsin Badgers 39, Washington State Cougars 34
Scoring by half: 21-17, 18-17
Pts: Gene Englund 13		Pts: Kirk Gebert 21

Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri

Aftermath

1941 represented a high point for both teams - This remains Wisconsin's only national championship, and this was their last appearance in the National Championship game until 2015, where they lost to the Duke Blue Devils by a score of 68–63. To date, this remains Washington State's sole appearance in the national championship game, and the Cougars would only make 5 more tournament appearances since.