1943 NCAA basketball tournament

The 1943 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 24, 1943, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region. Top-ranked Illinois declined to participate in the NCAA tournament or NIT after three of its starters were drafted into the Army.

1943 NCAA basketball tournament

Teams	8
Finals site	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Champions	Wyoming Cowboys (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Georgetown Hoyas (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	DePaul Blue Demons (1st Final Four) Texas Longhorns (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Everett Shelton (1st title)
MOP	Ken Sailors (Wyoming)
Attendance	56,876
Top scorer	John Hargis (Texas) (59 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1942 1944»

Wyoming, coached by Everett Shelton, won the national title with a 46–34 victory in the final game over Georgetown, coached by Elmer Ripley.^[1][2][3] Ken Sailors of Wyoming was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The Cowboys were the first team in the 5-year history of the tournament to win after making a previous appearance in the tournament, having appeared in the 1941 tournament.

Locations

Only two venues hosted the 1943 tournament:

Regionals

March 24 and 25

East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)

March 26 and 27

West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Championship Game

March 30

Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)

Teams

East Regional - New York City
School	Coach	Conference	Record
Dartmouth	Osborne Cowles	EIBL	19–2
DePaul	Ray Meyer	Independent	18–4
Georgetown	Elmer Ripley	Independent	20–4
NYU	Howard Cann	Metropolitan New York	16–4

West Regional - Kansas City
School	Coach	Conference	Record
Oklahoma	Bruce Drake	Big Six	17–8
Texas	Bully Gilstrap	Southwest	18–6
Washington	Hec Edmundson	Pacific Coast	24–5
Wyoming	Everett Shelton	Mountain States	28–2

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
	Georgetown		55
	NYU		36
						Georgetown		53
						DePaul		49
	DePaul		46
	Dartmouth		35
											Georgetown		34
											Wyoming		46
	Texas		59
	Washington		55
						Texas		54
						Wyoming		58
	Wyoming		53
	Oklahoma		50

Regional third place

East Regional third place       NYU 49 Dartmouth 51

West Regional third place       Washington 43 Oklahoma 48

Source^[1][2][3][4]

See also

• 1943 National Invitation Tournament
• 1943 NAIA Basketball Tournament