1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
Teams	8
Finals site	Madison Square Garden New York City
Champions	Utah (1st title)
Runner-up	Dartmouth (2nd title game)
Semifinalists	Iowa State (1st Final Four) Ohio State (2nd Final Four)
Winning coach	Vadal Peterson (1st title)
MOP	Arnie Ferrin Utah
Attendance	59,369
Top scorer	Audley Brindley Dartmouth (52 points)
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments «1943  1945»

The 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 24, 1944, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City. A total of 9 games were played, including a third place game in each region.

Utah, coached by Vadal Peterson, won the national title with a 42-40 victory in the final game over Dartmouth, coached by Earl Brown. Arnie Ferrin of Utah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Utah became the first team to play in both the NIT and NCAA tournament in the same season. Utah was given a second chance to play in the NCAA Tournament after an accident injured the University of Arkansas team

Locations

Region	Site	Other Locations
East	New York, New York
West	Kansas City, Missouri
Finals	New York, New York

Teams

Region	Seed	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East
East	n/a	Catholic	John Long	Independent	Regional Fourth Place	Temple	L 55-35
East	n/a	Dartmouth	Earl Brown	Ivy League	Runner Up	Utah	L 42-40
East	n/a	Ohio State	Harold Olsen	Big Ten	National Semifinals	Dartmouth	L 60-53
East	n/a	Temple	Josh Cody	Middle Atlantic	Regional Third Place	Catholic	W 55-35
West
West	n/a	Iowa State	Louis Menze	Big Eight	National Semifinals	Utah	L 40-31
West	n/a	Missouri	George Edwards	Big Eight	Regional Third Place	Pepperdine	W 61-46
West	n/a	Pepperdine	Al Duer	CCAA	Regional Fourth Place	Missouri	L 61-46
West	n/a	Utah	Vadal Peterson	Skyline	Champion	Dartmouth	W 42-40

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		Dartmouth	63
		Catholic	38
							Dartmouth	60
							Ohio State	53
		Ohio State	57
		Temple	47
												Dartmouth	40
												Utah	42*
		Iowa State	44
		Pepperdine	39
							Iowa State	31
							Utah	40
		Utah	45
		Missouri	35

See also

• 1944 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament