1941–42 NCAA men's basketball season

1941–42 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
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 →

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.

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.^[6]

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

Semifinals & final

National Semifinals		National Final

Dartmouth	47

Kentucky	28
		Dartmouth	38

		Stanford	53
Stanford	46

Colorado	35

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

**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	New Coach
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

^ Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
^ 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.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ "1941-42 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 2, 2024.

[1] Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.

[ESPN_526-2] 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] "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

[6] "1941-42 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 2, 2024.

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v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25