1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season
| 1951–52 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| Preseason AP No. 1 | None |
| NCAA Tournament | 1952 |
| Tournament dates | March 21, 1952 – March 26, 1952 |
| National Championship | Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington |
| NCAA Champions | Kansas Jayhawks |
| Helms National Champions | Kansas Jayhawks |
| Other champions | La Salle Explorers (NIT) |
| Player of the Year (Helms) | Clyde Lovellette, Kansas |
Season headlines
Harlem Globetrotters vs. Seattle University
On January 21, 1952, the Harlem Globetrotters played Seattle in a game designed to raise funds for the United States Olympic efforts. Five days before the game was held, Royal Brougham received a call from Howard Hobson, who was the Yale basketball coach and a United States Olympic Committee member. It was reported that money was needed to support the country's Olympic effort for the games held in Helsinki, Finland. The Globetrotters had agreed to a three-game fund-raiser against college teams in the West, Midwest and East.[1]
Tickets cost $1.50 and they were sold out in 48 hours.[1] Jazz great Louis Armstrong played at halftime and actress Joan Caulfield performed a ceremonial opening tip off. The game was played at the University of Washington's Hec Edmondson Pavilion and was filled to its 12,500 capacity.
The Globetrotters were considered the best basketball team in the world and the club paid their two star players "Goose" Tatum and Marques Hayes twenty five thousand dollars each.[2] Entering the game with Seattle, the Globetrotters had played 3571 games winning 93 percent of their contests.[2]
Seattle player Johnny O'Brien was the nation's leading scorer at that time. O'Brien would become the first player in the history of college basketball to score 1000 points in a single season.[3] He would finish the season with 1,051 points. Against the Globetrotters, O'Brien poured in 43 points. Johnny's brother Eddie played point guard for Chieftains and his half court shot lifted the club to a 10-point lead.
After halftime, the Globetrotters got back in the game as Johnny O'Brien sat out most of the third quarter. With seconds left in the game, the Globetrotters called a time out they did not have. A free throw was made by Johnny O'Brien and there was a possession change. The Chieftains were ahead 84–81.
Globetrotter owner Abe Saperstein was so upset that he canceled the rest of the Trotters benefit schedule that year.[2]
Other
- Long Island University began the first of their six-year ban from playing NCAA basketball due to a point shaving scandal discovered in 1951.[4][5]
Major rule changes
Beginning in 1951–52, the following rules change was implemented:
- Games were played in four 10-minute quarters.[6]
Regular season
Conference winners and tournaments
Statistical leaders
| "Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Assists Per Game | Field Goal Percentage | |||||||||||
| Player | School | PPG | Player | School | RPG | Player | School | APG | Player | School | FG% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Lovellette | Kansas | 28.4 | Bill Hannon | Army | 20.9 | Tom O'Toole | Boston College | 7.9 | Art Spoelstra | W. Kentucky | 51.6 | |||
| Dick Groat | Duke | 26.0 | Walter Dukes | Seton Hall | 19.7 | Dick Groat | Duke | 7.6 | Gerald Rogers | Tex. Western | 50.4 | |||
| Bob Pettit | LSU | 25.5 | Ernie Beck | Penn | 19.0 | Malcolm McLean | Davidson | 7.5 | Norm Swanson | Detroit | 50.3 | |||
| Chuck Darling | Iowa | 25.5 | Elston Tuttle | Creighton | 18.9 | Larry Friedman | Muhlenberg | 7.3 | Karl Klinar | VMI | 49.2 | |||
| Frank Selvy | Furman | 24.6 | Bill Chambers | William & Mary | 18.2 | Roger Chadwick | Cornell | 6.9 | Tom Marshall | W. Kentucky | 49.1 | |||
| Free Throw Percentage | ||
| Name | School | FT% |
|---|---|---|
| Sy Chadroff | Miami (FL) | 80.5 |
| Bob Kenney | Kansas | 80.3 |
| Drew Turner | St. Mary's (CA) | 80.2 |
| Tommy Bartlett | Tennessee | 80.2 |
| Russell Rerucha | Colorado A&M | 80.0 |
Year-end polls
The final regular-season top 20 from the AP and Coaches Polls.[10]
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Postseason tournaments
NCAA Tournament
Phog Allen led the Kansas Jayhawks to their first NCAA Tournament title, defeating St. John's 80–63. Jayhawk All-American Clyde Lovellette broke the NCAA record by scoring 141 points in the tournament and was named tournament Most Outstanding Player.[10]
Final Four
| National Semifinals | National Championship Game | ||||||||
| St. John's | 61 | ||||||||
| Illinois | 59 | ||||||||
| St. John's | 63 | ||||||||
| Kansas | 80 | ||||||||
| Kansas | 74 | ||||||||
| Santa Clara | 55 | ||||||||
- Third Place – Illinois 67, Santa Clara 64
National Invitation Tournament
La Salle won the National Invitation Tournament by beating Dayton, 75–64. Tom Gola and Norm Grekin were named co-MVPs.[11]
NIT semifinals and final
Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| St. Bonaventure | 62 | ||||||||
| Dayton | 69 | ||||||||
| Dayton | 64 | ||||||||
| La Salle | 75 | ||||||||
| Duquesne | 46 | ||||||||
| La Salle | 59 | ||||||||
- Third Place – St. Bonaventure 48, Duquesne 34
Award winners
Consensus All-American team
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Darling | C | Senior | Iowa |
| Rod Fletcher | G | Senior | Illinois |
| Dick Groat | G | Senior | Duke |
| Cliff Hagan | F | Junior | Kentucky |
| Clyde Lovellette | C | Senior | Kansas |
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Houbregs | F | Junior | Washington |
| Don Meineke | F | Senior | Dayton |
| Johnny O'Brien | G | Junior | Seattle |
| Mark Workman | C | Senior | West Virginia |
| Bob Zawoluk | F | Senior | St. John's |
Major player of the year awards
Other major awards
- NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC): Ron MacGilvray, St. John's
References
- ^ a b Raley, Dan (2002-01-20). "Fifty years ago tonight, Seattle U. upset the mighty Globetrotters". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.goseattleu.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=89901&SPID=10773&DB_OEM_ID=18200&ATCLID=3638805
- ^ Anderson, Dave (22 March 1998). "When Sherman White Threw It All Away". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ "2009–10 LIU Blackbirds Men's Basketball Media Guide" (Flash). issuu.com. Long Island University. 2009. p. 69. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2009-05-09. Archived 2009-05-13.
- ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ a b http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1952
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Statistical Leaders from 1953 Official Collegiate Basketball Record Book, (Copyright 1952, National Collegiate Athletic Bureau)