1931–32 NCAA men's basketball season

{{Infobox NCAA Division I men's basketball season

| year = 1931

| image =

| caption =

| preseason_ap =

| regular_season =

| tourney_start =

| nc_date =

| champ_stad =

| champ_city =

| champ =

| helmschamp = Purdue (retroactive selection in 1943)

| nit_champ =

| cbi_champ =

| playeroftheyear =

| helmspoy = John Wooden, Purdue (retroactive selection in 1944)

}}

The 1931–32 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1931, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1932.

Season headlines

The Border Conference began play, with five original members.
Purdue senior guard John Wooden became the first three-time All-American.{{cite web |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf |title=Playing Rules History |author= |date= |website=ncaa.org |publisher=NCAA |access-date=June 25, 2024 |page=13}}
In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Purdue as its national champion for the 1931–32 season.{{cite web|first=Jon|last=Scott|date=Nov 9, 2010|title=The truth behind the Helms Committee|url=http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/helms.html|access-date=2015-12-14}}
In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Purdue as its national champion for the 1931–32 season.{{cite book|title=ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game|editor-last=ESPN|publisher=ESPN Books|location=New York, NY|year=2009|pages=526, 529–587|ISBN=978-0-345-51392-2}}

Conference membership changes

class="wikitable sortable"

!School

!Former conference

!New conference

| Independent

| Non-major basketball program

| Independent

| Border Conference

{{sort|Arizona State Teachers Flagstaff|Arizona State Teachers–Flagstaff Lumberjacks}}

| Independent

| Border Conference

{{sort|Arizona State Teachers Tempe|Arizona State Teachers Bulldogs}}

Regular season

=Conferences=

== Conference winners and tournaments ==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !Conference !Regular season winner{{cite news\|url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2009/Standings.pdf\|title=2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section\|year= 2009\|publisher=NCAA\|access-date=2009-02-14}} !Conference player of the year !Conference tournament !Tournament venue (City) !Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Kansas	None selected	colspan=3 \|No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Purdue	None selected	colspan=3\|No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona	None selected	colspan=3\|No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Princeton	None selected	colspan=3\|No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Creighton	None selected	colspan=3 \|No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	{{nowrap\|Washington (North)}}; {{nowrap\|USC (South)}}		colspan=3\|No Tournament; USC defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	{{nowrap\|Wyoming (Eastern);}} {{nowrap\|BYU & Utah (Western)}}		colspan=3\|No Tournament
Southern Conference	Kentucky & Maryland	None selected	1932 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta, Georgia)	Georgia[http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/standingsandresults.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section], Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
Southwest Conference	Baylor	None selected	colspan=3\|No Tournament

==Conference standings==

cellpadding="5"

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Border Conference men's basketball standings}}

valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings}}

valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Southern Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings}}

=Major independents=

A total of 84 college teams played as major independents. {{cbb link|year=1931|school=Dakota Wesleyan University|team=Dakota Wesleyan Tigers|title=Dakota Wesleyan}} (19–1) had the best winning percentage (.950), and {{cbb link|year=1931|school=Northwest Missouri State University|team=Northwest Missouri State Bearcats|title=Northwest Missouri State}} (26–2) finished with the most wins.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1932.html |work=Sports Reference |title=1931-32 Men's Independent Season Summary |access-date=July 31, 2024}}

cellpadding="5"

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1931–32 NCAA men's basketball independents standings}}

= Statistical leaders =

Awards

= Consensus All-American team =

style="width:600px" "border:'1' 'solid' 'gray'" \|+ Consensus Team
style="background:#ccc; width:40%;"\| Player ! style="background:#ccc; width:16%;"\| Class ! style="background:#ccc; width:40%;"\| Team
Lou Bender \| Senior \| Columbia
Boze Berger \| Senior \| Maryland
Moose Krause \| Sophomore \| Notre Dame
Forest Sale \| Junior \| Kentucky
Les Witte \| Sophomore \| Wyoming
John Wooden \| Senior \| Purdue

style="width:600px" "border:'1' 'solid' 'gray'"

|+ Consensus Team

style="background:#ccc; width:40%;"| Player

! style="background:#ccc; width:16%;"| Class

! style="background:#ccc; width:40%;"| Team

| Senior

| Senior