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1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season

{{Short description|Men's collegiate basketball season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NCAA Division I men's basketball season

| year = 1950

| image =

| caption =

| preseason_ap = None

| regular_season =

| tourney_start = March 20

| nc_date = 27, 1951

| champ_stad = Williams Arena

| champ_city = Minneapolis, Minnesota

| champ = Kentucky

| helmschamp = Kentucky

| nit_champ = BYU

| cbi_champ =

| playeroftheyear =

| helmspoy = Dick Groat, Duke

}}

The 1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1950, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1951 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1951, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Kentucky Wildcats won their third NCAA national championship with a 68–58 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats.

Season headlines

  • The United Press (later United Press International) Coaches Poll made its debut.
  • After a two-season hiatus during which its teams competed as non-major programs, the Border Conference resumed basketball competition as a major conference.
  • During January and February 1951, the CCNY point-shaving scandal was revealed. Over the next few months, it results in the arrests of 32 players from seven schools for point shaving in 86 games between 1947 and 1950.Goldstein, Joe, [https://www.espn.com/classic/s/basketball_scandals_explosion.html "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops"] - ESPN - November 19, 2003
  • The NCAA tournament expanded for the first time, from eight to 16 teams.
  • Conference champions qualified automatically for the NCAA tournament for the first time.{{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=11}}
  • Columbia (21–0) became the first undefeated team to play in an NCAA tournament. The Lions lost to Illinois 79-71 in the first round.

Season outlook

= Pre-season polls =

{{main|1950–51 NCAA men's basketball rankings}}

The Top 20 from the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.{{cite book |title=ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia |isbn=978-0-345-51392-2 |publisher=Random House |date=2009 |page=836}}{{cite web |url=http://www.collegepollarchive.com/mbasketball/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=407|title=1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll|publisher=College Poll Archive|accessdate=August 8, 2020}}

style="vertical-align:top;"

|

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!colspan=2| UP Coaches

Ranking

!Team

1

|CCNY

2

|Bradley

3

|Kentucky

4

|NC State

5

|Kansas

6

|Oklahoma A&M

7

|Long Island

8

|Iowa

9

|St. John's

10

|Indiana

11

|UCLA

12

|Kansas State

rowspan=3|13
(tie)

|Arkansas

Syracuse
Western Kentucky State
16

|Washington

rowspan=2|17
(tie)

|DePaul

Illinois
19

|Ohio State

20

|BYU

|}

Conference membership changes

class="wikitable sortable"

!School

!Former conference

!New conference

{{sort|Butler|Butler Bulldogs}}

| Mid-American Conference

| Independent

{{sort|Houston|Houston Cougars}}

| Non-major basketball program

| Missouri Valley Conference

{{sort|Wayne State|Wayne Warriors}}

| Independent

| No NCAA basketball program

{{sort|West Virginia|West Virginia Mountaineers}}

| Independent

| Southern Conference

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 Seven ConferenceKansas StateNone selectedcolspan=3 |No Tournament
Big Ten ConferenceIllinoisNone selectedcolspan=3|No Tournament
Border ConferenceArizonacolspan=3|No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball LeagueColumbiaNone selectedcolspan=3|No Tournament
Metropolitan New York ConferenceSt. John'scolspan=3 |No Tournament
Mid-American ConferenceCincinnatiNone selectedcolspan=3|No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference{{nowrap|Oklahoma A&M}}None selectedcolspan=3 |No Tournament
Ohio Valley ConferenceMurray StateNone selected1951 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournamentJefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)Murray State
Pacific Coast Conference{{nowrap|Washington (North)}}; {{nowrap|UCLA (South)}}colspan=3|No Tournament;
Washington defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Skyline ConferenceBYUcolspan=3|No Tournament
|Southeastern ConferenceKentuckyNone selected1951 SEC men's basketball tournamentJefferson County Armory,
(Louisville, Kentucky)		Vanderbilt
Southern ConferenceNC StateNone selected1951 Southern Conference men's basketball tournamentReynolds Coliseum
(Raleigh, {{nowrap|North Carolina)}}		NC State[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 ConferenceTexas, {{nowrap|Texas A&M}}, & TCUNone selectedcolspan=3|No Tournament
Western New York Little Three ConferenceSt. Bonaventurecolspan=3|No Tournament
Yankee ConferenceConnecticutNone selectedcolspan=3|No Tournament

==Conference standings==

cellpadding="5"

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Border Conference men's basketball standings}}

valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings}}

valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings}}

valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Southern Conference men's basketball standings}}

valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings}}

=Major independents=

A total of 44 college teams played as major independents. Among them, {{cbb link|year=1950|school=University of Dayton|team=Dayton Flyers|title=Dayton}} (27–5) finished with both the best winning percentage (.844) and the most wins.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1951.html |work=Sports Reference |title=1950-51 Men's Independent Season Summary |access-date=August 7, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/middle-three/men/1951.html |work=Sports Reference |title=1950-51 Men's Middle Three Conference Season Summary |access-date=August 7, 2024}}

cellpadding="5"

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1950–51 NCAA men's basketball independents standings}}

= Informal championships =

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

Middle Three ConferenceRutgersNone selectedcolspan=3|No Tournament

NOTE: Despite its name, the Middle Three Conference was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In 1950–51, Rutgers finished with the best record in games played between the three members.

= Statistical leaders =

{{empty section|date=April 2021}}

Post-season tournaments

= NCAA tournament =

{{main|1951 NCAA basketball tournament|1951 NCAA Basketball Championship Game}}

== Semifinals & finals ==

{{4TeamBracket |seeds=no | RD1=National Semifinals | RD2=National Finals | RD2b=Third place

| RD1-seed1=

| RD1-team1=Illinois

| RD1-score1=74

| RD1-seed2=

| RD1-team2=Kentucky

| RD1-score2=76

| RD1-seed3=

| RD1-team3=Kansas State

| RD1-score3=68

| RD1-seed4=

| RD1-team4=Oklahoma A&M

| RD1-score4=44

| RD2-seed1=

| RD2-team1=Kentucky

| RD2-score1=68

| RD2-seed2=

| RD2-team2=Kansas State

| RD2-score2=58

| RD2b-seed1=

| RD2b-team1=Illinois

| RD2b-score1=61

| RD2b-seed2=

| RD2b-team2=Oklahoma A&M

| RD2b-score2=46

}}

= National Invitation tournament =

{{main|1951 National Invitation Tournament}}

== Semifinals & finals ==

{{4TeamBracket |seeds=no | RD1=Semifinals | RD2=Finals | RD2b=Third place

| RD1-seed1= 

| RD1-team1=BYU

| RD1-score1=69

| RD1-seed2= 

| RD1-team2=Seton Hall

| RD1-score2=59

| RD1-seed3= 

| RD1-team3=St. John's

| RD1-score3=62

| RD1-seed4= 

| RD1-team4=Dayton

| RD1-score4=69

| RD2-seed1= 

| RD2-team1=BYU

| RD2-score1=62

| RD2-seed2= 

| RD2-team2=Dayton

| RD2-score2=43

| RD2b-seed1= 

| RD2b-team1=Seton Hall

| RD2b-score1=68

| RD2b-seed2= 

| RD2b-team2=St. John's

| RD2b-score2=70

}}

Awards

= Consensus All-American teams =

{{main|1951 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans}}

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

|+ Consensus First Team

bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:40%" | Player

! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:4%" | Position

! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:16%" | Class

! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:40%" | Team

Clyde Lovellette

| C

| Junior

| Kansas

Gene Melchiorre

| G

| Senior

| Bradley

Bill Mlkvy

| F

| Junior

| Temple

Sam Ranzino

| G

| Senior

| North Carolina State

Bill Spivey

| C

| Junior

| Kentucky


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

|+ Consensus Second Team

bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:40%" | Player

! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:4%" | Position

! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:16%" | Class

! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="width:40%" | Team

Ernie Barrett

| G/F

| Senior

| Kansas State

Bill Garrett

| F

| Senior

| Indiana

Dick Groat

| G

| Junior

| Duke

Mel Hutchins

| F/C

| Senior

| BYU

Gale McArthur

| G

| Senior

| Oklahoma A&M

= Major player of the year awards =

= Other major awards =

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!Team

!Former
Coach

!Interim
Coach

!New
Coach

!Reason

Iowa

| Rollie Williams

|

| Bucky O'Connor

|

John Carroll

|Elmer Ripley

|

|Fred George{{cite news|title=2021 John Carroll Blue Streaks men's basketball history & records guide, page 28|url= https://s3.amazonaws.com/jcusports.com/documents/2021/1/28/Men_s_Basketball_Media_Guide.pdf |date=|access-date=May 9, 2021|work=John Carroll Blue Streaks}}

|

Notre Dame

| Moose Krause

|

| John Jordan

|

Stanford

| Everett Dean

|

| Bob Burnett

|

References

{{Reflist|2}}

{{NCAA Division I men's basketball season navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1950-51 Ncaa Men's Basketball Season}}