1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season

1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season
1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season
NCAA Tournament	1948
Tournament dates	March 19 – 23, 1948
National Championship	Madison Square Garden; New York City, New York
NCAA Champions	Kentucky Wildcats
Helms National Champions	Kentucky Wildcats
Other champions	Saint Louis Billikens (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Ed Macauley, Saint Louis Billikens

The 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1947, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1948 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1948, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Kentucky Wildcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–42 victory over the Baylor Bears.

Season headlines

In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Kentucky as its national champion for the 1947–48 season.^[1]
The Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball won the N.I.T^[2]
The dispute among basketball fans over which was more prestigious, the National Invitation Tournament(more commonly referred to as the N.I.T.) or the NCAA Tournament, continued throughout the entire year.^[3]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Colorado Buffaloes	Skyline Conference	Big Seven Conference
Dickinson College Red Devils	Middle Atlantic States Conference North	No NCAA basketball program
Miami (OH) Redskins	Independent	Mid-American Conference
Washington University Bears	Missouri Valley Conference	Independent
Wayne Warriors	Mid-American Conference	Independent
Western Michigan Broncos	Independent	Mid-American Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[4]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Seven Conference	Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Nine Conference	Michigan	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Yale	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Columbia		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Muhlenberg		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	BYU		No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1948 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	NC State	None selected	1948 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Duke Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina)	NC State^[5]
Southwest Conference	Baylor	None selected	No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference	Niagara		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1947–48 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Kansas State	9	–	3	.750	22	–	6	.786
Oklahoma	7	–	5	.583	13	–	9	.591
Missouri	7	–	5	.583	14	–	10	.583
Iowa State	6	–	6	.500	15	–	8	.652
Nebraska	5	–	7	.417	11	–	13	.458
Kansas	4	–	8	.333	9	–	15	.375
Colorado	4	–	8	.333	7	–	14	.333

1947–48 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Michigan	10	–	2	.833	16	–	6	.727
Iowa	8	–	4	.667	15	–	4	.789
Illinois	7	–	5	.583	15	–	5	.750
Wisconsin	7	–	5	.583	12	–	8	.600
Purdue	6	–	6	.500	11	–	9	.550
Minnesota	5	–	7	.417	10	–	10	.500
Ohio State	5	–	7	.417	10	–	10	.500
Indiana	3	–	9	.250	8	–	12	.400
Northwestern	3	–	9	.250	6	–	14	.300

1947–48 Border Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Arizona	12	–	4	.750	19	–	10	.655
Texas Tech	10	–	6	.625	16	–	12	.571
Arizona State–Tempe	9	–	11	.450	13	–	11	.542
Arizona State–Flagstaff	8	–	8	.500	13	–	8	.619
New Mexico	8	–	8	.500	14	–	15	.483
West Texas State	7	–	9	.438	11	–	13	.458
New Mexico A&M	6	–	10	.375	12	–	11	.522
Texas State M&M	6	–	10	.375	13	–	16	.448
Hardin–Simmons	6	–	10	.375	6	–	10	.375

1947–48 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Columbia	11	–	1	.917	20	–	3	.870
Cornell	9	–	3	.750	16	–	9	.640
Princeton	6	–	6	.500	12	–	11	.522
Dartmouth	6	–	6	.500	12	–	12	.500
Pennsylvania	5	–	7	.417	10	–	14	.417
Yale	4	–	8	.333	14	–	13	.519
Harvard	1	–	11	.083	5	–	20	.200

1947–48 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
NYU	5	–	1	.833	22	–	4	.846
CCNY	4	–	1	.800	18	–	3	.857
Fordham	3	–	3	.500	17	–	6	.739
Manhattan	3	–	3	.500	22	–	6	.786
St. John's	3	–	3	.500	12	–	11	.522
St. Francis (NY)	2	–	3	.400	16	–	9	.640
Brooklyn	0	–	6	.000	10	–	10	.500

1947–48 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Cincinnati	7	–	2	.778	17	–	7	.708
Butler	4	–	2	.667	14	–	7	.667
Ohio	4	–	4	.500	10	–	10	.500
Miami (Ohio)	3	–	5	.375	13	–	15	.464
Western Reserve	2	–	6	.250	14	–	10	.583
Western Michigan	1	–	2	.333	12	–	10	.545

1947–48 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Muhlenberg	8	–	0	1.000	21	–	4	.840
Lafayette	5	–	3	.625	12	–	9	.571
Gettysburg	4	–	4	.500	10	–	10	.500
Bucknell	2	–	6	.250	5	–	17	.227
Lehigh	1	–	7	.125	2	–	16	.111

1947–48 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Oklahoma A&M	10	–	0	1.000	27	–	4	.871
Saint Louis	8	–	2	.800	24	–	3	.889
Drake	5	–	5	.500	14	–	12	.538
Creighton	4	–	6	.400	10	–	13	.435
Tulsa	2	–	8	.200	7	–	16	.304
Wichita Municipal	1	–	9	.100	12	–	13	.480

1947–48 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
BYU	8	–	2	.800	16	–	11	.593
Wyoming	6	–	4	.600	18	–	9	.667
Denver	6	–	4	.600	18	–	11	.621
Utah	6	–	4	.600	11	–	9	.550
Utah State	3	–	7	.300	8	–	16	.333
Colorado State	1	–	9	.100	6	–	15	.286

1947–48 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North
Washington †	10	–	6	.625	23	–	11	.676
Oregon State	10	–	6	.625	21	–	13	.618
Washington State	9	–	7	.563	19	–	10	.655
Oregon	8	–	8	.500	18	–	11	.621
Idaho	3	–	13	.188	17	–	15	.531
South
California	11	–	1	.917	25	–	9	.735
USC	7	–	5	.583	14	–	10	.583
UCLA	3	–	9	.250	12	–	13	.480
Stanford	3	–	9	.250	15	–	11	.577

† Conference playoff series winner

1947–48 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Kentucky †	9	–	0	1.000	36	–	3	.923
Tulane	13	–	1	.929	23	–	3	.885
Tennessee	10	–	2	.833	20	–	5	.800
Alabama	8	–	8	.500	15	–	12	.556
Auburn	7	–	7	.500	12	–	10	.545
Georgia	6	–	8	.429	18	–	10	.643
Florida	5	–	7	.417	15	–	10	.600
Georgia Tech	6	–	10	.375	12	–	16	.429
Mississippi State	6	–	10	.375	6	–	12	.333
Ole Miss	5	–	9	.357	11	–	12	.478
LSU	4	–	10	.286	8	–	18	.308
Vanderbilt	4	–	11	.267	8	–	14	.364

† Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner

1947–48 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North Carolina State †	12	–	0	1.000	29	–	3	.906
George Washington	13	–	3	.813	19	–	7	.731
North Carolina	11	–	4	.733	20	–	7	.741
Maryland	9	–	6	.600	11	–	14	.440
Davidson	10	–	7	.588	19	–	9	.679
Virginia Tech	7	–	5	.583	14	–	9	.609
Duke	8	–	6	.571	17	–	12	.586
Wake Forest	8	–	7	.533	18	–	11	.621
William & Mary	8	–	7	.533	13	–	10	.565
South Carolina	8	–	7	.533	12	–	11	.522
Washington and Lee	5	–	9	.357	7	–	17	.292
The Citadel	4	–	8	.333	8	–	9	.471
Richmond	4	–	9	.308	8	–	14	.364
Furman	3	–	10	.231	11	–	15	.423
Clemson	3	–	14	.176	6	–	17	.261
VMI	1	–	12	.077	3	–	16	.158

† Southern Conference Tournament winner

1947–48 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Baylor	11	–	1	.917	24	–	8	.750
Texas	9	–	3	.750	20	–	5	.800
Arkansas	8	–	4	.667	16	–	8	.667
Rice	6	–	6	.500	10	–	14	.417
SMU	5	–	7	.417	13	–	10	.565
Texas A&M	2	–	10	.167	7	–	17	.292
TCU	1	–	11	.083	3	–	20	.130

1947–48 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Niagara	3	–	1	.750	15	–	9	.625
Canisius	2	–	2	.500	10	–	15	.400
St. Bonaventure	1	–	3	.250	12	–	10	.545

1947–48 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Connecticut	6	–	1	.857	17	–	6	.739
Rhode Island State	5	–	1	.833	17	–	6	.739
Vermont	2	–	1	.667	14	–	6	.700
Maine	2	–	5	.286	11	–	7	.611
New Hampshire	2	–	5	.286	5	–	12	.294
Massachusetts	0	–	4	.000	2	–	14	.125

Major independents

A total of 56 college teams played as major independents. Western Kentucky State (28–2) had the best winning percentage (.933) and Louisville (29–6) finished with the most wins.^[6]

1947–48 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Western Kentucky State		–		–	28	–	2	.933
Bradley		–		–	28	–	3	.903
Hamline		–		–	28	–	3	.903
Holy Cross		–		–	26	–	4	.867
West Virginia		–		–	17	–	3	.850
La Salle		–		–	20	–	4	.833
Louisville		–		–	29	–	6	.829
Bowling Green State		–		–	27	–	6	.818
Seton Hall		–		–	18	–	4	.818
LIU		–		–	17	–	4	.810
Toledo		–		–	21	–	5	.808
Indiana State		–		–	27	–	7	.794
Lawrence Tech		–		–	22	–	6	.786
Siena		–		–	22	–	6	.786
Xavier		–		–	24	–	8	.750
Loyola (Ill.)		–		–	26	–	9	.743
Baldwin Wallace		–		–	17	–	6	.739
Duquesne		–		–	17	–	6	.739
Colgate		–		–	14	–	5	.737
DePaul		–		–	22	–	8	.733
Eastern Kentucky State		–		–	17	–	7	.708
Notre Dame		–		–	17	–	7	.708
Marshall		–		–	22	–	11	.667
Montana State		–		–	18	–	9	.667
Montana		–		–	21	–	11	.656
Kent State		–		–	15	–	8	.652
Texas Wesleyan		–		–	19	–	11	.633
Akron		–		–	15	–	9	.625
Villanova		–		–	15	–	9	.625
Virginia		–		–	16	–	10	.615
Rutgers		–		–	14	–	9	.609
Navy		–		–	10	–	7	.588
Boston College		–		–	13	–	10	.565
Michigan State		–		–	12	–	10	.545
St. Joseph's		–		–	13	–	11	.542
San Francisco		–		–	13	–	11	.542
Boston University		–		–	10	–	9	.526
Temple		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Santa Clara		–		–	11	–	11	.500
Pittsburgh		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Washington University		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Penn State		–		–	9	–	10	.474
Army		–		–	8	–	9	.471
Georgetown		–		–	13	–	15	.464
Dayton		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Saint Mary's		–		–	11	–	13	.458
Syracuse		–		–	11	–	13	.458
Youngstown		–		–	10	–	14	.417
John Carroll		–		–	9	–	14	.391
Wayne		–		–	8	–	13	.381
Marquette		–		–	9	–	15	.375
Nevada		–		–	9	–	16	.360
Valparaiso		–		–	8	–	15	.348
Detroit		–		–	7	–	15	.318
Brown		–		–	6	–	14	.300
Scranton		–		–	7	–	20	.259

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Semifinals & finals

National Semifinals		National Finals

Kentucky	60

Holy Cross	52
		Kentucky	58

		Baylor	42
Kansas State	52

Baylor	60	Third place


		Holy Cross	60

		Kansas State	54

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals		Finals

Western Kentucky State	53

Saint Louis	60
		Saint Louis	65

		NYU	52
NYU	72

DePaul	59	Third place


		Western Kentucky State	61

		DePaul	59

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Ralph Beard	G	Junior	Kentucky
Ed Macauley	F	Junior	Saint Louis
Jim McIntyre	C	Junior	Minnesota
Kevin O'Shea	G	Sophomore	Notre Dame
Murray Wier	G	Senior	Iowa

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Dick Dickey	F	Sophomore	NC State
Arnie Ferrin	F	Senior	Utah
Alex Groza	C	Junior	Kentucky
Hal Haskins	F/G	Sophomore	Hamline
George Kaftan	F	Senior	Holy Cross
Duane Klueh	G	Junior	Indiana State
Tony Lavelli	F	Junior	Yale
Jack Nichols	C	Senior	Washington
Andy Wolfe	G/F	Senior	California

Major player of the year awards

Helms Player of the Year: Ed Macauley, Saint Louis

Other major awards

NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Dolph Schayes, NYU

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Holy Cross	Doggie Julian		Buster Sheary
Rhode Island State	Frank Keaney		Red Haire

References

^ 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.
^ "NIT history | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
^ Criblez, Adam J. (November 1, 2018). "Making March Madness: The Early Years of the NCAA, NIT, and College Basketball Championships, 1922-1951". Sport History Review. 49 (2): 206–207. doi:10.1123/shr.2018-0028. ISSN 1543-2947.
^ "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
^ "1947-48 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2024.

[ESPN_526-1] 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.

[2] "NIT history | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved February 18, 2025.

[3] Criblez, Adam J. (November 1, 2018). "Making March Madness: The Early Years of the NCAA, NIT, and College Basketball Championships, 1922-1951". Sport History Review. 49 (2): 206–207. doi:10.1123/shr.2018-0028. ISSN 1543-2947.

[4] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[5] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[6] "1947-48 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2024.

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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 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 2025–26