The 1901–02 collegiate men's basketball season in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
began in December 1901, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1902.
Rule changes
* An early form of
dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
A ...
became legal; previously, players were not allowed to bounce the ball at all and could advance it only by passing.
[Hoop Tactics "The Evolution of Basketball: A Chronological Look At The Major Refinements" Accessed 15 May 2021]
/ref> The new dribbling rule did not permit continuous dribbling in the modern sense; instead, a player could bounce a ball only once and then recover it, and the bounce had to be higher than his head.[ A player was allowed to bounce and recover the ball in this way as many times in a row as he wanted or pass the ball to another player after any single-bounce dribble, but he was not allowed to shoot the ball after a dribble.]
/ref> The rule limited dribbling to a defensive tactic in which a player in effect passed the ball to himself.[ Continuous dribbling — dribbling in its modern sense — was not permitted until the 1909–10 season.][
]
Season headlines
* The Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
The Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League was an athletic conference for men's college basketball, beginning with the 1901–02 season and ending with the 1954–55 season. Its membership ranged from four to eight members; all of these te ...
began play, with five original members.
* Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
went undefeated (15–0).
* In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
retroactively selected Minnesota as its national champion for the 1901–02 season.Premo-Porretta Power Poll
The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons.
The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...
retroactively selected Minnesota as its national champion for the 1901–02 season.
Conference membership changes
Regular season
Conference winners
NOTE: The Western Conference (the future Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
) did not sponsor an official conference season or recognize a regular-season champion until the 1905–06 season. In 1901–02, Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
(15–0) went undefeated.
Statistical leaders
Coaching changes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1901-02 college basketball season in the United States