The 1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1944, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the

1945 NCAA basketball tournament The 1945 NCAA basketball tournament was an eight-team single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college basketball. It began on March 22, 1945, and ended with the ch ...

championship game on March 27, 1945, at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The Oklahoma A&M Aggies won their first NCAA national championship with a 49–45 victory over the

NYU Violets NYU Violets is the nickname of the sports teams and other competitive teams at New York University. The school colors are purple and white. Although officially known as the Violets, the school mascot is a bobcat. The Violets compete as a member o ...

Rule changes

* Defensive

goaltending Goaltending is a violation of the rules in the sport of basketball. It consists of certain forms of player interference with the ball while it is on its way to the basket. It is goaltending if a player touches the ball when it is (a) in downwar ...

was prohibited.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
/ref> * A player fouls out after committing five

fouls Foul may refer to: __NOTOC__ In sports * Foul (sports), an unfair or illegal act during a sports competition, including: ** Foul (association football), in football (soccer) ** Professional foul, in football (soccer) or rugby ** Foul (basketbal ...

, including fouls committed in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

. Previously, a player fouled out after committing four fouls in regulation or a fifth foul in overtime. * Unlimited substitution is permitted for the first time. Previously, a player could re-enter a game only twice. * No offensive player may stand in the free-throw lane (also known as the "

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

") for more than three seconds.

Season headlines

*More than 18,000 fans attended the final installment of an annual

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

benefit game between the NCAA Tournament and NIT champions at

. Oklahoma A&M, led by

Bob Kurland Robert Albert Kurland (December 23, 1924 – September 29, 2013) was a American basketball center, who played for the two-time NCAA champion Oklahoma A&M Aggies (now Oklahoma State Cowboys) basketball team. He led the U.S. basketball team to go ...

, defeated

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of t ...

's DePaul 52–44. Kurland scored 14 points while Mikan scored 9 before fouling out in only 14 minutes of playing time. * In 1995, the

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

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

as its national champion for the 1944–45 season.

Major rule changes

Beginning in 1944–45, the following rules changes were implemented: *Along with the ball on the rim, defensive interference by touching the ball after it had started its downward flight during an opponent's field goal attempt was declared a goal for the shooting team. *Five personal fouls disqualify a player. An extra foul was not permitted in overtime games. *Unlimited substitution was permitted. *It became a violation for an offensive player to remain in the free-throw lane for more than three seconds.

Premo-Porretta Power Poll

In 1995, the

retroactively ranked teams during the 1944–45 as follows by reviewing results, opponents, and margins of victory.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

Statistical leaders

* Scoring leader –

averaged 23.3 points per game and was retroactively declared the "unofficial" season scoring leader. Between 1935–36 and 1946–47, there were no official NCAA scoring champions. The statistics during that era were compiled from the ''National Basketball Committee Official Basketball Guide'', which was not regulated by NCAA authorities. Therefore, those players are included in the annual NCAA men's basketball media guide, but are listed as unofficial season scoring leaders. No other personal statistics were tracked during the 1944–45 basketball season.

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Semifinals & finals

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

* Third Place – St. John's 64, Rhode Island State 57

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

Helms Foundation Player of the Year The Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year was an annual men's college basketball award given to the most outstanding men′s player in the United States. It was awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation, an organization founded in ...

, DePaul * ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: George Mikan, DePaul

Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC area): Bill Kotsores, St. John's

Coaching changes

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1944-45 Ncaa Men's Basketball Season