The 1940–41 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1940, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1941 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 29, 1941, at Municipal Auditorium in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. The

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

won their first NCAA national championship with a 39–34 victory over the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

Season headlines

* The

Border Conference The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 school year. Centered in the southwestern Unite ...

and the

Metropolitan New York Conference Membership Regular season champions Men's basketball *1934 *1935 DNP *1936 *1937 *1938 *1939 Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into ...

did not play as conferences during the season. Their members competed as independents. * The

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

— considered by some until at least the mid-1950s to be more prestigious than the NCAA tournament — expanded from six to eight teams. * The

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...

turned over operation of the NCAA tournament to the NCAA itself. * George Glamack of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

became the first player to score 30 or more points in an NCAA tournament game, scoring 31 points against Dartmouth in a regional third-place game of the 1941 NCAA basketball tournament on March 22, 1941. * 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 owner ...

retroactively selected

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

as its national champion for the 1940–41 season. * 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

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

as its national champion for the 1940–41 season.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

Major independents

A total of 73 college teams played as major independents. (25–2) had the best

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

(.926) and finished with the most wins.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Semifinals & final

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: George Glamack,

(retroactive selection in 1944)

Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

metro area): Jack Garfinkel, St. John's

Coaching changes

References

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