The 1945–46 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1945, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the

1946 NCAA basketball tournament The 1946 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 21, 1946, and ended with the championship game on ...

championship game on March 26, 1946, 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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

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

. The Oklahoma A&M Aggies won their second NCAA national championship with a 43–40 victory over the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

Season headlines

* The Middle Atlantic States Conference North began play, with five original members. * The

New England Conference The New England Conference (full name: New England College Conference of Intercollegiate Athletics) was a collegiate sports conference in the Eastern United States, more specifically in New England, that operated from 1923 to 1947. As four of its ...

disbanded at the end of the season. * The 1946 NCAA tournament was the first NCAA tournament in which four teams (

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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 ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, and Oklahoma A&M) advanced to the finals site. However, they advanced from two regional sites, so the NCAA does not consider the first "true" Final Four to have occurred until the 1952 tournament, when the four teams advanced from four separate regional sites. * The NCAA tournament began holding a national third-place game between the teams which lost in the semifinals. The national third-place game continued through the 1981 tournament. * Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M became the first player to dunk in the NCAA championship game, doing so twice late in the game on March 26. * Oklahoma A&M defeated

43–40 in the championship game of the 1946 NCAA tournament, becoming the first school to repeat as NCAA champion, following its tournament championship in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

. * Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M became the first two-time

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

. He previously had received the honor in

. * For the first time, the NCAA tournament championship game was televised.

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...

aired the game locally 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 ...

, with an estimated viewership of 500,000. * 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 as its national champion for the 1945–46 season.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

Major independents

A total of 54 college teams played as major independents. (14–1) 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 ...

Season headlines

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

Major independents

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Semifinals & finals

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

References