The 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1949, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the

1950 NCAA basketball tournament The 1950 NCAA basketball tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA college basketball. It began on March 23, 1950, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New ...

championship game on March 28, 1950, 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 City College of New York Beavers won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–68 victory over the

Bradley Braves The Bradley Braves are the intercollegiate athletics teams of Bradley University, located in Peoria, Illinois, United States. The Braves' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the Division I (NCAA), ...

Season headlines

CCNY The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 18 ...

became the only team ever to win both the NCAA tournament and 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 ...

in the same season. CCNY defeated

Bradley Bradley may refer to: People * Bradley (given name) * Bradley (surname) Places In the United Kingdom In England: * Bradley, Cheshire * Bradley, Derbyshire * Bradley (house), a manor in Kingsteignton, Devon * Bradley, Gloucestershire * ...

in the championship game of both tournaments. * Winning the NCAA championship game 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 ...

, CCNY became the first school to win the NCAA championship in its home city. * CCNY became the first NCAA championship team to have an integrated roster of

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

players, starting three African Americans. * Although 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 ...

did not play as a major conference during the season, conference member

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

was ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll of the season.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

Major independents

A total of 46 college teams played as major independents. Among major independents, (27–4) finished with both 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 ...

(.871) and the most wins. Although not considered a major independent during the season, (21–7) played as an independent and was ranked No. 15 in the season's final AP Poll.

Informal championships

NOTE: Despite its name, the

Middle Three Conference The Middle Three Conference was an intercollegiate athletic scheduling alliance from 1929 to 1969. It had three members throughout its 41-year existence: Lafayette College and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and Rutgers University in New Jerse ...

was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In 1949–50, Lafayatte and Rutgers finished tied for the best record in games played between the three members.1949-50 Men's Middle Three Conference Season Summary
@ sports-reference.com

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

* Helms Player of the Year:

Paul Arizin Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 – December 12, 2006), nicknamed "'Pitchin Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired ...

, Villanova * ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: Paul Arizin, Villanova

Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in

metro area): Sherman White,

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 ...

Coaching changes

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1949-50 Ncaa Men's Basketball Season