1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season

1947–48 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1947–48 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
NCAA Tournament	1948
Tournament dates	March 19 – 23, 1948
National Championship	Madison Square Garden; New York, New York
NCAA Champions	Kentucky
Helms National Champions	Kentucky
Other champions	Saint Louis (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Ed Macauley, Saint Louis
	← 1946–47 1948–49 →

The 1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1947, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1948 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1948, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Kentucky Wildcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 58–42 victory over the Baylor Bears.

Season headlines

In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Kentucky as its national champion for the 1947–48 season.^[1]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Colorado Buffaloes	Skyline Conference	Big Seven Conference
Dickinson College Red Devils	Middle Atlantic States Conference North	No NCAA basketball program
Miami (OH) Redskins	Independent	Mid-American Conference
Washington University Bears	Missouri Valley Conference	Independent
Wayne State Warriors	Mid-American Conference	Independent
Western Michigan Broncos	Independent	Mid-American Conference

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[2]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Seven Conference	Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Michigan	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Yale	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Columbia		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic States Conference North	Muhlenberg		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Skyline Conference	BYU		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1948 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	NC State	None selected	1948 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Duke Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina)	NC State^[3]
Southwest Conference	Baylor	None selected	No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference	Niagara		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Semifinals & finals

National semifinals		National Finals

Kentucky	60

Holy Cross	52
		Kentucky	58

		Baylor	42
Kansas State	52

Baylor	60

Third Place – Holy Cross 60, Kansas State 54

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals			Finals

	Western Kentucky State	53

	Saint Louis	60
				Saint Louis	65

				NYU	52
	NYU	72

	DePaul	59

Third Place – Western Kentucky State 61, DePaul 59

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Ralph Beard	G	Junior	Kentucky
Ed Macauley	F	Junior	Saint Louis
Jim McIntyre	C	Junior	Minnesota
Kevin O'Shea	G	Sophomore	Notre Dame
Murray Wier	G	Senior	Iowa

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Dick Dickey	F	Sophomore	NC State
Arnie Ferrin	F	Senior	Utah
Alex Groza	C	Junior	Kentucky
Hal Haskins	F/G	Sophomore	Hamline
George Kaftan	F	Senior	Holy Cross
Duane Klueh	G	Junior	Indiana State
Tony Lavelli	F	Junior	Yale
Jack Nichols	C	Senior	Washington
Andy Wolfe	G/F	Senior	California

Major player of the year awards

Helms Player of the Year: Ed Macauley, Saint Louis

Other major awards

NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Dolph Schayes, NYU

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Holy Cross	Doggie Julian		Buster Sheary
Rhode Island State	Frank Keaney		Red Haire

References

^ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[ESPN_526-1] ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[3] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24