1937–38 NCAA men's basketball season
| 1937–38 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| Helms National Champions | Temple (retroactive selection in 1943) |
| Other champions | Temple (NIT) |
| Player of the Year (Helms) | Hank Luisetti, Stanford (retroactive selection in 1944) |
The 1937–38 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1937, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1938.
Rule changes
After a field goal, the opposing team receives possession of the ball. Previously, a jump ball at center court had taken place after every field goal.[1]
Season headlines
- The New England Conference played its first season at the major-program level.
- The Northern California Conference began play.
- The Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association founded the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which was played for the first time in 1938. A field of six teams participated, with the Temple Owls winning the first NIT championship. Although the NCAA tournament began play the following season, the NIT, playing its games at Madison Square Garden and easily accessible to the New York City media, was considered the more glamorous and prestigious of the two tournaments until at least the mid-1950s [2]
- In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Temple as its national champion for the 1937–38 season.[3]
- In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Temple as its national champion for the 1937–38 season.[4]
Conference membership changes
| School | Former conference | New conference |
|---|---|---|
Tigers
|
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | Non-major basketball program |
| Northeastern Huskies | Non-major basketball program | New England Conference |
| Pacific Tigers | Non-major basketball program | Northern California Conference |
| Saint Louis Billikens | Independent | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Saint Mary's (Calif.) Gaels | Independent | Northern California Conference |
| San Francisco Dons | Independent | Northern California Conference |
| San Jose State Spartans | Non-major basketball program | Northern California Conference |
| Santa Clara Broncos | Independent | Northern California Conference |
| Virginia Cavaliers | Southern Conference | Independent |
Regular season
Conference winners and tournaments
Statistical leaders
![[icon]](/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021) |
Post-Season Tournaments
National Invitation Tournament
Semifinals & finals
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
Oklahoma A&M
| 55 | ||||||||
| Temple | 56 | ||||||||
| Temple | 60 | ||||||||
| Colorado | 36 | ||||||||
| Colorado | 48 | ||||||||
| NYU | 47 | ||||||||
- Third Place – Oklahoma A&M 37, NYU 24
Awards
Consensus All-American team
| Player | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Meyer Bloom | Senior | Temple |
| Hank Luisetti | Senior | Stanford |
| John Moir | Senior | Notre Dame |
| Paul Nowak | Senior | Notre Dame |
| Fred Pralle | Senior | Kansas |
| Jewell Young | Senior | Purdue |
Major player of the year awards
- Helms Player of the Year: Hank Luisetti, Stanford (retroactive selection in 1944)
Other major awards
- CCNY
Coaching changes
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021) |
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach |
Interim Coach |
New Coach |
Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown | Fred Mesmer | Elmer Ripley | Mesmer stepped aside after seven seasons to allow Ripley to return for a second stint as head coach. | |
| Indiana | Everett Dean | Branch McCracken | ||
| Oklahoma | Hugh McDermott | Bruce Drake | ||
| Stanford | John Bunn | Everett Dean |
References
- ^ orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
- ^ Anonymous, "How the NCAA Overtook Its Rival, the NIT," Sport History Weekly, March 24, 2019 Accessed May 4, 2021
- ^ Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- 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