1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1950, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1951 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1951, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Kentucky Wildcats won their third NCAA national championship with a 68–58 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats.

1950–51 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1951
Tournament dates	March 20 – 27, 1951
National Championship	Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota
NCAA Champions	Kentucky
Helms National Champions	Kentucky
Other champions	BYU (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Dick Groat, Duke

Season headlines

• The United Press (later United Press International) Coaches Poll made its debut.
• After a two-season hiatus during which its teams competed as non-major programs, the Border Conference resumed basketball competition as a major conference.
• During January and February 1951, the CCNY point-shaving scandal was revealed. Over the next few months, it results in the arrests of 32 players from seven schools for point shaving in 86 games between 1947 and 1950.
• The NCAA tournament expanded for the first time, from eight to 16 teams.
• Conference champions qualified automatically for the NCAA tournament for the first time.
• Columbia (21–0) became the first undefeated team to play in an NCAA tournament. The Lions lost to Illinois 79-71 in the first round.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1950–51 NCAA men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.

UP Coaches Ranking Team 1 CCNY 2 Bradley 3 Kentucky 4 NC State 5 Kansas 6 Oklahoma A&M 7 Long Island 8 Iowa 9 St. John's 10 Indiana 11 UCLA 12 Kansas State 13 (tie) Arkansas Syracuse Western Kentucky State 16 Washington 17 (tie) DePaul Illinois 19 Ohio State 20 BYU

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Butler Bulldogs	Mid-American Conference	Independent
Houston Cougars	Non-major basketball program	Missouri Valley Conference
Wayne Warriors	Independent	No NCAA basketball program
West Virginia Mountaineers	Independent	Southern Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Seven Conference	Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Illinois	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona		No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Columbia	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. John's		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Murray State	None selected	1951 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Murray State
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington (North); UCLA (South)		No Tournament; Washington defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Skyline Conference	BYU		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1951 SEC men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky)	Vanderbilt
Southern Conference	NC State	None selected	1951 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Southwest Conference	Texas, Texas A&M, & TCU	None selected	No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference	St. Bonaventure		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1950–51 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Kansas State 11 – 1   .917 25 – 4   .862 Kansas 8 – 4   .667 16 – 8   .667 Missouri 8 – 4   .667 16 – 8   .667 Oklahoma 6 – 6   .500 14 – 10   .583 Nebraska 4 – 8   .333 9 – 14   .391 Iowa State 3 – 9   .250 9 – 12   .429 Colorado 2 – 10   .167 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Illinois 13 – 1   .929 22 – 5   .815 No. 7 Indiana 12 – 2   .857 19 – 3   .864 Iowa 9 – 5   .643 15 – 7   .682 Minnesota 7 – 7   .500 13 – 9   .591 Northwestern 7 – 7   .500 12 – 10   .545 Wisconsin 7 – 7   .500 10 – 12   .455 Michigan State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 11   .476 Purdue 4 – 10   .286 8 – 14   .364 Michigan 3 – 11   .214 7 – 15   .318 Ohio State 3 – 11   .214 6 – 16   .273 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Border Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 12 Arizona 15 – 1   .938 24 – 6   .800 New Mexico A&M 10 – 6   .625 19 – 14   .576 Texas Tech 10 – 6   .625 14 – 14   .500 New Mexico 9 – 7   .563 13 – 11   .542 West Texas State 9 – 7   .563 14 – 12   .538 Hardin–Simmons 6 – 10   .375 13 – 15   .464 Arizona State–Tempe 6 – 10   .375 9 – 16   .360 Texas Western 4 – 12   .250 10 – 15   .400 Arizona State–Flagstaff 3 – 13   .188 8 – 19   .296 Rankings from AP Poll
1950–51 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Columbia 12 – 0   1.000 21 – 1   .955 Cornell 10 – 2   .833 20 – 5   .800 Pennsylvania 7 – 5   .583 19 – 8   .704 Princeton 5 – 7   .417 15 – 7   .682 Yale 4 – 8   .333 14 – 13   .519 Harvard 3 – 9   .250 8 – 18   .308 Dartmouth 1 – 11   .083 3 – 23   .115 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 St. John's (NY) 6 – 0   1.000 26 – 5   .839 Fordham 3 – 3   .500 19 – 8   .704 NYU 3 – 2   .600 12 – 4   .750 Manhattan 3 – 2   .600 16 – 6   .727 CCNY 2 – 2   .500 12 – 7   .632 St. Francis (NY) 1 – 5   .167 19 – 11   .633 Brooklyn 0 – 5   .000 9 – 7   .563 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 17 Cincinnati 7 – 1   .875 18 – 4   .818 Western Michigan 4 – 4   .500 13 – 9   .591 Ohio 4 – 4   .500 13 – 11   .542 Miami (Ohio) 4 – 4   .500 10 – 13   .435 Western Reserve 1 – 7   .125 3 – 7   .300 Rankings from AP Poll
1950–51 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Oklahoma A&M 12 – 2   .857 29 – 6   .829 No. 6 Bradley 11 – 3   .786 32 – 6   .842 No. 10 Saint Louis 11 – 3   .786 22 – 8   .733 Detroit 7 – 7   .500 17 – 14   .548 Wichita Municipal 5 – 9   .357 9 – 16   .360 Drake 4 – 10   .286 11 – 14   .440 Tulsa 4 – 10   .286 10 – 17   .370 Houston 2 – 12   .143 11 – 17   .393 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 11 BYU 15 – 5   .750 28 – 9   .757 Wyoming 13 – 7   .650 26 – 11   .703 Utah 12 – 8   .600 23 – 13   .639 Denver 8 – 12   .400 14 – 16   .467 Colorado A&M 6 – 14   .300 13 – 20   .394 Utah State 6 – 14   .300 12 – 22   .353 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 Murray State† –   – 21 – 6   .778 Eastern Kentucky State –   – 18 – 8   .692 Evansville –   – 23 – 7   .767 Western Kentucky State –   – 19 – 10   .655 Morehead State –   – 14 – 12   .538 Marshall –   – 13 – 13   .500 Tennessee Tech –   – 12 – 9   .571 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1950–51 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North No. 15 Washington † 11 – 5   .688 24 – 6   .800 Oregon 10 – 6   .625 18 – 13   .581 Washington State 7 – 9   .438 17 – 15   .531 Idaho 6 – 10   .375 15 – 14   .517 Oregon State 6 – 10   .375 14 – 18   .438 South UCLA 8 – 4   .667 19 – 10   .655 No. 19 USC 8 – 4   .667 21 – 6   .778 Stanford 5 – 7   .417 12 – 14   .462 California 3 – 9   .250 16 – 16   .500 † Conference playoff series winner Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Kentucky 14 – 0   1.000 32 – 2   .941 Vanderbilt † 10 – 4   .714 19 – 8   .704 Alabama 10 – 4   .714 15 – 8   .652 Tulane 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Auburn 6 – 8   .429 12 – 10   .545 Georgia 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542 Florida 6 – 8   .429 11 – 12   .478 LSU 6 – 8   .429 10 – 14   .417 Georgia Tech 6 – 8   .429 8 – 19   .296 Ole Miss 5 – 9   .357 12 – 12   .500 Tennessee 5 – 9   .357 10 – 13   .435 Mississippi State 2 – 12   .143 3 – 16   .158 † 1951 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 North Carolina State † 13 – 1   .929 30 – 7   .811 West Virginia 9 – 3   .750 18 – 9   .667 Clemson 9 – 4   .692 11 – 7   .611 William & Mary 13 – 6   .684 20 – 11   .645 Duke 13 – 6   .684 20 – 13   .606 Virginia Tech 9 – 5   .643 19 – 10   .655 South Carolina 12 – 7   .632 13 – 12   .520 Maryland 11 – 8   .579 15 – 10   .600 North Carolina 9 – 8   .529 12 – 15   .444 Wake Forest 8 – 9   .471 16 – 14   .533 George Washington 8 – 9   .471 12 – 12   .500 Richmond 5 – 10   .333 7 – 14   .333 Washington and Lee 5 – 13   .278 8 – 17   .320 VMI 3 – 11   .214 3 – 18   .143 Davidson 5 – 15   .250 7 – 19   .269 The Citadel 2 – 7   .222 6 – 11   .353 Furman 1 – 13   .071 3 – 20   .130 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1950–51 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT TCU 8 – 4   .667 16 – 9   .640 Texas A&M 8 – 4   .667 17 – 12   .586 Texas 8 – 4   .667 13 – 14   .481 Arkansas 7 – 5   .583 13 – 11   .542 SMU 6 – 6   .500 14 – 10   .583 Baylor 3 – 9   .250 8 – 16   .333 Rice 2 – 10   .167 8 – 15   .348 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. Bonaventure 3 – 1   .750 19 – 6   .760 Niagara 2 – 2   .500 18 – 10   .643 Canisius 1 – 3   .250 15 – 10   .600 Rankings from AP Poll	1950–51 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 6 – 1   .857 22 – 4   .846 Vermont 4 – 1   .800 14 – 6   .700 Rhode Island State 5 – 2   .714 13 – 15   .464 Maine 2 – 5   .286 5 – 13   .278 Massachusetts 1 – 3   .250 6 – 15   .286 New Hampshire 0 – 6   .000 4 – 12   .250

Major independents

A total of 44 college teams played as major independents. Among them, Dayton (27–5) finished with both the best winning percentage (.844) and the most wins.

1950–51 NCAA men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 13 Dayton –   – 27 – 5   .844 LIU –   – 20 – 4   .833 Holy Cross –   – 20 – 5   .800 No. 20 Villanova –   – 25 – 7   .781 Seton Hall –   – 24 – 7   .774 La Salle –   – 22 – 7   .759 No. 14 Toledo –   – 22 – 7   .759 Baldwin Wallace –   – 19 – 7   .731 Louisville –   – 19 – 7   .731 Navy –   – 16 – 6   .727 No. 18 Siena –   – 19 – 8   .704 Syracuse –   – 19 – 9   .679 Xavier –   – 16 – 10   .615 Penn State –   – 14 – 9   .609 Boston College –   – 17 – 11   .607 Duquesne –   – 16 – 11   .593 Lafayette –   – 14 – 11   .560 Loyola (Calif.) –   – 14 – 11   .560 Bowling Green State –   – 15 – 12   .556 Colgate –   – 12 – 10   .545 Valparaiso –   – 12 – 10   .545 Notre Dame –   – 13 – 11   .542 Oklahoma City –   – 16 – 14   .533 Army –   – 9 – 8   .529 DePaul –   – 13 – 12   .520 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 15 – 14   .517 St. Joseph's –   – 13 – 14   .481 Temple –   – 12 – 13   .480 Miami (Fla.) –   – 10 – 12   .455 Saint Mary's –   – 9 – 11   .450 Muhlenberg –   – 11 – 14   .440 Brown –   – 8 – 11   .421 Bucknell –   – 9 – 13   .409 Santa Clara –   – 9 – 15   .375 Georgetown –   – 8 – 14   .364 Marquette –   – 8 – 14   .364 Virginia –   – 8 – 14   .364 Pittsburgh –   – 9 – 17   .346 San Francisco –   – 9 – 17   .346 Creighton –   – 9 – 18   .333 Rutgers –   – 7 – 14   .333 Lehigh –   – 6 – 13   .316 Butler –   – 5 – 19   .208 John Carroll –   – 2 – 21   .087 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Middle Three Conference	Rutgers	None selected	No Tournament

NOTE: Despite its name, the Middle Three Conference was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In 1950–51, Rutgers finished with the best record in games played between the three members.

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1951 NCAA basketball tournament and 1951 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Semifinals & finals

	National Semifinals				National Finals
	Illinois	74
	Kentucky	76
					Kentucky	68
					Kansas State	58
	Kansas State	68
	Oklahoma A&M	44			Third place
					Illinois	61
					Oklahoma A&M	46

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1951 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	BYU	69
	Seton Hall	59
					BYU	62
					Dayton	43
	St. John's	62
	Dayton	69			Third place
					Seton Hall	68
					St. John's	70

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1951 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Clyde Lovellette	C	Junior	Kansas
Gene Melchiorre	G	Senior	Bradley
Bill Mlkvy	F	Junior	Temple
Sam Ranzino	G	Senior	North Carolina State
Bill Spivey	C	Junior	Kentucky

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Ernie Barrett	G/F	Senior	Kansas State
Bill Garrett	F	Senior	Indiana
Dick Groat	G	Junior	Duke
Mel Hutchins	F/C	Senior	BYU
Gale McArthur	G	Senior	Oklahoma A&M

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Dick Groat, Duke
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Sherman White, Long Island

Other major awards

• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): John Azary, Columbia

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Iowa	Rollie Williams		Bucky O'Connor
John Carroll	Elmer Ripley		Fred George
Notre Dame	Moose Krause		John Jordan
Stanford	Everett Dean		Bob Burnett