1952–53 NCAA men's basketball season

Men's university basketball season August 2023 March 2026 1952 None March 10 18, 1953 Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri Indiana Hoosiers Indiana Hoosiers Seton Hall Pirates Bob Houbregs, Washington Huskies The 1952–53 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1952, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1953 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 18, 1953, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Indiana Hoosiers won their second NCAA national championship with a 69–68 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks. Rule changes Teams must take a free throw after a foul, as had been the practice through the 1938–39 season. Previously, under a rule that had been in effect since the 1939–40 season, a team could waive its free throw and instead take the ball at mid-court after a foul.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes Season headlines Prior to the season, the NCAA ruled that colleges and universities could no longer count games played against non-collegiate opponents in their annual won-loss records. Previously, it had been a common practice for many years for colleges and universities to include non-collegiate opponents in their schedules, with the games recognized as part of their official record for the season.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/opponents-nc.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Non-Collegiate Opponents 2014-01-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20170212123107/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/opponents-nc.htm 2017-02-12 dead The California Basketball Association began play, with five original members. It would be renamed the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956 and the West Coast Conference in 1989. The NCAA forced Kentucky to suspend its men's basketball program for the entire 1952–53 season as a result of the CCNY point-shaving scandal, which had been revealed in 1951.Goldstein, Joe, "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops" - ESPN - November 19, 2003 The NCAA tournament expanded from 16 to 22 teams. Bill Chambers of William and Mary grabbed 51 rebounds against Virginia on February 14, 1953, becoming the first player with more than 50 rebounds in one game.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 13 Bob Houbregs of Washington became the first player to score 40 or more points in an NCAA tournament Final Four game when he scored 42 against LSU in the national third-place game on March 18, 1953.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 11 Walter Dukes of Seton Hall finished the season with 734 rebounds for the year, the first player to grab 700 rebounds in a single season. Season outlook Pre-season polls 1952–53 NCAA men's basketball rankings The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia 978-0-345-51392-2 Random House 2009 836 Associated PressRankingTeam1La Salle2Kansas State3Illinois4Seton Hall5Oklahoma A&M6NC State7Notre Dame8Holy Cross9Washington10LSU11Western Kentucky State12UCLA13Oklahoma City14St. Bonaventure15Tulsa16Minnesota17Saint Louis18California19Indiana20(tie)NavyKansas UP CoachesRankingTeam1Illinois2Kansas State3La Salle4Washington5NC State6Oklahoma A&M7UCLA8Indiana9Seton Hall10Saint Louis11Holy Cross12Santa Clara13Notre Dame14Duquesne15Wyoming16St. John's17(tie)BYUMinnesota19Kansas20St. Bonaventure Conference membership changes SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Evansville Evansville Purple Aces Ohio Valley Conference Non-major basketball program Marshall University Marshall Thundering Herd Ohio Valley Conference Independent Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Non-major basketball program Ohio Valley Conference Pacific Pacific Tigers Non-major basketball program California Basketball Association Saint Mary's Saint Mary's Gaels Independent California Basketball Association San Francisco San Francisco Dons Independent California Basketball Association San Jose State San Jose State Spartans Non-major basketball program California Basketball Association Santa Clara Santa Clara Broncos Independent California Basketball Association Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular season winnerhttp://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2009/Standings.pdf 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section 2009 NCAA 2009-02-14Conference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerBig Seven Conference Kansas None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Indiana None selected No TournamentBorder Conference Arizona & Hardin-Simmons No TournamentCalifornia Basketball Association Santa Clara None selected No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Penn None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference Manhattan No TournamentMid-American Conference Miami (OH) None selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Oklahoma A&M None selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Wyoming No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Eastern Kentucky State None selected 1953 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Western Kentucky StatePacific Coast Conference Washington (North); California (South) No Tournament;Washington defeated California in best-of-three conference championship playoff seriesSoutheastern Conference LSU None selected No TournamentSouthern Conference NC State Frank Selvy, Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section https://web.archive.org/web/20110723151437/http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/honorsandawards.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 July 23, 2011 , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1953 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) Wake Forest2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section https://web.archive.org/web/20110930163611/http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/standingsandresults.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 September 30, 2011 , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference TCU None selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Niagara No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament Conference standings Major independents A total of 44 college teams played as major independents. Among them, 1952 Seton Hall University Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall (31–2) finished with both the best winning percentage (.939) and the most wins.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1953.html Sports Reference 1952-53 Men's Independent Season Summary August 8, 2024 Although not considered a major independent during the season, 1952 men Southwest Missouri State Bears Southwest Missouri State (24–4) played as an independent and was ranked No. 20 in the season's final AP Poll.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/men/1953-polls.html Sports Reference 1952-53 Men's College Basketball AP Polls August 8, 2024 Post-season tournaments NCAA tournament 1953 NCAA basketball tournament Final Four no National semifinals National finals Third place LSU 67 Indiana 80 Kansas 79 Washington 53 Indiana 69 Kansas 68 LSU 69 Washington 88 National Invitation tournament 1953 National Invitation Tournament Semifinals & finals no Semifinals Finals Third place   St. John's 64   Duquesne 55   Manhattan 56   Seton Hall 74   St. John's 46   Seton Hall 58   Duquesne 81   Manhattan 67 Awards Consensus All-American teams 1953 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans + Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Ernie Beck F Senior Pennsylvania Walter Dukes C Senior Seton Hall Tom Gola F Sophomore La Salle Bob Houbregs F Senior Washington Johnny O'Brien G Senior Seattle + Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Dick Knostman F Senior Kansas State Bob Pettit C Junior Louisiana State Joe Richey G Senior Brigham Young Don Schlundt C Sophomore Indiana Frank Selvy G Junior Furman Major player of the year awards Helms Player of the Year: Bob Houbregs, Washington Other major awards NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Walter Dukes, Seton Hall Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArmyElmer RipleyBob Vanatta Boston CollegeAl McClellanDino Martin CanisiusJoseph NilandJoseph Curran Kansas StateJack GardnerTex Winter Gardner left to coach Utah.Loyola (Calif.)Edwin PowellBill Donovan MarquetteTex WinterJack Nagle Winter left to coach Kansas State.Morehead StateEllis T. JohnsonBobby Laughlin New Mexico M&MGeorge McCartyPresley Askew PittsburghDoc CarlsonBob TimmonsSt. Joseph'sBill FergusonJohn McMenamin St. BonaventureEd MelvinEddie Donovan UtahVadal PetersonJack Gardner References 2