1944 NCAA basketball tournament

1944 NCAA basketball tournament
Championship game program
Teams8
Finals siteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsUtah Redskins (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upDartmouth Indians (2nd title game,
2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachVadal Peterson (1st title)
MOPArnie Ferrin (Utah)
Attendance59,369
Top scorerAudley Brindley (Dartmouth)
(52 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1943 1945»

The 1944 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 24, 1944, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region.

Utah, coached by Vadal Peterson, won the national title with a 42–40 victory in the final game over Dartmouth, coached by Earl Brown. Arnie Ferrin of Utah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Utah became the first team to play in both the NIT and NCAA tournament in the same season. Utah was given a second chance to play in the NCAA Tournament after a March 1944 automobile accident killed a coaching aide and seriously injured two players on the Arkansas team.[1]

Utah's winning team featured Wataru Misaka, who later joined the New York Knicks to become the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball.[2]

  1. ^ Chipman, Kit (April 30, 2010). "University of Utah 1944 National Basketball Championship". University of Utah Department of Communication. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

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