1943 NCAA basketball tournament
The 1943 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, 1943, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region. Top-ranked Illinois declined to participate in the NCAA tournament or NIT after three of its starters were drafted into the Army.
| Teams | 8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Madison Square Garden New York City | ||||
| Champions | Wyoming Cowboys (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Georgetown Hoyas (1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Everett Shelton (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Ken Sailors (Wyoming) | ||||
| Attendance | 56,876 | ||||
| Top scorer | John Hargis (Texas) (59 points) | ||||
| |||||
Wyoming, coached by Everett Shelton, won the national title with a 46–34 victory in the final game over Georgetown, coached by Elmer Ripley.[1][2][3] Ken Sailors of Wyoming was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The Cowboys were the first team in the 5-year history of the tournament to win after making a previous appearance in the tournament, having appeared in the 1941 tournament.
Locations
Only two venues hosted the 1943 tournament:
Regionals
- March 24 and 25
- East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)
- March 26 and 27
- West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
Championship Game
- March 30
- Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)
Teams
| East Regional - New York City | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Coach | Conference | Record |
| Dartmouth | Osborne Cowles | EIBL | 19–2 |
| DePaul | Ray Meyer | Independent | 18–4 |
| Georgetown | Elmer Ripley | Independent | 20–4 |
| NYU | Howard Cann | Metropolitan New York | 16–4 |
| West Regional - Kansas City | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Coach | Conference | Record |
| Oklahoma | Bruce Drake | Big Six | 17–8 |
| Texas | Bully Gilstrap | Southwest | 18–6 |
| Washington | Hec Edmundson | Pacific Coast | 24–5 |
| Wyoming | Everett Shelton | Mountain States | 28–2 |
Bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Georgetown | 55 | |||||||||||||
| NYU | 36 | |||||||||||||
| Georgetown | 53 | |||||||||||||
| DePaul | 49 | |||||||||||||
| DePaul | 46 | |||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Georgetown | 34 | |||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 46 | |||||||||||||
| Texas | 59 | |||||||||||||
| Washington | 55 | |||||||||||||
| Texas | 54 | |||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 58 | |||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 53 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 50 | |||||||||||||
References
- "Georgetown beaten by Wyoming, 46-34". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 8, part 2.
- "Wyoming defeats Georgetown, 46-34, for NCAA basketball title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 31, 1943. p. 8.
- "Wyoming takes coveted crown". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 11.
- "1943 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 3, 2018.