1940 NCAA basketball tournament

The 1940 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the participating champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 2nd edition of the tournament began on March 20, 1940, and ended with the championship game on March 30, at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of eight games were played, including a single third place game in the West region.

1940 NCAA basketball tournament

Season	1939–40
Teams	8
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Indiana Hoosiers (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Kansas Jayhawks (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Duquesne Dukes (1st Final Four) USC Trojans (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Branch McCracken (1st title)
MOP	Marvin Huffman (Indiana)
Attendance	36,880
Top scorer	Howard Engleman (Kansas) (39 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1939 1941»

Indiana, coached by Branch McCracken, won the tournament title with a 60–42 victory in the final game over Kansas, coached by Phog Allen. Marvin Huffman of Indiana was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This would be the only tournament to feature Springfield College, the school James Naismith worked for when he invented the sport of basketball. They were the first of fourteen colleges and universities to compete in the tournament that are no longer in Division I. This was also the first appearance of the Kansas Jayhawks, whose first coach was Naismith.

Locations

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1940 tournament:

Regionals

March 20 and 21

East Regional, Butler Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana (Host: Butler University)

West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Championship Game

March 30

Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Teams

East Regional - Indianapolis
School	Coach	Conference	Record
Duquesne	Chick Davies	Independent	19–2
Indiana	Branch McCracken	Big Ten	17–3
Springfield	Ed Hickox	Independent	16–2
Western Kentucky	Ed Diddle	SIAA	24–5

West Regional - Kansas City
School	Coach	Conference	Record
Colorado	Frosty Cox	Mountain States	17–2
Kansas	Phog Allen	Big Six	17–5
Rice	Buster Brannon	Southwest	21–2
USC	Sam Barry	Pacific Coast	19–2

Bracket

	Regional Semifinals March 22					Regional Finals March 23					National Championship March 30
	Indiana		48
	Springfield		24
						Indiana		39
	East – Indianapolis
						Duquesne		30
	Duquesne		30
											Kansas City
	Western Kentucky		29
											Indiana		60
											Kansas		42
	USC		38
	Colorado		32
						USC		42
	West – Kansas City
						Kansas		43
	Kansas		50
	Rice		44
						West Third Place Game
						Colorado		56
						Rice		60

^[1]

See also

• 1940 National Invitation Tournament
• 1940 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament