1939–40 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1939–40 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas during the 1939–40 college men's basketball season. They were coached by Phog Allen. The Jayhawks qualified for the NCAA tournament, which was played for the first time the previous season, for the first time in school history. They would lose to Indiana in the national championship game.

1939–40 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Runner-up Big Six co-champions
National Championship Game, L 42-60 vs. Indiana
Conference	Big Six Conference
Record	19–6 (8–2 Big 6)
Head coach	Phog Allen (23rd season)
Captains	Donald Ebling Richard Harp
Home arena	Hoch Auditorium

1939–40 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Kansas	8	–	2		.800			19	–	6		.760
Missouri	8	–	2		.800			13	–	6		.684
Oklahoma	8	–	2		.800			12	–	7		.632
Iowa State	2	–	8		.200			9	–	9		.500
Kansas State	2	–	8		.200			6	–	12		.333
Nebraska	2	–	8		.200			6	–	12		.333

Roster

• Robert Allen
• Donald Ebling
• Howard Engleman
• Richard Harp
• William Hogben
• Thomas Hunter
• Bob Johnson
• John Kline
• Ralph Miller
• Charles Nees
• Jack Sands
• Bruce Voran
• Maurice Jackson

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
December 5*		Oklahoma A&M	W 34–30	1-0	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
December 8*		at Warrensburg	L 31–33	1-1	Warrensburg, MO
December 18*		SMU	W 63–31	2-1	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
December 19*		SMU	W 37–26	3-1	Hoch Auditoriuim  Lawrence, KS
December 28*		vs. Baker	W 34–18	4-1	Topeka, KS
December 29*		vs. New Mexico Mines	W 40–24	5-1	Topeka, KS
December 30*		at Washburn	W 44–41	6-1	Topeka, KS
January 5		Oklahoma	W 46–26	7-1 (1-0)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
January 8*		at Loyola	W 40–36	8-1	Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL
January 12		Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 34–33	9-1 (2-0)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
January 18		at Missouri Border War	L 31–42	9-2 (2-1)	Brewer Fieldhouse  Columbia, MO
January 23		Nebraska	W 40–24	10-2 (3-1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
February 10		at Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 44–33	11-2 (4-1)	Nichols Hall  Manhattan, KS
February 12		Iowa State	W 36–34	12-2 (5-1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
February 15*		at Oklahoma A&M	L 22–24	12-3	Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, OK
February 24		at Nebraska	W 48–41	13-3 (6-1)	Nebraska Coliseum  Lincoln, NE
February 26		at Iowa State	W 42–29	14-3 (7-1)	State Gymnasium  Ames, IA
March 1		Missouri Border War	W 42–40	15-3 (8-1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
March 4*		at Creighton	L 33–35	15-4	University Gym  Omaha, NE
March 8		at Oklahoma	L 36–47	15-5 (8-2)	Field House  Norman, OK
March 12		vs. Oklahoma	W 45–39	16-5	Henrion Gymnasium  Wichita, KS
March 16*		vs. Oklahoma State	W 45–43	17-5	Memorial Auditorium  Oklahoma City, OK
March 22*		vs. Rice NCAA Quarterfinals	W 50–44	18-5	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
March 23*		vs. USC NCAA Semifinals	W 43–42	19-5	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
March 30*		vs. Indiana National Championship game	L 42–60	19-6	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.