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 second edition of the tournament began on March 20, 1940, and ended with the championship game on March 30 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
Season1939–40
Teams8
Finals siteMunicipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
ChampionsIndiana Hoosiers (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upKansas Jayhawks (1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachBranch McCracken (1st title)
MOPMarvin Huffman (Indiana)
Attendance36,880
Top scorerHoward 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

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

Regionals

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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

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March 30
Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Teams

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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

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Indiana 48
Springfield 24
Indiana 39
Duquesne 30
Duquesne 30
Western Kentucky 29
Indiana 60
Kansas 42
USC 38
Colorado 32
USC 42
Kansas 43
Kansas 50
Rice 44

Regional Third Place

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West Regional Third Place
   
Colorado 56
Rice 60

[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1940 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 3, 2018.