🏀 The 1939-40 men’s college basketball season

What the record holds for this season: the champion, the tournament bracket, the AP poll week by week, the conference tables, and the Elo ratings with the biggest upsets.

Source: Citizen of Nowhere college basketball database · 13 conferences · 8-team tournament

← 1939 1941 →All seasons

Jump to any season1896–2027

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2010s

2019Virginia 2018Villanova 2017North Carolina 2016Villanova 2015Duke 2014Connecticut 2013Louisville 2012Kentucky 2011Connecticut 2010Duke

2000s

2009North Carolina 2008Kansas 2007Florida 2006Florida 2005North Carolina 2004Connecticut 2003Syracuse 2002Maryland 2001Duke 2000Michigan State

1990s

1999Connecticut 1998Kentucky 1997Arizona 1996Kentucky 1995UCLA 1994Arkansas 1993North Carolina 1992Duke 1991Duke 1990UNLV

1980s

1989Michigan 1988Kansas 1987Indiana 1986Louisville 1985Villanova 1984Georgetown 1983North Carolina State 1982North Carolina 1981Indiana 1980Louisville

1970s

1979Michigan State 1978Kentucky 1977Marquette 1976Indiana 1975UCLA 1974North Carolina State 1973UCLA 1972UCLA 1971UCLA 1970UCLA

1960s

1969UCLA 1968UCLA 1967UCLA 1966Texas Western 1965UCLA 1964UCLA 1963Loyola-Chicago 1962Cincinnati 1961Cincinnati 1960Ohio State

1950s

1959California 1958Kentucky 1957North Carolina 1956San Francisco 1955San Francisco 1954La Salle 1953Indiana 1952Kansas 1951Kentucky 1950CCNY

1940s

1949Kentucky 1948Kentucky 1947Holy Cross 1946Oklahoma A&M 1945Oklahoma A&M 1944Utah 1943Wyoming 1942Stanford 1941Wisconsin 1940Indiana

1930s

1939Oregon 1938Temple 1937Stanford 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932Purdue 1931Northwestern 1930

1920s

1929Montana State 1928Pittsburgh 1927 1926Syracuse 1925Princeton 1924North Carolina 1923 1922 1921 1920Pennsylvania

1910s

1919 1918Syracuse 1917Washington State 1916Wisconsin 1915Illinois 1914Wisconsin 1913Navy 1912Wisconsin 1911St. John's 1910

1900s

1909Chicago 1908 1907 1906 1905Columbia 1904Columbia 1903 1902Minnesota 1901 1900

1890s

1899 1898 1897 1896

1940season

← 1939 1941 →

1939-40 national champion

The NCAA tournament winner.

National champion

Indiana

20-3

Title gameIndiana 60, Kansas 42 (Mar 30)

Final FourIndianaKansasDuquesneUSC

The 1940 NCAA tournament

8 teams. Winners in bold, seeds before each team.

8-team field · 2 regions

First Round

Duquesne30

Western Kentucky29

Indiana48

Springfield24

East region

First Round

Duquesne30

Western Kentucky29

Indiana48

Springfield24

West region

First Round

Colorado32

USC38

Kansas50

Rice44

Final Four and the title game

Final Four

Duquesne30

Indiana39

East · Mar 21

Kansas43

USC42

West · Mar 21

Championship game: Indiana

Indiana60

Kansas42

East vs West · Mar 30

Third-place games

Colorado56

Rice60

Regional Third Place · West · Mar 21

Conference tournaments

The champion and the other finalist of each of the 2 conference tournaments held in 1939-40.

Conference	Champion	Runner-up
Southeastern	Kentucky	Georgia
Southern	North Carolina	Duke

1940 standings by conference

Overall and conference record. A star marks the regular-season champion, a trophy the conference-tournament champion.

1940 standings by conference13 conferences

Big Six6 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Kansas	19-6	8-2	★ NCAA
Missouri	13-6	8-2	★
Oklahoma	12-7	8-2	★
Iowa State	9-9	2-8
Kansas State	6-12	2-8
Nebraska	6-12	2-8

Big Ten10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Purdue	16-4	10-2	★
Indiana	20-3	9-3	NCAA
Ohio State	13-7	8-4
Illinois	14-6	7-5
Northwestern	13-7	7-5
Michigan	13-7	6-6
Minnesota	12-8	5-7
Iowa	9-12	4-8
Wisconsin	5-15	3-9
Chicago	5-15	1-11

Border6 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
New Mexico A&M	16-7	12-4	★
Arizona	15-10	12-4
Texas Western	15-11	10-6
Northern Arizona	8-12	7-9
Arizona State	8-13	7-11
New Mexico	3-22	1-15

Eastern Intercollegiate7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Dartmouth	15-6	11-1	★
Princeton	14-8	8-4
Yale	13-6	7-5
Cornell	10-13	7-5
Columbia	5-12	4-8
Harvard	5-14	3-9
Pennsylvania	5-13	2-10

Missouri Valley7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Oklahoma A&M	26-3	12-0	★
Creighton	11-9	8-4
Drake	13-12	7-5
Washburn	8-8	6-6
Tulsa	12-15	5-7
Washington University	7-13	2-10
Saint Louis	4-14	2-10

Mountain States7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Colorado	17-4	11-1	★ NCAA
Utah	19-4	8-4
BYU	17-8	7-5
Utah State	11-7	7-5
Wyoming	6-10	3-9
Colorado A&M	6-12	3-9
Denver	6-15	3-9

Pacific Coast9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
USC	20-3	10-2	★ NCAA
Oregon State	27-11	12-4
Oregon	19-12	10-6
Washington State	23-10	9-7
Stanford	14-9	6-6
California	15-17	5-7
Washington	10-15	6-10
UCLA	8-17	3-9
Idaho	11-15	3-13

Rocky Mountain4 teams

School	W-L	Note
Colorado Mines	8-4
Colorado State College	11-10	★
Colorado College	10-11
Montana State	10-16

Southeastern13 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Alabama	18-5	14-4
Tennessee	14-7	7-3
Georgia	20-6	9-4
LSU	10-8	8-4
Florida	13-9	5-4
Kentucky	15-6	4-4	★ 🏆
Georgia Tech	7-8	6-6
Auburn	7-10	6-7
Mississippi State	9-6	4-5
Vanderbilt	10-12	5-7
Mississippi	9-10	3-8
Tulane	2-13	2-8
Sewanee	2-13	0-9

Southern15 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Duke	19-7	13-2	★
North Carolina	23-3	11-2	🏆
Washington & Lee	13-5	7-3
Wake Forest	13-9	10-5
Maryland	14-9	7-5
Clemson	9-12	9-7
Richmond	11-6	5-4
William & Mary	12-11	6-5
Citadel	8-9	6-5
Furman	11-11	4-6
North Carolina State	8-11	5-10
Davidson	8-13	4-11
South Carolina	5-13	3-10
VMI	3-12	2-9
Virginia Tech	4-15	1-9

Southwest7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Rice	25-4	10-2	★ NCAA
Texas	18-5	8-4
Baylor	12-9	7-5
Arkansas	12-10	6-6
Texas A&M	11-11	5-7
SMU	7-13	5-7
TCU	7-16	1-11

Yankee5 teams

School	W-L	Conf
Rhode Island	19-3	8-0
Connecticut	9-7	6-2
New Hampshire	5-10	3-5
Northeastern	4-13	3-5
Maine	3-9	0-8

Independent66 teams

School	W-L	Note
Seton Hall	19-0
NYU	18-1
Marshall	26-3
Villanova	17-2
Springfield	16-2	NCAA
Duquesne	20-3	NCAA
Santa Clara	17-3
Indiana State	15-3
Long Island	19-4
Toledo	24-6
Western Kentucky State	24-6	NCAA
DePaul	22-6
Bowling Green	16-5
Virginia	16-5
Ohio	19-6
St. John's	15-5
Texas Tech	21-7
Butler	17-6
Army	11-4
St. Francis (NY)	13-5
Notre Dame	15-6
Bradley	14-6
Michigan State	14-6
Brown	13-6
George Washington	13-6
West Virginia	13-6
Montana	17-8
Colgate	12-6
Miami (OH)	12-6
St. Joseph's	10-5
Penn State	15-8
Bucknell	13-7
St. Bonaventure	11-6
Loyola (MD)	14-8
Niagara	12-7
Siena	12-7
Detroit	14-9
Manhattan	14-9
La Salle	12-8
Fordham	11-8
Lafayette	11-8
Kent State	13-10
Temple	13-10
Syracuse	10-8
Wichita State	10-8
Muhlenberg	11-9
San Francisco	9-8
Western Michigan	10-9
Brooklyn	9-9
CCNY	8-8
Canisius	8-9
Cincinnati	8-9
Pittsburgh	8-9
Boston University	6-7
Georgetown	8-10
Marquette	7-9
Holy Cross	2-3
St. Mary's	7-12
Lehigh	5-10
Valparaiso	6-14
Loyola-Chicago	5-14
Rutgers	5-14
Xavier	6-17
Navy	3-11
Dayton	4-17
Louisville	1-18

Where these numbers come from

Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.

Champions, brackets, polls and standings are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college basketball database, one season at a time. A section appears only where the database holds its data: the NCAA tournament began in 1939 (earlier champions are retroactive selections), the AP poll in 1949, and game-by-game results, and so the Elo ratings and upsets, in 1950.

Elo ratings and upsets come from the site’s own men’s college basketball Elo, built from every game since 1950. An upset’s win chance is the winner’s pre-game probability from those ratings.