1936–37 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1936–37 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1936, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1937.

1936–37 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Helms National Champions	Stanford (retroactive selection in 1943)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Hank Luisetti, Stanford (retroactive selection in 1944)

Season headlines

• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Stanford as its national champion for the 1936–37 season.
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Stanford as its national champion for the 1936–37 season.

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
The Citadel Bulldogs	Independent	Southern Conference
Davidson Wildcats	Independent	Southern Conference
Furman Paladins	Independent	Southern Conference
Richmond Spiders	Independent	Southern Conference
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Independent	Southern Conference
William & Mary Indians	Independent	Southern Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Kansas & Nebraska	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Illinois & Minnesota	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	New Mexico State	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Penn	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Pittsburgh & Temple	None selected	No Tournament; Pittsburgh defeated Temple in a single-game conference playoff
Metropolitan New York Conference	Long Island	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington State (North); Stanford (South)		No Tournament; Stanford defeated Washington State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Colorado & Denver (Eastern); Montana State & Utah (Western)		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1937 SEC men's basketball tournament	Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, Tennessee)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	Washington and Lee	None selected	1937 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Washington and Lee
Southwest Conference	SMU	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1936–37 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas 8 – 2   .800 15 – 4   .789 Nebraska 8 – 2   .800 13 – 7   .650 Oklahoma 7 – 3   .700 12 – 4   .750 Kansas State 5 – 5   .500 9 – 9   .500 Missouri 2 – 8   .200 7 – 9   .438 Iowa State 0 – 10   .000 3 – 15   .167	1936–37 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Illinois 10 – 2   .833 14 – 4   .778 Minnesota 10 – 2   .833 14 – 6   .700 Michigan 9 – 3   .750 16 – 4   .800 Purdue 8 – 4   .667 15 – 5   .750 Ohio State 7 – 5   .583 13 – 7   .650 Indiana 6 – 6   .500 13 – 7   .650 Northwestern 4 – 8   .333 11 – 9   .550 Iowa 3 – 9   .250 11 – 9   .550 Wisconsin 3 – 9   .250 8 – 12   .400 Chicago 0 – 12   .000 4 – 16   .200	1936–37 Border Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT New Mexico A&M 15 – 3   .833 22 – 5   .815 Texas Tech 11 – 5   .688 18 – 7   .720 Arizona 9 – 7   .563 14 – 11   .560 New Mexico 10 – 10   .500 12 – 14   .462 Arizona State–Flagstaff 6 – 10   .375 11 – 13   .458 Arizona State–Tempe 7 – 11   .389 8 – 12   .400 Texas State M&M 0 – 10   .000 2 – 16   .111
1936–37 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Penn 12 – 0   1.000 17 – 3   .850 Dartmouth 8 – 4   .667 14 – 8   .636 Columbia 7 – 5   .583 14 – 6   .700 Yale 7 – 5   .583 12 – 8   .600 Harvard 6 – 6   .500 10 – 8   .556 Princeton 2 – 10   .167 6 – 14   .300 Cornell 0 – 12   .000 3 – 14   .176	1936–37 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Temple 7 – 3   .700 17 – 6   .739 Pittsburgh† 7 – 3   .700 14 – 7   .667 Penn State 6 – 4   .600 10 – 7   .588 Carnegie Tech 4 – 6   .400 9 – 11   .450 Georgetown 3 – 7   .300 9 – 8   .529 West Virginia 3 – 7   .300 9 – 14   .391 † Postseason conference championship playoff game winner As of end of 1936-37 season	1936–37 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT LIU 2 – 0   1.000 28 – 3   .903 Fordham 5 – 1   .833 13 – 3   .813 Manhattan 5 – 2   .714 14 – 4   .778 NYU 4 – 2   .667 10 – 6   .625 CCNY 3 – 3   .500 10 – 6   .625 St. John's 1 – 4   .200 12 – 7   .632 St. Francis (NY) 1 – 5   .167 13 – 8   .619 Brooklyn 1 – 6   .143 11 – 8   .579
1936–37 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Oklahoma A&M 11 – 1   .917 20 – 3   .870 Creighton 8 – 4   .667 11 – 9   .550 Drake 7 – 5   .583 13 – 10   .565 Grinnell 7 – 5   .583 8 – 10   .444 Tulsa 4 – 8   .333 9 – 9   .500 Washington University 3 – 9   .250 6 – 12   .333 Washburn 2 – 10   .167 4 – 17   .190	1936–37 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Washington State 11 – 5   .688 24 – 8   .750 Oregon 11 – 5   .688 20 – 9   .690 Washington 11 – 5   .688 15 – 11   .577 Oregon State 5 – 11   .313 11 – 15   .423 Idaho 2 – 14   .125 8 – 19   .296 South Stanford † 10 – 2   .833 25 – 2   .926 USC 8 – 4   .667 19 – 6   .760 California 4 – 8   .333 17 – 10   .630 UCLA 2 – 10   .167 6 – 13   .316 † Conference playoff series winner	1936–37 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Eastern Denver 10 – 2   .833 14 – 6   .700 Colorado 10 – 2   .833 10 – 5   .667 Western State 5 – 3   .625 10 – 7   .588 Colorado State 7 – 5   .583 7 – 6   .538 Northern Colorado 8 – 6   .571 9 – 8   .529 Wyoming 7 – 7   .500 8 – 9   .471 Colorado College 3 – 11   .214 4 – 14   .222 Colorado Mines 0 – 14   .000 0 – 14   .000 Western Utah 7 – 5   .583 17 – 7   .708 Montana State 7 – 5   .583 17 – 10   .630 BYU 5 – 7   .417 17 – 10   .630 Utah State 5 – 7   .417 6 – 9   .400
1936–37 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Georgia Tech 10 – 0   1.000 13 – 2   .867 Tennessee 7 – 1   .875 17 – 5   .773 Ole Miss 7 – 3   .700 20 – 6   .769 Auburn 7 – 4   .636 11 – 4   .733 Kentucky † 5 – 3   .625 17 – 5   .773 Georgia 5 – 3   .625 10 – 6   .625 LSU 7 – 6   .538 13 – 7   .650 Alabama 7 – 8   .467 11 – 10   .524 Mississippi State 6 – 7   .462 15 – 9   .625 Tulane 4 – 8   .333 6 – 8   .429 Vanderbilt 3 – 7   .300 6 – 10   .375 Florida 1 – 9   .100 5 – 13   .278 Sewanee 0 – 10   .000 1 – 15   .063 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner	1936–37 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Washington and Lee † 11 – 1   .917 17 – 4   .810 North Carolina 14 – 3   .824 18 – 5   .783 Wake Forest 9 – 4   .692 15 – 6   .714 North Carolina State 14 – 7   .667 15 – 9   .625 Duke 11 – 6   .647 15 – 8   .652 South Carolina 7 – 4   .636 13 – 7   .650 Richmond 5 – 4   .556 13 – 7   .650 Virginia 6 – 7   .462 9 – 10   .474 Furman 3 – 4   .429 8 – 7   .533 Davidson 5 – 8   .385 13 – 10   .565 Maryland 5 – 8   .385 8 – 12   .400 Virginia Tech 4 – 9   .308 6 – 11   .353 VMI 5 – 11   .313 6 – 11   .353 Clemson 2 – 7   .222 6 – 15   .286 The Citadel 0 – 5   .000 7 – 12   .368 William & Mary 0 – 13   .000 0 – 18   .000 † Southern Conference Tournament winner	1936–37 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT SMU 10 – 2   .833 13 – 8   .619 Arkansas 8 – 4   .667 12 – 6   .667 Rice 7 – 5   .583 6 – 10   .375 Baylor 6 – 6   .500 11 – 9   .550 Texas 5 – 7   .417 13 – 10   .565 Texas A&M 5 – 7   .417 12 – 13   .480 TCU 1 – 11   .083 1 – 13   .071

Major independents

A total of 52 college teams played as major independents. Western Kentucky State (21–2) had the best winning percentage (.913) and Marshall (23–8) finished with the most wins.

1936–37 NCAA men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Western Kentucky State –   – 21 – 2   .913 Notre Dame –   – 20 – 3   .870 Rutgers –   – 13 – 2   .867 Ohio –   – 18 – 3   .857 Rhode Island State –   – 18 – 3   .857 Central Missouri State –   – 17 – 3   .850 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 16 – 3   .842 Toledo –   – 18 – 4   .818 George Washington –   – 16 – 4   .800 Bradley –   – 15 – 4   .789 St. Joseph's –   – 15 – 4   .789 Syracuse –   – 13 – 4   .765 Western State Teachers –   – 13 – 4   .765 Marshall –   – 23 – 8   .742 DePaul –   – 15 – 6   .714 Detroit –   – 11 – 5   .688 Duquesne –   – 13 – 6   .684 Santa Clara –   – 13 – 6   .684 Kent State –   – 15 – 7   .682 Villanova –   – 15 – 8   .652 Navy –   – 9 – 5   .643 La Salle –   – 12 – 7   .632 Connecticut –   – 11 – 7   .611 Saint Mary's (Calif.) –   – 14 – 9   .609 Boston University –   – 9 – 6   .600 Colgate –   – 9 – 6   .600 San Francisco –   – 10 – 7   .588 Bucknell –   – 9 – 7   .563 Canisius –   – 9 – 7   .563 Niagara –   – 12 – 10   .545 Army –   – 7 – 6   .538 Indiana State –   – 7 – 6   .538 Montana –   – 14 – 12   .538 Marquette –   – 8 – 8   .500 Muhlenberg –   – 9 – 9   .500 Valparaiso –   – 9 – 9   .500 Xavier –   – 7 – 7   .500 Cincinnati –   – 9 – 10   .474 Wichita Municipal –   – 9 – 12   .429 Dayton –   – 7 – 12   .368 St. Bonaventure –   – 4 – 7   .364 Lehigh –   – 5 – 10   .333 Louisville –   – 4 – 8   .333 Seton Hall –   – 5 – 10   .333 Lafayette –   – 6 – 13   .316 Brown –   – 5 – 11   .313 Miami (Ohio) –   – 5 – 11   .313 Butler –   – 6 – 14   .300 Michigan State Normal –   – 5 – 12   .294 Saint Louis –   – 6 – 15   .286 Bowling Green State –   – 4 – 11   .267 Loyola (Md.) –   – 4 – 12   .250

Awards

Consensus All-American team

Main article: 1937 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus Team

Player	Class	Team
Jules Bender	Senior	Long Island
Hank Luisetti	Junior	Stanford
John Moir	Junior	Notre Dame
Paul Nowak	Junior	Notre Dame
Jewell Young	Junior	Purdue

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Hank Luisetti, Stanford (retroactive selection in 1944)

Other major awards

• Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Ben Kramer, Long Island