1943 NCAA basketball tournament

1943 NCAA basketball tournament
Teams	8
Finals site	Madison Square Garden; New York City
Champions	Wyoming Cowboys (1st title, 1st title game,; 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Georgetown Hoyas (1st title game,; 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	DePaul Blue Demons (1st Final Four); Texas Longhorns (1st Final Four);
Winning coach	Everett Shelton (1st title)
MOP	Ken Sailors (Wyoming)
Attendance	56,876
Top scorer	John Hargis (Texas); (59 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1942	1944»

The 1943 NCAA basketball tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 24, 1943, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region. Top-ranked Illinois declined to participate in the NCAA tournament or NIT after three of its starters were drafted into the Army.

Wyoming, coached by Everett Shelton, won the national title with a 46–34 victory in the final game over Georgetown, coached by Elmer Ripley.^[1]^[2]^[3] Ken Sailors of Wyoming was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The Cowboys were the first team in the 5-year history of the tournament to win after making a previous appearance in the tournament, having appeared in the 1941 tournament.

Locations

Only two venues hosted the 1943 tournament:

Regionals

March 24 and 25: East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)
March 26 and 27: West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Championship Game

March 30: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York (Host: Metropolitan New York Conference)

Teams

East Regional - New York City
School	Coach	Conference	Record
Dartmouth	Osborne Cowles	EIBL	19–2
DePaul	Ray Meyer	Independent	18–4
Georgetown	Elmer Ripley	Independent	20–4
NYU	Howard Cann	Metropolitan New York	16–4

West Regional - Kansas City
School	Coach	Conference	Record
Oklahoma	Bruce Drake	Big Six	17–8
Texas	Bully Gilstrap	Southwest	18–6
Washington	Hec Edmundson	Pacific Coast	24–5
Wyoming	Everett Shelton	Mountain States	28–2

Bracket

Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Finals

Georgetown	55

NYU	36
		Georgetown	53

		DePaul	49
DePaul	46

Dartmouth	35
				Georgetown	34

				Wyoming	46
Texas	59

Washington	55
		Texas	54

		Wyoming	58
Wyoming	53

Oklahoma	50

Regional third place

	East Regional third place

	NYU		49

	Dartmouth		51

	West Regional third place

	Washington		43

	Oklahoma		48

Source^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "Georgetown beaten by Wyoming, 46-34". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 8, part 2.
^ ^a ^b "Wyoming defeats Georgetown, 46-34, for NCAA basketball title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 31, 1943. p. 8.
^ ^a ^b "Wyoming takes coveted crown". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 11.
^ "1943 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 3, 2018.

[gbbwy-1] "Georgetown beaten by Wyoming, 46-34". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 8, part 2.

[erwygeo-2] "Wyoming defeats Georgetown, 46-34, for NCAA basketball title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 31, 1943. p. 8.

[covet-3] "Wyoming takes coveted crown". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 11.

[4] "1943 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 3, 2018.

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