1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1944 NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament

Teams	8
Finals site	Madison Square Garden New York City
Champions	Utah (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Dartmouth (2nd title game, 2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Iowa State (1st Final Four) Ohio State (2nd Final Four)
Winning coach	Vadal Peterson (1st title)
MOP	Arnie Ferrin (Utah)
Attendance	59,369
Top scorer	Audley Brindley Dartmouth (52 points)
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments «1943 1945»

The 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 24, 1944, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City. A total of 9 games were played, including a third place game in each region.

Utah, coached by Vadal Peterson, won the national title with a 42-40 victory in the final game over Dartmouth, coached by Earl Brown. Arnie Ferrin of Utah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Utah became the first team to play in both the NIT and NCAA tournament in the same season. Utah was given a second chance to play in the NCAA Tournament after a March 1944 automobile accident killed a coaching aide and seriously injured two players on the Arkansas team.

Locations

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1944 tournament:

Regionals

March 24 and 25

East Regional, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

West Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri

Championship Game

March 28

Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

Teams

Region	Seed	Team	Coach	Conference	Finished	Final Opponent	Score
East
East	n/a	Catholic	John Long	Independent	Regional Fourth Place	Temple	L 55-35
East	n/a	Dartmouth	Earl Brown	EIBL	Runner Up	Utah	L 42-40
East	n/a	Ohio State	Harold Olsen	Big Ten	National Semifinals	Dartmouth	L 60-53
East	n/a	Temple	Josh Cody	Middle Atlantic	Regional Third Place	Catholic	W 55-35
West
West	n/a	Iowa State	Louis Menze	Big Six	National Semifinals	Utah	L 40-31
West	n/a	Missouri	George Edwards	Big Six	Regional Third Place	Pepperdine	W 61-46
West	n/a	Pepperdine	Al Duer	Independent	Regional Fourth Place	Missouri	L 61-46
West	n/a	Utah	Vadal Peterson	Skyline	Champion	Dartmouth	W 42-40

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		Dartmouth	63
		Catholic	38
							Dartmouth	60
							Ohio State	53
		Ohio State	57
		Temple	47
												Dartmouth	40*
												Utah	42
		Iowa State	44
		Pepperdine	39
							Iowa State	31
							Utah	40
		Utah	45
		Missouri	35

Regional Third Place

	East Regional Third Place
	Catholic		35
	Temple		55

	West Regional Third Place
	Pepperdine		46
	Missouri		61

See also

• 1944 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament