1941-42

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At a Glance
NCAA Champion--Stanford (28-4; coached by Everett Dean/fourth of 11 seasons with school; won PCC South Division by four games with an 11-1 record).
NIT Champion--West Virginia (19-4; coached by Dyke Raese/fourth of four seasons with Mountaineers).
NCAA Consensus First-Team All-Americans--Emery "Price" Brookfield, F-C, Sr., West Texas State (16.8 ppg); Bob Davies, G, Sr., Seton Hall (11.8 ppg); Bob Kinney, C, Sr., Rice (13.7 ppg); John Kotz, F, Jr., Wisconsin (15.5 ppg); Andy Phillip, F, Soph., Illinois (10.1 ppg).

Long Island's Clair Bee was the cream of the crop in the coaching profession, improving his career winning percentage to an astonishing 87.7 (291-41 record) when the Blackbirds compiled a 25-3 mark. It was the seventh time in nine years for them to lose fewer than four games. LIU went an eye-popping 218-20 (.916) during that nine-year stretch. From 1934-35 until 1957-58, the Blackbirds had a homecourt winning streak of 139 games at the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy gymnasium. "Play as a team and eliminate all thoughts of personal glory," Bee said.

Moreover, Bee's stories about Chip Hilton, an All-American boy and athlete, were among the most beloved books of a certain generation of school children.

Tennessee held LIU to nine points in the second half in a 36-33 victory in the Sugar Bowl Tournament, snapping LIU's 23-game winning streak. LIU was seeded No. 1 in the NIT, but the Blackbirds bowed in the opening round to eventual champion West Virginia, 58-49.

UCLA continued to struggle, compiling a losing league record for the 15th time in as many seasons as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference. Southern California defeated UCLA four times, extending the Trojans' winning streak against the Bruins to 40 in a row. . . . Arizona's 9-13 record marked the Wildcats' first losing season in the last 16 years under coach Fred Enke. . . . Brigham Young, coached by Floyd Millet, compiled its best winning percentage in school history (17-3, .850). Two of the Cougars' defeats were to Colorado and the other setback was at Wyoming. . . . Oregon State letterman Paul Valenti eventually coached his alma mater in the 1966 NCAA playoffs. . . . California (11-19), coached by Nibs Price, had 1/2 of its games decided by fewer than six points (3-12 in those close contests).

Bob Faught, a 6-5 sophomore center, joined Notre Dame's basketball team in an effort to keep in shape for tennis. He proceeded to lead the Irish in scoring with 9.5 points per game, including 26 in a 55-43 victory over NYU at Madison Square Garden. . . . Notre Dame defeated Kentucky for the seventh consecutive time, including the last four years by an average of three points. . . . Rhode Island defeated New Hampshire, 127-50, in a game where the URI regulars played only the first 16 minutes. . . . Dartmouth (22-4/coached by Ozzie Cowles) had its winningest season in school history. . . . Penn's Lou Jourdet coached the son (Larry Davis) of a player (Lardie Davis) he had on his Penn roster in 1918 and 1919. . . . Penn State captain Elmer Gross, who shared the team's scoring lead, eventually coached his alma mater in the NCAA playoffs. A World War II Purple Heart veteran, Gross was wounded in 1944 following one of the early amphibious landings on the coast of France. . . . St. Joseph's Jack Kraft, averaging more than five points per game for the third straight year, went on to coach intra-city rival Villanova to a runner-up finish to UCLA in the 1971 NCAA Tournament. . . . Matt Zunic, George Washington's leading scorer for the second straight season and a second-team All-Southern Conference selection, later coached Boston University and Massachusetts in the NCAA playoffs. . . . Don Martin, who averaged 6.6 points per game for Georgetown, went on to become the first player to score 40 points in an NBA game (for the Providence Steamrollers on January 9, 1947). He eventually coached Boston College for nine seasons, including the Eagles' first trip to the NCAA playoffs in 1958. Teammate Frank "Buddy" O'Grady, who averaged 8.8 points per game for the Hoyas, coached his alma mater for three seasons from 1949-50 through 1951-52. . . . Canisius' Joe Niland, who played in the World Basketball Tournament, went on to coach his alma mater for five seasons from 1948-49 through 1952-53 after serving a couple of years with U.S. General George Patton's armored division in Germany. . . . Colgate hoopster Ebba St. Claire became a switch-hitting catcher with the Boston/Milwaukee Braves and New York Giants in the early 1950s. . . . Stanley Ward, a three-year letterman for Canisius, eventually became Brown's all-time winningest coach.

Duke (22-2), regular season and postseason tournament champion in the Southern Conference in Eddie Cameron's final campaign as coach, didn't participate in the NCAA playoffs despite incurring only one defeat in the Blue Devils' last 21 games (55-53 at George Washington). . . . Georgia Tech letterman Jim Hearn eventually pitched 13 seasons in the National League. He led the N.L. in shutouts in 1950 with five, won Game 3 in the 1951 World Series for the New York Giants against the New York Yankees and earned All-Star status in 1952. . . . Vanderbilt hoop letterman Jack Jenkins became an All-SEC first-team football selection before being chosen by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1943 NFL draft (10th pick overall). . . . Western Kentucky finished going full circle in national postseason competition. WKU was NIT runner-up after participating in the NAIA Tournament in 1938 and NCAA Tournament in 1940.

Iowa, coached by Rollie Williams, won six consecutive conference games late in the season to end a streak of eight straight non-winning Big Ten records. The Hawkeyes tied for second place in the Big Ten for their highest finish in 16 years. . . . Wittenberg (Ohio) defeated Bowling Green for the seventh straight season.

Texas got a lot of mileage out of Malcolm Kutner late in the campaign when he scored 14 points in a victory against SMU before leading the Longhorns in scoring in back-to-back games at Arkansas. Kutner went on to become a two-time All-Pro halfback/defensive back with the Chicago Cardinals later in the decade, pacing NFL receivers in total yardage and average per reception in 1947 and 1948 (leading league in touchdowns in 1948 with 15). . . . Texas Christian notched its first winning record in eight years (13-10). . . . Kansas' Ralph Miller, who would later be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after winning 657 games in 38 seasons for three major universities, led the Big Six Conference in scoring after missing the previous season following knee surgery. Miller, a quarterback on the Jayhawks' football squad, served three years in the U.S. Air Force during World War II after graduation and was discharged at the rank of first lieutenant. . . . Kansas was eliminated in the NCAA Tournament by Colorado, a school that had four starters who grew up in Kansas. Colorado won its first 14 games (existing school record) before bowing at Wyoming, 40-39. . . . West Texas State senior forward Price Brookfield set the Border Conference single-game scoring standard with a school-record 44 points at Texas Mines in the league playoffs. Brookfield had been restricted to five points the previous night. . . . Guard Bud Millikan, a key member of Oklahoma A&M's team for the third consecutive year, went on to coach Maryland for 17 seasons from 1950-51 through 1966-67.

1942 NCAA Tournament
Summary: Stanford overcame the title game absence of sophomore standout Jim Pollard (sinus infection), who scored 43.4 percent of his team's points in its first two tourney contests. Was it worth it? Stanford, coached by Everett Dean, took home a meager check for $93.75 to cover its stay in Kansas City. Pollard popped in a tourney-high 26 points in a 53-47 opening-game victory over Rice. Dartmouth's coach in the championship game against Stanford was Ozzie Cowles, who had captained Dean's first college team at Carleton (Minn.) in 1921-22. Dartmouth led by six points in the first half of the final and was ahead five minutes into the second half before folding and eventually losing, 53-38.
Outcome for Defending Champion: Wisconsin (14-7) finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten despite losing its first three conference contests.
Star Gazing: Three Stanford starters--co-captains Don Burness and Bill Cowden and sophomore Howie Dallmar--attended the same high school in San Francisco. . . . Kentucky's first game in an NCAA Tournament resulted in a 46-44 verdict over Big Ten titlist Illinois. . . . Penn State teammates Elmer Gross (1952 and 1954) and John Egli (1955 and 1965) combined for 19 points in a 44-39 opening-round loss to Dartmouth before they each twice coached their alma mater in the NCAA playoffs.
One and Only: Dallmar, a 6-5 guard, became the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player to complete his collegiate playing career attending another university (NCAA consensus first-team All-American with Penn in 1945). Sent to Philadelphia by the Navy toward the end of World War II to attend pre-flight training school, Dallmar enrolled at Penn to complete his undergraduate work and to use his final season of sports eligibility (NCAA consensus first-team All-American in 1945). He is also the only Most Outstanding Player to guide a school other than his alma mater to the playoffs. Dallmar posted a 1-1 tourney record with Penn in 1953 before coaching Stanford for 21 years without directing his alma mater to the NCAA playoffs. The principal culprit in denying Dallmar an NCAA appearance with the Cardinal was UCLA's dynasty under John Wooden. Both coaches retired at the end of the 1974-75 season. One of the three defeats for the NCAA champion Bruins that year was at Stanford. Dallmar, an All-NBA first-team selection in 1947-48 when he led the league in assists with the defending champion Philadelphia Warriors, moonlighted in sports the next season in a way practically never done. He played professionally for the Warriors while compiling a 15-8 record in his rookie campaign as coach of Penn.
Celebrity Status: Longtime prominent Kansas City bank official Ray Evans was the second-leading scorer for Kansas in two tournament games. Evans, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, earned All-American honors in football the same calendar year he led the nation's major-college players in passes attempted (200) and completed (101). . . . George Munroe, the leading scorer for runner-up Dartmouth, had a 29-year career as an executive with Phelps Dodge Corp., including vice president in 1962, president/director in 1966, CEO in 1969 and chair/CEO from 1975-87. Phelps Dodge is a Fortune 500 company and the nation's leading copper producer. . . . Kentucky forward Ermal Allen, who scored 10 points in two playoff games, went on to intercept four passes as a defensive back for Cleveland (AAFC) in 1947 before becoming a longtime assistant coach and front office staff member of the Dallas Cowboys. Allen competed in the pros under coach Paul Brown after playing football in college under Paul "Bear" Bryant.
Numbers Game: Stanford's Dean, compiling a 3-0 tournament record, is the only unbeaten coach in NCAA playoff history. He is also the only NCAA basketball championship coach to win a College World Series baseball game for the same school (1953). . . . Kentucky's output in a 47-28 loss to Dartmouth in the national semifinals is an all-time Final Four-low. . . . The Southern Conference (regular-season champion Duke) did not have a representative in the tourney. Oklahoma A&M from the Missouri Valley lost a district play-in game against Kansas.
NCAA Champion Defeats: Neutral court vs. Santa Clara at San Francisco (10-point margin), Southern California (4), Athens Club (4), and Oregon State in PCC Playoff (9). Santa Clara had to win its last four games to finish with a winning record (10-9).
Scoring Leaders: Stanford's Jim Pollard and Rice's Chet Palmer (43 points, 21.5 ppg).
Most Outstanding Player: Howie Dallmar, G, Soph., Stanford (20 points in final two games).

Championship Team Results
First Round: Stanford 53 (Pollard team-high 26 points), Rice 47 (Palmer 18)
Regional Final: Stanford 46 (Pollard 17), Colorado 35 (Doll 11)
Championship Game: Stanford 53 (Dallmar 15), Dartmouth 38 (Munroe 12)