1939 NCAA basketball tournament

Tournament procedure

One team would represent each of the NCAA's eight geographic districts for a total of eight teams. Each district had a selection committee which determined their representative; one district elected to hold a playoff to determine the bid. In the bracket, the four eastern districts met for the East Regional, and the four western districts met for the West Regional; the champions of each region met in Evanston, Illinois for the championship game.

1939 NCAA tournament schedule and venues

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 1939 tournament:

Regionals

;March 17 and 18 :East Regional, The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

;March 20 and 21 :West Regional, California Coliseum, San Francisco, California

Championship Game

;March 30 :Patten Gymnasium, Evanston, Illinois

Selection of teams

District decisions

District selection committees decided upon their representative, with most analyzing the top teams and selecting one. Districts 2, 6, and 8 invited Villanova, Texas, and Oregon, respectively, who accepted their invitations. Other districts had their first choice decline the invitation. District 1 initially selected , the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League champion, but they declined the invitation and the committee subsequently invited independent . District 3 selected Southern Conference champion over Southern Conference tournament champion Clemson and Southeastern Conference tournament champion . District 4 selected independent , but they elected to participate in the National Invitation Tournament instead; the committee then invited their second-best team, Ohio State, the Big Ten champion. District 7 selected , the champion of the Mountain States Conference but they declined the invitation due to not wanting to travel again after a mid-season trip to New York City. Utah State was instead invited to represent District 7.

District 5 playoff

One district, District 5, decided to host a four-team playoff in Oklahoma City to determine which team would represent them in the tournament. The committee invited and Oklahoma from the Big 6 Conference and and from the Missouri Valley Conference. However, Missouri declined the invitation to the playoff. Oklahoma A&M defeated Drake in the first round of the playoffs, and Oklahoma won the second game against A&M to advance to the tournament.

March 13 March 14

|RD1-team1 = Oklahoma A&M |RD1-score1 = 23 |RD1-team2 = Drake |RD1-score2 = 22

|RD2-team1 = Oklahoma |RD2-score1 = 30 |RD2-team2 = Oklahoma A&M |RD2-score2 = 21

Tournament teams

Bracket

| RD1-group1 = East – Philadelphia | RD1-group2 = West – San Francisco

| RD1-text1= March 17 | RD1-text3= March 20 | RD2-text1= March 18 | RD2-text2= March 21 | RD2-text3= March 21 | RD3-text1= Evanston, Illinois – March 27

| RD1-seed1= | RD1-team1=Villanova | RD1-score1=42 | RD1-seed2= | RD1-team2= | RD1-score2=30 | RD1-seed3= | RD1-team3=Ohio State | RD1-score3=64 | RD1-seed4= | RD1-team4= | RD1-score4=52 | RD1-seed5= | RD1-team5=Oregon | RD1-score5=56 | RD1-seed6= | RD1-team6=Texas | RD1-score6=41 | RD1-seed7= | RD1-team7= | RD1-score7=39 | RD1-seed8= | RD1-team8=Oklahoma | RD1-score8=50 | RD2-seed1= | RD2-team1=Villanova | RD2-score1=36 | RD2-seed2= | RD2-team2=Ohio State | RD2-score2=53 | RD2-seed3= | RD2-team3=Oregon | RD2-score3=55 | RD2-seed4= | RD2-team4=Oklahoma | RD2-score4=37 | RD3-seed1= | RD3-team1=Ohio State | RD3-score1=33 | RD3-seed2= | RD3-team2=Oregon | RD3-score2=46

| RD2b-seed1= | RD2b-team1=Texas | RD2b-score1= 49 | RD2b-seed2= | RD2b-team2=Utah State | RD2b-score2=51

References

References

1. (March 28, 1939). "Giant Oregon five defeats Ohio for U.S. title, 46–33". Milwaukee Sentinel.
2. Kuechle, Oliver. (March 28, 1939). "Oregon beats Ohio State easily for national title". Milwaukee Journal.
3. (March 28, 1939). "Oregon tops Bucks, 46–33". Toledo Blade.
4. Strite, Dick. (March 28, 1939). "Mighty Oregons scramble Ohio State to take hoop title of all America". Eugene Register-Guard.
5. Carlson, Chad. (2017). "Making March Madness: The Early Years of the NCAA, NIT, and College Basketball Championships, 1922-1951". University of Arkansas Press.
6. Carlson, Chad. (2017). "Making March Madness: The Early Years of the NCAA, NIT, and College Basketball Championships 1922-1951". The University of Arkansas Press.
7. Carlson, Chad. (2017). "Making March Madness: The Early Years of the NCAA, NIT, and College Basketball Championships, 1922-1951". University of Arkansas Press.
8. "Oklahoma State University Athletics".
9. "1939 NCAA basketball tournament". College Basketball Reference.