1923–24 NCAA men's basketball season

1923–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Helms National Champions	North Carolina (retroactive selection in 1943)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Charlie T. Black, Kansas (retroactive selection in 1944)

The 1923–24 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1923, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1924.

Rule changes

A new rule required the player who was fouled to shoot his own free throws. Previously, a team could pick any player it wanted to shoot its free throws, and usually picked its best free-throw shooter to shoot all of them. The new rule thus brought to an end the practice of a team having a designated free-throw shooter.^[1][2]

Season headlines

• North Carolina went undefeated, going 26-0, under coach Norman Shepard. The record included the 1924 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament.^[3]
• Butler won the annual Amateur Athletic Union basketball tournament — which included both collegiate and amateur non-collegiate teams — becoming the third of only four college teams to do so and the first to win the tournament since 1920.^[4]
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected North Carolina as its national champion for the 1923–24 season.^[4]
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected North Carolina as its national champion for the 1923–24 season.^[5]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Arkansas Razorbacks	Non-major basketball program	Southwest Conference
Maryland Terrapins	Non-major basketball program	Southern Conference
Sewanee Tigers	Independent	Southern Conference
TCU Horned Frogs	Independent	Southwest Conference
Western State Mountaineers	Non-major basketball program	Independent

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[6]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Ten Conference	Chicago, Illinois, & Wisconsin	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Cornell	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington (North); California (South)		No Tournament; California defeated Washington in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Colorado College (Colorado); BYU (Utah)		No Tournament; Colorado College was conference champion
Southern Conference	Tulane	None selected	1924 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta, Georgia)	North Carolina[7]
Southwest Conference	Texas	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1923–24 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Wisconsin 8 – 4   .667 11 – 5   .688 Chicago 8 – 4   .667 11 – 6   .647 Illinois 8 – 4   .667 11 – 6   .647 Ohio State 7 – 5   .583 12 – 5   .706 Purdue 7 – 5   .583 12 – 5   .706 Indiana 7 – 5   .583 11 – 6   .647 Michigan 6 – 6   .500 10 – 7   .588 Minnesota 5 – 7   .417 9 – 8   .529 Iowa 4 – 8   .333 7 – 10   .412 Northwestern 0 – 12   .000 0 – 16   .000	1923–24 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Cornell 8 – 2   .800 13 – 3   .813 Columbia 6 – 4   .600 15 – 4   .789 Princeton 6 – 4   .600 11 – 6   .647 Dartmouth 4 – 6   .400 12 – 9   .571 Penn 3 – 7   .300 18 – 8   .692 Yale 3 – 7   .300 12 – 10   .545	1923–24 Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas 15 – 1   .938 16 – 3   .842 Oklahoma 13 – 3   .813 15 – 3   .833 Nebraska 10 – 6   .625 11 – 7   .611 Washington University 8 – 8   .500 10 – 9   .526 Drake 8 – 8   .500 9 – 9   .500 Kansas State 8 – 8   .500 8 – 8   .500 Grinnell 4 – 12   .250 4 – 14   .222 Missouri 4 – 12   .250 4 – 14   .222 Iowa State 2 – 14   .125 2 – 16   .111
1923–24 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Washington 7 – 2   .778 12 – 4   .750 Oregon Agricultural 6 – 2   .750 20 – 5   .800 Oregon 4 – 4   .500 15 – 5   .750 Idaho 4 – 6   .400 23 – 11   .676 Washington State 3 – 7   .300 17 – 11   .607 Montana 1 – 4   .200 7 – 8   .467 South California † 5 – 3   .625 14 – 4   .778 USC 4 – 4   .500 15 – 4   .789 Stanford 3 – 5   .375 10 – 5   .667 † Conference playoff series winner As of 1924[8]	1923–24 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Colorado Colorado College† 9 – 1   .900 15 – 2   .882 Colorado Mines 8 – 4   .667 8 – 4   .667 Colorado Agricultural 6 – 4   .600 6 – 5   .545 Colorado 3 – 5   .375 4 – 7   .364 Denver 3 – 7   .300 3 – 8   .273 Wyoming 1 – 7   .125 2 – 13   .133 Utah BYU 7 – 1   .875 14 – 4   .778 Utah Agricultural 3 – 5   .375 6 – 6   .500 Utah 2 – 6   .250 2 – 6   .250 † Conference championship winner
1923–24 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Tulane 10 – 0   1.000 21 – 1   .955 North Carolina† 7 – 0   1.000 26 – 0   1.000 Georgia 7 – 0   1.000 16 – 5   .762 Alabama 5 – 1   .833 12 – 4   .750 Kentucky 6 – 2   .750 13 – 3   .813 Mississippi A&M 8 – 4   .667 13 – 8   .619 Virginia 3 – 2   .600 12 – 3   .800 Tennessee 5 – 5   .500 10 – 8   .556 South Carolina 2 – 2   .500 11 – 9   .550 Georgia Tech 4 – 5   .444 9 – 13   .409 Mississippi 2 – 4   .333 16 – 6   .727 Washington and Lee 2 – 4   .333 9 – 5   .643 NC State 2 – 4   .333 7 – 16   .304 Maryland 1 – 2   .333 5 – 7   .417 Vanderbilt 1 – 3   .250 7 – 15   .318 Florida 0 – 2   .000 5 – 10   .333 Sewanee 0 – 2   .000 2 – 7   .222 Virginia Tech 0 – 4   .000 5 – 13   .278 Auburn 0 – 6   .000 4 – 9   .308 Clemson 0 – 6   .000 2 – 14   .125 LSU 0 – 7   .000 8 – 12   .400 † Southern Conference Tournament winner	1923–24 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas 20 – 0   1.000 23 – 0   1.000 TCU 15 – 4   .789 16 – 4   .800 Texas A&M 13 – 10   .565 13 – 10   .565 Oklahoma A&M 9 – 5   .643 14 – 6   .700 Baylor 7 – 17   .292 11 – 23   .324 SMU 7 – 15   .318 9 – 15   .375 Arkansas 3 – 9   .250 17 – 11   .607 Rice 3 – 17   .150 3 – 17   .150

Independents

A total of 99 college teams played as major independents. Beloit (14–0) and Carleton (15–0) were undefeated, and Valparaiso (24–4) finished with the most wins.^[9]

1923–24 NCAA men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Beloit –   – 14 – 0   1.000 Carleton –   – 15 – 0   1.000 Franklin –   – 19 – 1   .950 CCNY –   – 12 – 1   .923 Mount Union –   – 12 – 1   .923 Rensselaer –   – 11 – 1   .917 Army –   – 16 – 2   .889 Canisius –   – 8 – 1   .889 Vermont –   – 15 – 2   .882 West Virginia –   – 14 – 2   .875 Montana State –   – 20 – 3   .870 Creighton –   – 13 – 2   .867 Penn State –   – 13 – 2   .867 Valparaiso –   – 24 – 4   .857 Navy –   – 15 – 3   .833 Arizona –   – 14 – 3   .824 DePauw –   – 13 – 3   .813 Springfield (Mass.) –   – 13 – 3   .813 West Texas State –   – 13 – 3   .813 Denison –   – 12 – 3   .800 Lehigh –   – 12 – 3   .800 Saint Louis –   – 8 – 2   .800 Saint Mary's (Calif.) –   – 12 – 3   .800 UCLA –   – 8 – 2   .800 St. Ignatius –   – 14 – 4   .778 Washburn –   – 13 – 4   .765 Xavier –   – 13 – 4   .765 Ohio –   – 16 – 5   .762 Trinity (N.C.) –   – 19 – 6   .760 Temple –   – 15 – 5   .750 Richmond –   – 14 – 5   .737 Wake Forest –   – 18 – 7   .720 Grove City –   – 15 – 6   .714 St. Bonaventure –   – 7 – 3   .700 Indiana State –   – 16 – 7   .696 North Dakota Agricultural –   – 16 – 7   .696 Muhlenberg –   – 11 – 5   .688 Colgate –   – 13 – 6   .684 Georgetown –   – 6 – 3   .667 Northern Colorado –   – 10 – 5   .667 Rutgers –   – 8 – 4   .667 Saint Francis (N.Y.) –   – 18 – 9   .667 Tulsa –   – 2 – 1   .667 Villanova –   – 14 – 7   .667 Washington College –   – 12 – 6   .667 Notre Dame –   – 15 – 8   .652 Dayton –   – 9 – 5   .643 Butler –   – 12 – 7   .632 New Mexico –   – 5 – 3   .625 Union (N.Y.) –   – 10 – 6   .625 Western State Normal –   – 13 – 8   .619 Fordham –   – 12 – 8   .600 Rhode Island State –   – 9 – 6   .600 Pittsburgh –   – 10 – 7   .588 Cincinnati –   – 11 – 8   .579 Harvard –   – 11 – 8   .579 DePaul –   – 8 – 6   .571 Duquesne –   – 8 – 6   .571 Manhattan –   – 12 – 9   .571 VMI –   – 8 – 6   .571 Buffalo –   – 7 – 6   .538 Marshall –   – 8 – 7   .533 Detroit –   – 9 – 8   .529 Davidson –   – 10 – 9   .526 New Mexico A&M –   – 10 – 9   .526 Bradley –   – 11 – 10   .524 St. John's (N.Y.) –   – 16 – 15   .516 Furman –   – 7 – 7   .500 Marquette –   – 10 – 10   .500 Michigan Agricultural –   – 10 – 10   .500 New York University –   – 8 – 8   .500 Northern Arizona Normal –   – 7 – 7   .500 St. Joseph's –   – 9 – 9   .500 Toledo –   – 5 – 5   .500 Western Kentucky State –   – 9 – 9   .500 Niagara –   – 9 – 10   .474 Seton Hall –   – 6 – 7   .462 Fairmount –   – 10 – 12   .455 Loyola (Md.) –   – 8 – 10   .444 Syracuse –   – 8 – 10   .444 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 8 – 11   .421 Brown –   – 7 – 12   .368 Holy Cross –   – 5 – 9   .357 Connecticut –   – 4 – 8   .333 Wabash –   – 4 – 8   .333 William & Mary –   – 8 – 16   .333 Kent State Normal –   – 4 – 9   .308 Lafayette –   – 6 – 14   .300 Wooster –   – 4 – 10   .286 Tempe Normal –   – 3 – 9   .250 Louisville –   – 4 – 13   .235 Texas State M&M –   – 3 – 10   .231 The Citadel –   – 2 – 8   .200 Western State –   – 1 – 4   .200 Miami (Ohio) –   – 2 – 9   .182 Bowling Green State –   – 3 – 15   .167 Bucknell –   – 1 – 5   .167 George Washington –   – 1 – 9   .100 Santa Clara –   – 1 – 9   .100

Statistical leaders

Awards

Helms College Basketball All-Americans

Main article: 1924 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The practice of selecting a Consensus All-American Team did not begin until the 1928–29 season. The Helms Athletic Foundation later retroactively selected a list of All-Americans for the 1923–24 season.^[10]

Player	Team
Tusten Ackerman	Kansas
Charlie T. Black	Kansas
Cartwright Carmichael	North Carolina
Jack Cobb	North Carolina
Abb Curtis	Texas
Amory Gill	Oregon Agricultural
Harry Kipke	Michigan
Hugh Latham	Oregon
James Lovley	Creighton
H. W. Middlesworth	Butler

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Charlie T. Black, Kansas (retroactive selection in 1944)

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Indiana	Leslie Mann		Everett Dean
Marshall	Bill Strickling		Russ Meredith

References

1. orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
2. Schleyer, Claudia, "The Rules of Basketball: Boy How They've Changed!", Youth Hoops 101 Accessed 15 May 2021
3. "1923-24 UNC Tar Heels Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
4. Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
5. ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
6. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
7. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
8. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
9. "1923-24 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
10. The Association for Professional Basketball Research "NCAA All-American Teams, 1919–20 to 1998–99"