1932–33 NCAA men's basketball season

1932–33 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Helms National Champions	Kentucky (retroactive selection in 1943)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Forest Sale, Kentucky (retroactive selection in 1944)

The 1932–33 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1932, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1933.

Rule changes

• To reduce stalling, a mid-court line is introduced: After crossing it, a team on offense was not permitted to move the ball back across the line. Previously, teams on offense could use the entire court to spread the defense thin, and often played keep-away without trying to score, leading to dull, low-scoring games.^[1]
• A player with the ball was prohibited from standing in the free-throw lane (also known as the "key") for more than three seconds.^[2]
• The number of referees increased from one to two.^[3]

Season headlines

• The Eastern Intercollegiate Conference began play, with five original members.
• The Southeastern Conference began play, with 13 original members.
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Kentucky as its national champion for the 1932–33 season.^[4]
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Texas as its national champion for the 1932–33 season.^[5]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Alabama Crimson Tide	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Auburn Tigers	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Butler Bulldogs	Independent	Missouri Valley Conference
Carnegie Tech Tartans	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference
Florida Gators	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Georgia Bulldogs	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Georgetown Hoyas	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference
Kentucky Wildcats	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
LSU Tigers	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Mississippi Rebels	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Mississippi State Bulldogs	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Pittsburgh Panthers	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference
Sewanee Tigers	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Temple Owls	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference
Tennessee Volunteers	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Texas Tech Matadors	Independent	Border Conference
Tulane Green Wave	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Vanderbilt Commodores	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
West Virginia Mountaineers	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference

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 Six Conference	Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Northwestern & Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Texas Tech	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Yale	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Pittsburgh	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Butler	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; Oregon State defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Colorado Agricultural & Wyoming (Eastern); BYU & Utah (Western)		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	1933 SEC men's basketball tournament	Atlanta Athletic Club (Atlanta, Georgia)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	South Carolina	None selected	1933 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	South Carolina[7]
Southwest Conference	Texas	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1932–33 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas 8 – 2   .800 13 – 4   .765 Oklahoma 7 – 3   .700 12 – 5   .706 Missouri 6 – 4   .600 10 – 8   .556 Kansas State 4 – 6   .400 9 – 9   .500 Nebraska 3 – 7   .300 3 – 13   .188 Iowa State 2 – 8   .200 6 – 10   .375	1932–33 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Ohio State 10 – 2   .833 17 – 3   .850 Northwestern 10 – 2   .833 15 – 4   .789 Iowa 8 – 4   .667 15 – 5   .750 Michigan 8 – 4   .667 10 – 8   .556 Illinois 6 – 6   .500 11 – 7   .611 Purdue 6 – 6   .500 11 – 7   .611 Indiana 6 – 6   .500 10 – 8   .556 Wisconsin 4 – 8   .333 7 – 13   .350 Minnesota 1 – 11   .083 5 – 15   .250 Chicago 1 – 11   .083 2 – 16   .111	1932–33 Border Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas Tech 4 – 0   1.000 13 – 9   .591 Arizona 7 – 3   .700 19 – 5   .792 Arizona State Teachers–Flagstaff 7 – 5   .583 9 – 5   .643 New Mexico 8 – 6   .571 13 – 6   .684 Arizona State Teachers 7 – 9   .438 13 – 12   .520 New Mexico A&M 2 – 10   .167 7 – 11   .389
1932–33 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Yale 8 – 2   .800 19 – 3   .864 Princeton 7 – 3   .700 19 – 3   .864 Penn 6 – 4   .600 12 – 6   .667 Dartmouth 5 – 5   .500 12 – 6   .667 Columbia 3 – 7   .300 7 – 10   .412 Cornell 1 – 9   .100 6 – 11   .353	1932–33 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Pittsburgh 7 – 1   .875 17 – 5   .773 Temple 5 – 3   .625 15 – 6   .714 Carnegie Tech 4 – 4   .500 4 – 5   .444 Georgetown 3 – 5   .375 6 – 11   .353 West Virginia 1 – 7   .125 10 – 14   .417	1932–33 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Butler 9 – 1   .900 16 – 5   .762 Creighton 8 – 2   .800 12 – 5   .706 Washington University 5 – 5   .500 11 – 6   .647 Grinnell 3 – 7   .300 5 – 11   .313 Oklahoma A&M 3 – 7   .300 5 – 12   .294 Drake 2 – 8   .200 4 – 12   .250
1932–33 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Oregon State † 12 – 4   .750 21 – 6   .778 Washington 10 – 6   .625 22 – 6   .786 Washington State 8 – 8   .500 17 – 8   .680 Idaho 8 – 8   .500 20 – 9   .690 Oregon 2 – 14   .125 8 – 19   .296 South USC 10 – 1   .909 18 – 5   .783 California 8 – 3   .727 18 – 7   .720 Stanford 3 – 8   .273 9 – 18   .333 UCLA 1 – 10   .091 10 – 11   .476 † Conference playoff series winner	1932–33 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Eastern Wyoming† 12 – 2   .857 18 – 5   .783 Northern Colorado 12 – 2   .857 13 – 7   .650 Colorado Agricultural† 7 – 5   .583 7 – 5   .583 Western State 6 – 6   .500 8 – 6   .571 Colorado College 6 – 8   .429 7 – 12   .368 Denver 4 – 10   .286 7 – 12   .368 Colorado Mines 0 – 14   .000 0 – 14   .000 Western BYU† 9 – 3   .750 20 – 7   .741 Utah† 9 – 3   .750 13 – 8   .619 Utah State 4 – 8   .333 10 – 12   .455 Colorado 7 – 7   .500 8 – 8   .500 Montana State 2 – 10   .167 9 – 18   .333 † Respective division co-championship winner	1932–33 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kentucky † 8 – 0   1.000 21 – 3   .875 Alabama 12 – 3   .800 14 – 5   .737 Vanderbilt 11 – 5   .688 14 – 8   .636 LSU 13 – 7   .650 15 – 8   .652 Georgia Tech 7 – 5   .583 9 – 6   .600 Florida 4 – 4   .500 9 – 5   .643 Georgia 5 – 6   .455 9 – 10   .474 Ole Miss 5 – 7   .417 6 – 12   .333 Auburn 4 – 7   .364 4 – 9   .308 Tulane 6 – 14   .300 8 – 15   .348 Tennessee 3 – 7   .300 9 – 11   .450 Mississippi State 3 – 9   .250 6 – 13   .316 Sewanee 0 – 7   .000 1 – 10   .091 † 1933 SEC Tournament winner
1932–33 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT South Carolina † 4 – 0   1.000 17 – 2   .895 Duke 7 – 3   .700 17 – 5   .773 Maryland 7 – 3   .700 11 – 9   .550 North Carolina State 6 – 3   .667 11 – 8   .579 North Carolina 5 – 3   .625 12 – 5   .706 Virginia 5 – 3   .625 12 – 6   .667 Virginia Tech 3 – 7   .300 5 – 10   .333 VMI 2 – 8   .200 5 – 10   .333 Washington and Lee 1 – 8   .111 6 – 10   .375 Clemson 0 – 2   .000 10 – 9   .526 † Southern Conference Tournament winner	1932–33 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas 11 – 1   .917 22 – 1   .957 TCU 9 – 3   .750 16 – 4   .800 Texas A&M 8 – 4   .667 9 – 10   .474 Arkansas 6 – 6   .500 14 – 7   .667 SMU 5 – 7   .417 9 – 9   .500 Rice 2 – 10   .167 8 – 10   .444 Baylor 1 – 11   .083 4 – 13   .235

Major independents

A total of 74 college teams played as major independents. Duquesne (15–1) had the best winning percentage (.938), and St. John's (23–4) finished with the most wins.^[10]

1932–33 NCAA men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Duquesne –   – 15 – 1   .938 Carleton –   – 14 – 1   .933 CCNY –   – 13 – 1   .929 Michigan State Normal –   – 15 – 2   .882 Navy –   – 14 – 2   .875 Syracuse –   – 14 – 2   .875 Valparaiso –   – 14 – 2   .875 Wichita Municipal –   – 14 – 2   .875 St. John's (N.Y.) –   – 23 – 4   .852 West Texas State –   – 20 – 4   .833 Marquette –   – 14 – 3   .824 Western State Teachers –   – 14 – 3   .824 La Salle –   – 13 – 3   .813 Providence –   – 13 – 3   .813 DePaul –   – 12 – 3   .800 Ohio –   – 16 – 4   .800 Rhode Island State –   – 14 – 4   .778 Westminster (Pa.) –   – 19 – 6   .760 George Washington –   – 15 – 5   .750 New York University –   – 11 – 4   .733 Notre Dame –   – 16 – 6   .727 Western Kentucky State –   – 16 – 6   .727 William & Mary –   – 13 – 5   .722 Detroit –   – 12 – 5   .706 St. Bonaventure –   – 7 – 3   .700 Villanova –   – 9 – 4   .692 Niagara –   – 13 – 6   .684 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 14 – 7   .667 Richmond –   – 8 – 4   .667 Seton Hall –   – 8 – 4   .667 Tulsa –   – 11 – 6   .647 Bowling Green State –   – 9 – 5   .643 Penn State –   – 7 – 4   .636 Indiana State –   – 10 – 6   .625 Xavier –   – 5 – 3   .625 Bradley –   – 8 – 5   .615 Michigan State –   – 10 – 7   .588 San Francisco –   – 10 – 7   .588 Furman –   – 11 – 8   .579 Manhattan –   – 11 – 8   .579 Rutgers –   – 8 – 6   .571 Saint Francis (N.Y.) –   – 12 – 9   .571 Washburn –   – 8 – 6   .571 Lehigh –   – 9 – 7   .563 Boston University –   – 8 – 7   .533 Springfield (Mass.) –   – 9 – 8   .529 Marshall –   – 10 – 9   .526 Army –   – 5 – 5   .500 Cincinnati –   – 9 – 9   .500 Dayton –   – 7 – 7   .500 Louisville –   – 11 – 11   .500 Saint Louis –   – 9 – 9   .500 Loyola (Md.) –   – 8 – 9   .471 Saint Mary's (Calif.) –   – 10 – 12   .455 Muhlenberg –   – 9 – 11   .450 Santa Clara –   – 8 – 10   .444 St. Joseph's –   – 7 – 9   .438 Bucknell –   – 6 – 8   .429 Montana –   – 8 – 11   .421 Brown –   – 6 – 9   .400 Canisius –   – 6 – 9   .400 Fordham –   – 7 – 11   .389 Wake Forest –   – 5 – 8   .385 LIU –   – 6 – 11   .353 Colgate –   – 5 – 10   .333 The Citadel –   – 4 – 11   .267 Kent State –   – 4 – 11   .267 Connecticut –   – 4 – 12   .250 Davidson –   – 4 – 14   .222 Miami (Ohio) –   – 3 – 13   .188 Toledo –   – 3 – 13   .188 Harvard –   – 2 – 10   .167 Lafayette –   – 2 – 10   .167 Texas State M&M –   – 1 – 9   .100

Statistical leaders

Awards

Consensus All-American team

Main article: 1933 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus Team

Player	Class	Team
Moose Krause	Junior	Notre Dame
Elliott Loughlin	Senior	Navy
Jerry Nemer	Senior	USC
Joe Reiff	Senior	Northwestern
Forest Sale	Senior	Kentucky
Don Smith	Senior	Pittsburgh

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Forest Sale, Kentucky (retroactive selection in 1944)

Coaching changes

References

1. Hoop Tactics "The Evolution of Basketball: A Chronological Look At The Major Refinements" Accessed 15 May 2021
2. orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
3. Schleyer, Claudia, "The Rules of Basketball: Boy How They've Changed!", Youth Hoops 101 Accessed 15 May 2021
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. sports-reference.com 1932-33 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary
9. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
10. "1932-33 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 31, 2024.