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See also: 1946 NCAA basketball tournament

1946 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
National championship game
North Carolina Tar Heels Oklahoma A&M Aggies
SoCon MVC
(29-4) (30-2)
40 43
Head coach:
Ben Carnevale		 Head coach:
Henry Iba
1st half2nd half Total
North Carolina Tar Heels 1723 40
Oklahoma A&M Aggies 2320 43
DateMarch 26, 1946
Venue Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
MVP Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M [1]
FavoriteOklahoma A&M by 8 ½ [2]
RefereesJocko Collins & Pat Kennedy [3]
Attendance18,479 [4]
←  1945
1947 →

The 1946 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game took place on March 26, 1946 between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Oklahoma A&M Aggies at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The match-up was the final one of the eighth consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship single-elimination tournament — commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament — organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is used to crown a national champion for men's basketball at the Division I level. [5] [6] [7] [8]

The Aggie won their second consecutive NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship. Bob Kurland was named the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player for his efforts throughout the tournament, an honor which he won in the previous year's tournament.

Background

North Carolina Tar Heels

Main article: 1945–46 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The North Carolina Tar Heels, or White Phantoms, entered the season being coached by Ben Carnevale.

Oklahoma A&M Aggies

Main article: 1945–46 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team

Coach Henry Iba and the Oklahoma A&M Aggies won the national championship game the previous season, where they defeated New York University by four points to claim the national title. [9] The team returned most of the roster from the year before and the team was expected to be successful as the prior year. [10] Sam Aubrey, a player who enlisted in 1943 and was deployed in World War II, returned to the team. Aubrey had sustained an injury during combat, but after intense rehab, he returned to the level of play he had been at before he left and was placed in the starting line up. [10] The Aggies finished the regular season with a 28-2 record and won the Missouri Valley Conference. [10] All five starters for the Aggies were named first team all-conference. [10]

Media coverage

The media believed that the Aggies' chances of winning depended on the play of Bob Kurland, the nation's leading scorer. [11] [12] An Associated Press writer believed that if Kurland played like he had in the past eleven games, then the Aggies would be the first team to repeat as NCAA champions. [11] Sportswriters believed that if McKinney – who was assigned to guard Kurland – could play well enough defense and Dillon make enough shots, the Tar Heels would have a chance at winning. [11]

Broadcast

This was the first NCAA Tournament to have a game televised. [13] The game was broadcast across only the greater New York area and reached close to 500,000 people. [13]

Box score

Source: [13] [14]

March 26, 1946
10:15 pm EST [7]
Oklahoma A&M Aggies 43, North Carolina Tar Heels 40
Scoring by half: 23-17, 20-23
Pts: Bob Kurland 23 Pts: John Dillon 16
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 18,479 [7]
Referees: Jocko Collins & Pat Kennedy

References

Citations
  1. ^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Louis Effrat (March 27, 1946). "Okla. Aggies Halt No. Carolina, 43-40". The New York Times. p. 36.
  3. ^ "The Final Four" (PDF). 2014 NCAA Men's Final Four Records. NCAA. 2014. p. 20. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Joe Reichler (March 27, 1946). "Oklahoma Aggies Take Hoop Trophy". The Deseret News. Associated Press. p. 12. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  5. ^ "Oklahoma Aggies Win NCAA Title". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. March 27, 1946. p. 22. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  6. ^ "Herald-Journal - Google News Archive Search".
  7. ^ a b c Ted Meier (March 26, 1946). "Aggies Favored To Top Tar Heels In NCAA Finals". Herald-Journal. Associated Press. p. 9. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  8. ^ Hager 2012, p. 21.
  9. ^ Hager 2012, p. 18-19.
  10. ^ a b c d Hager 2012, p. 20.
  11. ^ a b c "Oklahomans Choice Over N. C. Tonight". The Washington Post. Associated Press. March 26, 1946. p. 36.
  12. ^ Michael Strauss (March 26, 1946). "Oklahoma Aggies in Garden Tonight". The New York Times. p. 33.
  13. ^ a b c Jeff Borzello. "1946 Men's NCAA basketball tournament". CBSSports.com. CBS Broadcasting Inc. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  14. ^ "Oklahoma State vs. North Carolina Box Score, March 26, 1946". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
Bibliography
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