1933–34 NCAA men's basketball season

1933–34 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Helms National Champions	Wyoming (retroactive selection in 1943)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Wesley Bennett, Westminster (Pa.) (retroactive selection in 1944)

The 1933–34 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1933, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1934.

Rule changes

• The "10-second" rule went into effect, requiring the team on offense to get the ball past the midcourt line within 10 seconds.
• A new substitution rule allowed each player to re-enter a game twice. Previously, each player could re-enter a game only once.
• The number of referees increased from one to two.

Season headlines

• The Metropolitan New York Conference began play, with 10 original members.
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Wyoming as its national champion for the 1933–34 season.
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Kentucky as its national champion for the 1933–34 season.

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Brooklyn Bulldogs	Non-major basketball program	Metropolitan New York Conference
Bucknell Bison	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference
CCNY Beavers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Columbia Lions	See note	Metropolitan New York Conference
Fordham Rams	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Harvard Crimson	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
Long Island Blackbirds	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Manhattan Jaspers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
NYU Violets	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
Pratt Cannoneers	Non-major basketball program	Metropolitan New York Conference
St. Francis (NY) Terriers	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference
St. John's Redmen	Independent	Metropolitan New York Conference

NOTE: Columbia joined the Metropolitan New York Conference while remaining a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League. It retained its membership in both until 1939.

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Purdue	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Texas Tech	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Penn	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Pittsburgh	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	NYU	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Butler	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Wyoming (Eastern); BYU (Western)		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Alabama	None selected	1934 SEC men's basketball tournament	Atlanta Athletic Club (Atlanta, Georgia)	Alabama
Southern Conference	South Carolina	None selected	1934 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Washington and Lee
Southwest Conference	TCU	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1933–34 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas 9 – 1   .900 16 – 1   .941 Missouri 6 – 4   .600 10 – 8   .556 Oklahoma 6 – 4   .600 10 – 8   .556 Nebraska 5 – 5   .500 7 – 11   .389 Iowa State 2 – 8   .200 6 – 11   .353 Kansas State 2 – 8   .200 3 – 15   .167	1933–34 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Purdue 10 – 2   .833 17 – 3   .850 Wisconsin 8 – 4   .667 14 – 6   .700 Northwestern 8 – 4   .667 11 – 8   .579 Illinois 7 – 5   .583 13 – 6   .684 Iowa 6 – 6   .500 13 – 7   .650 Indiana 6 – 6   .500 13 – 7   .650 Minnesota 5 – 7   .417 9 – 11   .450 Ohio State 4 – 8   .333 8 – 12   .400 Michigan 4 – 8   .333 6 – 14   .300 Chicago 2 – 10   .167 5 – 15   .250	1933–34 Border Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas Tech 7 – 1   .875 18 – 5   .783 Arizona 9 – 3   .750 18 – 9   .667 New Mexico 6 – 4   .600 16 – 4   .800 Arizona State Teachers 8 – 10   .444 9 – 11   .450 Arizona State Teachers–Flagstaff 6 – 10   .375 9 – 14   .391 New Mexico A&M 2 – 6   .250 10 – 9   .526
1933–34 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Penn 10 – 2   .833 16 – 3   .842 Cornell 9 – 3   .750 10 – 6   .625 Princeton 7 – 5   .583 13 – 8   .619 Yale 7 – 5   .583 14 – 9   .609 Dartmouth 6 – 6   .500 13 – 7   .650 Columbia 3 – 9   .250 5 – 14   .263 Harvard 0 – 12   .000 3 – 19   .136	1933–34 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Pittsburgh 8 – 0   1.000 18 – 4   .818 West Virginia 7 – 3   .700 14 – 5   .737 Georgetown 5 – 5   .500 12 – 11   .522 Temple 5 – 5   .500 9 – 12   .429 Carnegie Tech 2 – 7   .222 1 – 8   .111 Bucknell 0 – 7   .000 2 – 16   .111	1933–34 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT NYU 9 – 0   1.000 16 – 0   1.000 LIU 4 – 0   1.000 26 – 1   .963 CCNY 4 – 1   .800 14 – 1   .933 Manhattan 4 – 4   .500 8 – 10   .444 St. John's 3 – 4   .429 16 – 3   .842 St. Francis (NY) 3 – 8   .273 13 – 11   .542 Fordham 1 – 4   .200 11 – 5   .688 Brooklyn 1 – 6   .143 14 – 7   .667 Pratt Institute –   – 8 – 6   .571
1933–34 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Butler 9 – 1   .900 14 – 7   .667 Creighton 7 – 3   .700 14 – 3   .824 Grinnell 5 – 5   .500 8 – 7   .533 Washington University 4 – 6   .400 7 – 11   .389 Drake 4 – 6   .400 6 – 12   .333 Oklahoma A&M 1 – 9   .100 4 – 14   .222	1933–34 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Washington † 14 – 2   .875 20 – 5   .800 Oregon 9 – 7   .563 17 – 8   .680 Oregon State 7 – 9   .438 14 – 10   .583 Washington State 6 – 10   .375 14 – 11   .560 Idaho 4 – 12   .250 16 – 13   .552 South USC 9 – 3   .750 16 – 8   .667 California 8 – 4   .667 19 – 7   .731 Stanford 5 – 7   .417 8 – 12   .400 UCLA 2 – 10   .167 10 – 13   .435 † Conference playoff series winner	1933–34 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Eastern Wyoming 14 – 0   1.000 26 – 4   .867 Colorado 7 – 5   .583 9 – 8   .529 Colorado College 7 – 5   .583 10 – 11   .476 Denver 7 – 7   .500 8 – 9   .471 Northern Colorado 6 – 8   .429 13 – 14   .481 Colorado Agricultural 5 – 7   .417 5 – 7   .417 Western State 4 – 6   .400 9 – 8   .529 Colorado Mines 1 – 13   .071 1 – 13   .071 Western BYU 9 – 3   .750 18 – 12   .600 Utah State 7 – 5   .583 14 – 6   .700 Utah 7 – 5   .583 14 – 9   .609 Montana State 1 – 11   .083 5 – 22   .185
1933–34 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kentucky 11 – 0   1.000 16 – 1   .941 Alabama † 13 – 2   .867 16 – 2   .889 LSU 13 – 3   .813 13 – 4   .765 Florida 4 – 2   .667 11 – 7   .611 Vanderbilt 8 – 5   .615 11 – 6   .647 Tulane 8 – 10   .444 10 – 10   .500 Georgia Tech 5 – 8   .385 6 – 12   .333 Tennessee 3 – 5   .375 10 – 7   .588 Mississippi State 4 – 8   .333 8 – 11   .421 Georgia 3 – 6   .333 10 – 9   .526 Ole Miss 2 – 8   .200 7 – 9   .438 Auburn 2 – 9   .182 2 – 11   .154 Sewanee 0 – 10   .000 0 – 13   .000 † Regular-season championship and 1934 SEC Tournament winner	1933–34 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT South Carolina 6 – 0   1.000 18 – 1   .947 North Carolina 12 – 2   .857 18 – 4   .818 Maryland 6 – 1   .857 11 – 8   .579 Duke 9 – 4   .692 18 – 6   .750 North Carolina State 6 – 5   .545 11 – 6   .647 Washington and Lee † 4 – 5   .444 10 – 6   .625 VMI 3 – 6   .333 4 – 9   .308 Virginia 1 – 9   .100 7 – 11   .389 Virginia Tech 1 – 10   .091 1 – 15   .063 Clemson 0 – 6   .000 7 – 12   .368 † Southern Conference Tournament winner	1933–34 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT TCU 10 – 2   .833 13 – 2   .867 Texas A&M 7 – 5   .583 14 – 6   .700 Arkansas 6 – 6   .500 16 – 8   .667 Texas 6 – 6   .500 14 – 8   .636 Rice 6 – 6   .500 6 – 6   .500 SMU 5 – 7   .417 6 – 9   .400 Baylor 2 – 10   .167 8 – 10   .444

Major independents

A total of 63 college teams played as major independents. DePaul (17–0) was undefeated, and Western Kentucky State (28–8) finished with the most wins.

1933–34 NCAA men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT DePaul –   – 17 – 0   1.000 Kansas State Teachers –   – 17 – 1   .944 Akron –   – 15 – 1   .938 Duquesne –   – 19 – 2   .905 Xavier –   – 9 – 1   .900 Syracuse –   – 15 – 2   .882 Navy –   – 11 – 2   .846 Notre Dame –   – 20 – 4   .833 Westminster (Pa.) –   – 24 – 5   .828 La Salle –   – 14 – 3   .824 Rhode Island State –   – 13 – 3   .813 Marquette –   – 15 – 4   .789 Western Kentucky State –   – 28 – 8   .778 Villanova –   – 9 – 3   .750 George Washington –   – 11 – 4   .733 Carleton –   – 12 – 5   .706 Michigan State Normal –   – 12 – 5   .706 Providence –   – 12 – 5   .706 Western State Teachers –   – 12 – 5   .706 Springfield (Mass.) –   – 11 – 5   .688 Colgate –   – 13 – 6   .684 Bowling Green State –   – 10 – 5   .667 Penn State –   – 8 – 4   .667 Richmond –   – 10 – 5   .667 Muhlenberg –   – 11 – 6   .647 Louisville –   – 16 – 9   .640 Cincinnati –   – 12 – 7   .632 Marshall –   – 13 – 8   .619 Montana –   – 16 – 10   .615 San Francisco –   – 8 – 5   .615 Rutgers –   – 9 – 6   .600 Dayton –   – 9 – 7   .563 Santa Clara –   – 9 – 7   .563 Saint Louis –   – 10 – 8   .556 Niagara –   – 11 – 9   .550 Canisius –   – 7 – 6   .538 Army –   – 8 – 7   .533 The Citadel –   – 8 – 7   .533 St. Bonaventure –   – 3 – 3   .500 Valparaiso –   – 9 – 9   .500 Indiana State –   – 8 – 9   .471 Detroit –   – 7 – 8   .467 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 7 – 8   .467 Washburn –   – 7 – 8   .467 Brown –   – 7 – 9   .438 Saint Mary's (Calif.) –   – 6 – 8   .429 Tulsa –   – 6 – 8   .429 Boston University –   – 5 – 7   .417 Toledo –   – 6 – 9   .400 Kent State –   – 5 – 9   .357 Lehigh –   – 5 – 9   .357 Wake Forest –   – 5 – 9   .357 St. Joseph's –   – 6 – 11   .353 Connecticut –   – 5 – 10   .333 Davidson –   – 6 – 13   .316 William & Mary –   – 4 – 9   .308 Furman –   – 5 – 12   .294 Miami (Ohio) –   – 4 – 11   .267 Ohio –   – 5 – 14   .263 Lafayette –   – 3 – 9   .250 Loyola (Md.) –   – 2 – 8   .200 Bradley –   – 3 – 14   .176 Texas State M&M –   – 3 – 16   .158

Awards

Consensus All-American team

Main article: 1934 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus Team

Player	Class	Team
Norman Cottom	Junior	Purdue
Claire Cribbs	Junior	Pittsburgh
Moose Krause	Senior	Notre Dame
Hal Lee	Senior	Washington
Les Witte	Senior	Wyoming

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Wesley Bennett, Westminster (Pa.) (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
Colorado	Henry Iba		Dutch Clark
Oklahoma A&M	Harold James		Henry Iba
Toledo	David V. Connelly		Harold Anderson
Wisconsin	Walter Meanwell		Harold E. Foster