National championship game | |||||||||||||
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Date | March 28, 1950 [1] | ||||||||||||
Venue | Madison Square Garden, New York City | ||||||||||||
MVP | Irwin Dambrot, CCNY [2] | ||||||||||||
The 1950 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1949-50 NCAA men's basketball season. The game was played on March 28, 1950, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It featured the CCNY Beavers of the Metropolitan New York Conference - the reigning NIT champions, and the Bradley Braves of the Missouri Valley Conference.
In a rematch of the NIT tournament final on March 18, the Beavers again defeated the Braves to win their only national championship, securing the only Grand Slam in the history of college basketball. Irwin Dambrot of CCNY was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and head coach Nat Holman appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. CCNY winning the national championship was voted the most exciting event in the history of college basketball at Madison Square Garden.
CCNY posted a 17–5 record during the regular season, but failed to attract any support in the final AP Top 20. The team was made up mostly of sophomores and was the last squad selected to play in Madison Square Garden's famed NIT, which had a 12-team field and at that time, was more prestigious than the NCAA tournament. Early on in the NCAA Tournament's days, which began in 1939, teams were allowed to participate in both it and the NIT. The NCAA later ruled that no team could compete in both tournaments, to avoid having another double champion.
People took notice when the Beavers thrashed defending champion San Francisco 65–46 in the opening round. CCNY then faced 3rd-ranked and two-time defending national champion Kentucky and their 7-foot center, Bill Spivey, in the second round. Kentucky was a racially segregated school from the Southeastern Conference, and several Kentucky players refused to shake hands with the black and Jewish CCNY players before the game. This incensed the CCNY players, who then proceeded to embarrass the Wildcats by an 89–50 score, handing Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp his worst loss ever. The blowout win over Kentucky was even more impressive due to the fact that Kentucky had won the national championship in 1948, 1949, and would do so again in 1951. A Cinderella Team had now emerged in the tournament. CCNY then defeated Duquesne 62–52 in the semi-final round. In the NIT title game, the Beavers squared off against top-ranked Bradley, who had All-American Paul Unruh and the 5'8" speedster, Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre. CCNY came out on top 69–61 to win the NIT title. Ed Warner of CCNY was awarded Most Valuable Player honors.
After winning the NIT title, the Beavers were immediately selected to participate in the NCAA tournament. In the opening round, the Beavers upset second-ranked Ohio State, 56–55. The Beavers then defeated fifth-ranked North Carolina State 78–73 in the Final Four to reach the national championship game. [3]
The Braves were the top-ranked team in the nation going into both the NIT and NCAA tournaments. They were led by All-American Paul Unruh and the 5'8" speedster, Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre. They made it all the way to the NIT tournament final where they would face unranked CCNY, and were surprisingly upset by a 69–61 score. In the NCAA tournament, the Braves defeated UCLA in the opening round, and then defeated Baylor in the Final Four to reach the national championship game, where they would again be pitted against CCNY.
Source: [4]
March 28, 1950 |
CCNY Beavers 71, #1 Bradley Braves 68 | ||
Scoring by half:39-32, 32-36 | ||
Pts: Irwin Dambrot 15 Asts: Floyd Layne 4 | Pts: Gene Melchiorre 16 Asts: Gene Melchiorre 5 |
After winning the national title, CCNY was implicated in a point-shaving scandal. Players had taken money from gamblers in the point-shaving scandals during the 1948–1949 season and also during some regular-season games in the 1949–1950 season. No games were fixed during the post-season tournaments.
The scandal involved CCNY and six other schools, including three others in the New York Metropolitan Area: New York University, Long Island University (LIU) and Manhattan College, spreading to Bradley University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Toledo, involving 33 players in all, as well as organized crime. Head coach Nat Holman was cleared of any wrongdoing. [5] [6] [7] Among the CCNY players taken into custody were All-America forward Ed Warner, center Ed Roman, and guard Al Roth, the three stars of CCNY's starting five that won both the NIT and national championships. The police had set up an undercover operation. [8] The arrests were made in Penn Station when the players returned from Philadelphia, after CCNY had defeated Temple University, 95–71.
The scandal prompted the suspension of the basketball program. The school was moved from Division I to Division III and was banned from playing at Madison Square Garden. As a result of these sanctions, the CCNY basketball program was de–emphasized, and the school has never again appeared in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments. CCNY is the only NCAA Basketball Championship team that is no longer a member of Division I.
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The tournament is played at regional sites with its Final Four played at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City up until 2022. Starting in 2023, the NIT Final Four began following the format of the NCAA Tournament by having its Final Four at different venues each season. First held in 1938, the NIT was once considered the most prestigious post-season showcase for college basketball before its status was superseded in the mid-1950s by the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Nat Holman was an American professional basketball player and college coach. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is the only coach to lead his team to NCAA and National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championships in the same season.
The 1950 NCAA basketball tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA college basketball. It began on March 23, 1950, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City. A total of 10 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1950 National Invitation Tournament was the 1950 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. For the only time in history, the same school won both the NIT and NCAA tournaments as CCNY took both championships, beating Bradley in both finals. Four participants in the 1950 NIT were later implicated in the CCNY point shaving scandal.
Eugene "Squeaky" Melchiorre was an American basketball player. A point guard, he was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets and was the first overall pick in the 1951 NBA draft. Melchiorre never played an NBA game due to his lifetime ban from the league for point shaving when he was a college player.
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program is the men's college basketball team of the University of Kentucky. It has eight NCAA championships, the best all-time winning percentage, and the most all-time victories. The Wildcats compete in the Southeastern Conference and are coached by Mark Pope.
The CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1951 was a college basketball point-shaving gambling scandal that officially involved seven American colleges and universities in all, with four of these schools being in the New York metropolitan area, two of them occurring in the Midwest, and one of them being in the South. However, at least one other player from the Ivy League in New York would also be considered involved in the scandal retroactively. Furthermore, it was alleged that the reach of this scandal went as far as the West Coast of the United States out in California and Oregon through attempts to fix games out there. While the starting point wasn't from the CCNY nor did that college have the most implicated players involved from the event, the scandal became notable and infamous during that period of time due to the number of players in the scandal being players of the collegiate dual tournament champion 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team. It was also seen as the biggest tipping point that threatened the integrity of college basketball's very existence at the time.
The Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represents the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in NCAA Division I competition. The team competes in the Patriot League and plays their home games in the Hart Center. The program boasts such notable alumni as Boston Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn, and longtime Providence College basketball coach Joe Mullaney.
The St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represents St. John's University located in Queens, New York. The team participates in the Big East Conference, where it is a founding member of the league. As of the end of the 2022–23 season, St. John's ranked ninth with 1,922 total wins among NCAA Division I teams. St. John's has appeared in 30 NCAA tournaments, most recently appearing in 2019. The Red Storm's best finish in the NCAA tournament came in 1952 when they were NCAA runner-ups and made the Final Four. St. John's also made a Final Four appearance in 1985. St. John's is coached by Rick Pitino.
The Baylor Bears men's basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Bears compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team played its home games in Ferrell Center from 1988 until 2023. Baylor now plays its home games in the Foster Pavilion and is currently coached by Scott Drew.
The Bradley Braves men's basketball team represents Bradley University, located in Peoria, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They compete as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Braves are currently coached by Brian Wardle and play their home games at Carver Arena.
Irwin Dambrot was an American basketball player, best known for his college career at the City College of New York.
The 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team represented the City College of New York. The head coach was Nat Holman, who was one of the game's greatest innovators and playmakers. Unlike today, when colleges recruit players from all over the country, the 1949–50 CCNY team was composed of "kids from the sidewalks of New York City," who had been recruited by Holman's assistant coach Harold "Bobby" Sand from Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) schools such as Taft, Clinton, Boys, Erasmus, and Franklin High Schools.
The 1946–47 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, in NCAA competition in the 1946–47 season. The Crusaders, behind coach Alvin "Doggie" Julian, NCAA tournament MVP George Kaftan, star Joe Mullaney and a freshman point guard named Bob Cousy, beat Oklahoma at Madison Square Garden to win the NCAA championship.
Edward L. Warner was an American college basketball player. He was one of the stars of the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team, the only team to win both the NCAA tournament and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in the same year. He was also a central figure in the point shaving scandal that came to light in the aftermath of that season.
Edward Roman was an American college basketball player. He was the leading scorer of the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team, the only team to win both the NCAA tournament and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in the same year. He was also a central figure in the point shaving scandal that came to light in the aftermath of that season.
Alvin "Fats" Roth was an American professional basketball player known for his playing days at the City College of New York (CCNY) between 1949–50 and 1950–51. Roth was a contributing member of the only basketball team in NCAA history to win both the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and NCAA Tournament in the same season. Roth was one of four sophomore starters on the CCNY squad that defeated Bradley in both championship games.
The 1949–50 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University in college basketball during the 1949–50 season. The team finished the season with a 32–5 record and were national runners-up to the City College of New York (CCNY) in both the 1950 NCAA tournament and 1950 National Invitation Tournament. Early on in the NCAA Tournament's days, which began in 1939, teams were allowed to participate in both it and the NIT. The 1949–50 college basketball season is noteworthy in that it is the only year in which a team won both tournaments (CCNY), and the losing team of both championships happened to be Bradley. Coincidentally enough, a year later, several of Bradley's players from this season's team would be instigated as individuals involved in what would later be known as the CCNY point-shaving scandal due to the biggest noise coming from the scandal at the time involving CCNY despite the fact that seven different universities had players involved in the scandal at the time, including Bradley.
The 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1949, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1950 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 28, 1950, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The City College of New York Beavers won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–68 victory over the Bradley Braves.
The 1947–48 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross in NCAA competition in the 1947–48 season. The Crusaders, behind coach Alvin "Doggie" Julian, George Kaftan, Joe Mullaney and sophomore point guard Bob Cousy, reached the Final Four for the second straight season before losing to Kentucky in the National semifinals. Holy Cross defeated Kansas State in the Third place game.