1934–35 NCAA men's basketball season

1934–35 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1934–35 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Helms National Champions	LSU
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Leroy Edwards, Kentucky (retroactive selection in 1944)
	← 1933–34 1935–36 →

The 1934–35 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1934, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded in March 1935.

Rules changes

The regulation basketball was reduced in circumference, from 32 inches (81 cm) to between 29.5 and 30.25 inches (74.9 and 76.8 cm).^[1]

Season headlines

Ned Irish began to promote college basketball doubleheaders between New York City-area teams at Madison Square Garden and intersectional games there between New York City-area teams and teams from other regions.^[2] The first intersectional game — an NYU 25–18 victory over Notre Dame on December 29, 1934 — drew 16,138 fans, a world record for attendance at a college basketball game.^[2] In the next game on January 5, 1935, NYU defeated Kentucky 23–22 before another new world record crowd of 16,539.^[2]^[3] After the NYU–Kentucky game, Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp called for the creation of a round-robin national championship college basketball tournament.^[2]
The American Legion Bowl, promoted as a basketball game "for the national collegiate championship," took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the end of the season.^[2] LSU defeated Pittsburgh 41–37 and called itself the national collegiate basketball champion for the 1934–35 season, although this assertion was unofficial.^[2]^[4]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Brooklyn Bulldogs	Metropolitan New York Conference	Non-major basketball program
Bucknell Bison	Eastern Intercollegiate Conference	Independent
Butler Bulldogs	Missouri Valley Conference	Independent
CCNY Beavers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Fordham Rams	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Long Island Blackbirds	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Manhattan Jaspers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
NYU Violets	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Pratt Cannoneers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Non-major basketball program
St. Francis (NY) Terriers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
St. John's Redmen	Metropolitan New York Conference	Independent
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	Independent	Missouri Valley Conference
Washburn Ichabods	Independent	Missouri Valley Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[5]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Big Six Conference	Iowa State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Illinois, Purdue, & Wisconsin	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 & West Virginia	None selected	No Tournament; Pittsburgh defeated West Virginia in a single-game conference playoff
Metropolitan New York Conference	Did not play as a conference
Missouri Valley Conference	Creighton & Drake	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; USC defeated Oregon State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Colorado State College (Eastern); Utah State (Western)		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky & LSU	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	North Carolina	None selected	1935 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina)	North Carolina^[6]
Southwest Conference	Arkansas, Rice, & SMU	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1934–35 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Iowa State	8	–	2	.800	13	–	3	.813
Kansas	12	–	4	.750	15	–	5	.750
Oklahoma	8	–	8	.500	9	–	9	.500
Missouri	7	–	9	.438	7	–	11	.389
Nebraska	3	–	7	.300	6	–	12	.333
Kansas State	4	–	12	.250	5	–	15	.250

1934–35 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Purdue	9	–	3	.750	17	–	3	.850
Illinois	9	–	3	.750	15	–	5	.750
Wisconsin	9	–	3	.750	15	–	5	.750
Indiana	8	–	4	.667	14	–	6	.700
Ohio State	8	–	4	.667	13	–	6	.684
Iowa	6	–	6	.500	10	–	9	.526
Minnesota	5	–	7	.417	11	–	9	.550
Northwestern	3	–	9	.250	10	–	10	.500
Michigan	2	–	10	.167	8	–	12	.400
Chicago	1	–	11	.083	2	–	18	.100

1934–35 Border Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Texas Tech	9	–	1	.900	15	–	9	.625
Arizona State–Flagstaff	10	–	4	.714	12	–	8	.600
New Mexico	7	–	9	.438	10	–	10	.500
Arizona	5	–	7	.417	11	–	8	.579
New Mexico A&M	4	–	6	.400	12	–	6	.667
Arizona State–Tempe	3	–	9	.250	8	–	11	.421

1934–35 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Penn†	10	–	2	.833	16	–	4	.800
Columbia	10	–	2	.833	13	–	6	.684
Dartmouth	7	–	5	.583	12	–	9	.571
Yale	5	–	7	.417	11	–	10	.524
Princeton	4	–	8	.333	6	–	14	.300
Harvard	3	–	9	.250	7	–	12	.368
Cornell	3	–	9	.250	5	–	15	.250


† Conference championship winner

1934–35 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Pittsburgh†	6	–	2	.750	18	–	6	.750
West Virginia	6	–	2	.750	16	–	6	.727
Temple	5	–	3	.625	17	–	7	.708
Carnegie Tech	2	–	6	.250	3	–	6	.333
Georgetown	1	–	7	.125	6	–	13	.316


† Postseason conference championship playoff game winner

1934–35 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Creighton	8	–	4	.667	12	–	8	.600
Drake	8	–	4	.667	14	–	11	.560
Grinnell	7	–	5	.583	11	–	8	.579
Washington University	6	–	6	.500	7	–	11	.389
Oklahoma A&M	5	–	7	.417	9	–	9	.500
Washburn	5	–	7	.417	7	–	13	.350
Tulsa	3	–	9	.250	6	–	10	.375

1934–35 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North
Oregon State	12	–	4	.750	19	–	9	.679
Washington	11	–	5	.688	16	–	8	.667
Oregon	7	–	9	.438	16	–	12	.571
Washington State	6	–	10	.375	12	–	12	.500
Idaho	4	–	12	.250	11	–	16	.407
South
USC †	11	–	1	.917	20	–	6	.769
California	5	–	7	.417	11	–	14	.440
Stanford	4	–	8	.333	9	–	18	.333
UCLA	4	–	8	.333	11	–	12	.478

† Conference playoff series winner

1934–35 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Eastern
Northern Colorado†	9	–	3	.750	12	–	14	.462
Wyoming	10	–	4	.714	11	–	5	.688
Colorado College	9	–	5	.643	13	–	10	.565
Denver	7	–	5	.583	13	–	7	.650
Colorado Agricultural	6	–	6	.500	6	–	6	.500
Western State	3	–	7	.300	3	–	7	.300
Colorado	3	–	9	.250	3	–	9	.250
Colorado Mines	3	–	11	.214	3	–	11	.214
Western
Utah State†	9	–	3	.750	17	–	5	.773
BYU	6	–	6	.500	18	–	10	.643
Utah	5	–	7	.417	10	–	9	.526
Montana State	4	–	8	.333	16	–	13	.552

† Division championship winner

1934–35 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
LSU †	12	–	0	1.000	14	–	1	.933
Kentucky †	11	–	0	1.000	19	–	2	.905
Tennessee	7	–	4	.636	11	–	5	.688
Vanderbilt	9	–	6	.600	9	–	11	.450
Florida	4	–	3	.571	8	–	7	.533
Alabama	8	–	7	.533	9	–	8	.529
Mississippi State	5	–	5	.500	12	–	6	.667
Georgia Tech	5	–	6	.455	6	–	8	.429
Georgia	4	–	5	.444	12	–	8	.600
Ole Miss	5	–	7	.417	8	–	10	.444
Auburn	3	–	9	.250	4	–	13	.235
Sewanee	1	–	7	.125	2	–	12	.143
Tulane	1	–	16	.059	1	–	16	.059

† Conference co-championship winner

1934–35 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North Carolina †	12	–	1	.923	23	–	2	.920
Clemson	3	–	1	.750	15	–	3	.833
Duke	10	–	4	.714	18	–	8	.692
Virginia	7	–	5	.583	13	–	9	.591
Maryland	4	–	3	.571	8	–	10	.444
North Carolina State	6	–	5	.545	10	–	9	.526
South Carolina	5	–	7	.417	15	–	9	.625
Washington and Lee	4	–	8	.333	10	–	10	.500
VMI	2	–	9	.182	3	–	14	.176
Virginia Tech	1	–	11	.083	3	–	16	.158

† Southern Conference Tournament winner

1934–35 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Rice	9	–	3	.750	20	–	3	.870
SMU	9	–	3	.750	14	–	3	.824
Arkansas	9	–	3	.750	14	–	5	.737
Texas	5	–	7	.417	16	–	7	.696
Texas A&M	4	–	8	.333	10	–	10	.500
Baylor	4	–	8	.333	8	–	9	.471
TCU	2	–	10	.167	6	–	13	.316

Major independents

A total of 69 college teams played as major independents. Richmond (20–0) was undefeated. LIU (24–2) and Western Kentucky State (24–3) finished with the most wins.^[8]

1934–35 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Richmond		–		–	20	–	0	1.000
Duquesne		–		–	18	–	1	.947
New York University		–		–	18	–	1	.947
DePaul		–		–	15	–	1	.938
LIU		–		–	24	–	2	.923
Ohio Wesleyan		–		–	17	–	2	.895
Western Kentucky State		–		–	24	–	3	.889
Syracuse		–		–	15	–	2	.882
Canisius		–		–	14	–	2	.875
Cincinnati		–		–	16	–	3	.842
Westminster (Pa.)		–		–	22	–	5	.815
Navy		–		–	13	–	3	.813
Rutgers		–		–	13	–	3	.813
Toledo		–		–	13	–	3	.813
St. Joseph's		–		–	12	–	3	.800
Michigan State Normal		–		–	14	–	4	.778
Xavier		–		–	14	–	4	.778
Providence		–		–	17	–	5	.773
Indiana State		–		–	13	–	4	.765
Muhlenberg		–		–	14	–	5	.737
Saint Mary's (Calif.)		–		–	14	–	5	.737
La Salle		–		–	15	–	6	.714
Brown		–		–	12	–	5	.706
Santa Clara		–		–	12	–	5	.706
George Washington		–		–	14	–	6	.700
Springfield (Mass.)		–		–	14	–	6	.700
Saint Louis		–		–	11	–	5	.688
Western State Teachers		–		–	11	–	5	.688
Manhattan		–		–	13	–	6	.684
Niagara		–		–	13	–	6	.684
Army		–		–	10	–	5	.667
Rhode Island State		–		–	12	–	6	.667
William & Mary		–		–	10	–	5	.667
Butler		–		–	13	–	7	.650
Villanova		–		–	13	–	7	.650
CCNY		–		–	10	–	6	.625
St. John's (N.Y.)		–		–	13	–	8	.619
Marquette		–		–	11	–	7	.611
Marshall		–		–	12	–	8	.600
Notre Dame		–		–	13	–	9	.591
Kent State		–		–	8	–	6	.571
Davidson		–		–	13	–	10	.565
Ohio		–		–	11	–	9	.550
Furman		–		–	9	–	8	.529
Loyola (Md.)		–		–	9	–	9	.500
Saint Francis (N.Y.)		–		–	12	–	12	.500
Penn State		–		–	8	–	9	.471
Connecticut		–		–	7	–	8	.467
Fordham		–		–	7	–	9	.438
Bowling Green State		–		–	6	–	9	.400
The Citadel		–		–	6	–	9	.400
Colgate		–		–	8	–	13	.381
Wake Forest		–		–	6	–	10	.375
Louisville		–		–	5	–	9	.357
Wichita Municipal		–		–	7	–	13	.350
Lafayette		–		–	5	–	10	.333
San Francisco		–		–	7	–	14	.333
Detroit		–		–	4	–	10	.286
Lehigh		–		–	4	–	10	.286
Dayton		–		–	4	–	11	.267
Seton Hall		–		–	4	–	11	.267
Loyola (Ill.)		–		–	5	–	14	.263
Montana		–		–	6	–	18	.250
Miami (Ohio)		–		–	3	–	12	.200
St. Bonaventure		–		–	1	–	5	.167
Valparaiso		–		–	2	–	13	.133
Boston University		–		–	2	–	14	.125
Bradley		–		–	1	–	13	.071
Bucknell		–		–	0	–	14	.000

Statistical leaders

Awards

Consensus All-American team

**Consensus Team**
Player	Class	Team
Omar Browning	Senior	Oklahoma
Claire Cribbs	Senior	Pittsburgh
Leroy Edwards	Sophomore	Kentucky
Jack Gray	Senior	Texas
Lee Guttero	Senior	USC

Major player of the year awards

Helms Player of the Year: Leroy Edwards, Kentucky (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
Oregon	William Reinhart		Howard Hobson
Yale	Elmer Ripley		Ken Loeffler

References

^ Schleyer, Claudia, "The Rules of Basketball: Boy How They've Changed!", Youth Hoops 101 Accessed 15 May 2021
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
^ Kentucky vs. New York University (January 5, 1935) bigbluehistory.net Accessed May 6, 2021
^ 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.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ "1934-35 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 31, 2024.

[1] Schleyer, Claudia, "The Rules of Basketball: Boy How They've Changed!", Youth Hoops 101 Accessed 15 May 2021

[jps-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.

[3] Kentucky vs. New York University (January 5, 1935) bigbluehistory.net Accessed May 6, 2021

[ESPN_526-4] 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.

[5] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[6] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[7] "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

[8] "1934-35 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 31, 2024.

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NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

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