1939 College Basketball Recap
Long Island University and Loyola of Chicago, both 20–0 during the regular season, met in the final of the second NIT tournament in New York. LIU, paced by All-America forward Irv Torgoff's 12 points, won easily and extended its two-year winning streak to 26. The tournament's most valuable player, however, was Bill Lloyd of St.John's, who scored 31 against Roanoke in the quarterfinals.
Back in Evanston, Ill., PCC champion Oregon faced Big 10 champ Ohio State in the title game of the first NCAA tournament, played at Patten Gymnasium on the campus of Northwestern. The “Tall Firs” of Eugene, featuring 6-8 All-America center Slim Wintermute, won easily 46-33. Ohio State's lone consolation was that All-America forward Jimmy Hull was named the tournament's outstanding player with 58 points in three games.
Turnout for the Final Two was disappointing, so the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches turned operation of the tournament over to the NCAA.
New England Conference champion Rhode Island State was 17–4, averaged 70 points a game and had the country's top player in forward Chet Jaworski. Unfortunately, the Rams didn't participate in either tournament.
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