1939–40 USC Trojans men's basketball team

1939–40 USC Trojans men's basketball
Helms Foundation National Champions
PCC Champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
DivisionSouth
Record20–3 (10–2 PCC)
Head coach
MVPTom McGarvin
CaptainNone
Home arenaShrine Auditorium
Seasons
1939–40 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North
Oregon State 12 – 4   .750 27 – 11   .711
Oregon 10 – 6   .625 19 – 12   .613
Washington State 9 – 7   .563 23 – 10   .697
Washington 6 – 10   .375 10 – 15   .400
Idaho 3 – 13   .188 11 – 15   .423
South
USC † 10 – 2   .833 20 – 3   .870
Stanford 6 – 6   .500 14 – 9   .609
California 5 – 7   .417 15 – 17   .469
UCLA 3 – 9   .250 8 – 17   .320
† Conference playoff series winner


The 1939–40 USC Trojans men's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season in the United States. Their head coach was Sam Barry, coaching in his 11th season with the Trojans.[2] The Trojans played their home games in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California as members of the South division of the Pacific Coast Conference. The team finished the season 20–3, 10–2 in PCC play to win the South division.[3] They swept North division champion Oregon State in the best of three series to win the PCC championship. USC was invited to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Colorado before losing to Kansas in the Final Four.[4] Despite the loss, they were named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.[5]

Forward Ralph Vaughn was named an All-American at the end of the season.

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Dec 18, 1939*
 at DePaul W 44–42 OT 1–0
  
Chicago, IL
Dec 20, 1939*
 at Purdue W 38–34  2–0
 Lambert Fieldhouse 
West Lafayette, IN
Dec 22, 1939*
 at Notre Dame W 55–38  3–0
 ND Fieldhouse 
South Bend, IN
Dec 26, 1939*
 at Long Island W 57–49  4–0
  
Brooklyn, NY
Dec 27, 1939*
 at Temple W 46–30  5–0
 Convention Hall 
Philadelphia, PA
Jan 5, 1940*
 Loyola Marymount W 43–33  6–0
 Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 6, 1940*
 Saint Mary's W 59–23  7–0
 Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
PCC regular season
Jan 12, 1940
 California W 49–36  8–0
(1–0) 		Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 13, 1940
 California W 56–49  9–0
(2–0) 		Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 19, 1940
 UCLA
Rivalry 		W 50–32  10–0
(3–0) 		Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 26, 1940
 Stanford W 51–48  11–0
(4–0) 		Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 27, 1940
 Stanford W 53–36  12–0
(5–0) 		Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 9, 1940
 UCLA
Rivalry 		W 60–26  13–0
(6–0) 		Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 16, 1940
 at California L 30–38  13–1
(6–1) 		Haas Pavilion 
Berkeley, CA
Feb 17, 1940
 at California W 49–33  14–1
(7–1) 		Haas Pavilion 
Berkeley, CA
Feb 23, 1940
 at Stanford L 45–46  14–2
(7–2) 		Stanford Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
Feb 24, 1940
 at Stanford W 39–32  15–2
(8–2) 		Stanford Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
Mar 1, 1940
 at UCLA
Rivalry 		W 32–26  16–2
(9–2) 		Men's Gym 
Los Angeles, CA
Mar 2, 1940
 at UCLA
Rivalry 		W 47–35  17–2
(10–2) 		Men's Gym 
Los Angeles, CA
PCC Divisional playoff
Mar 8, 1940*
 Oregon State
Game 1 		W 54–41  18–2
 Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
Mar 9, 1940*
 Oregon State
Game 2 		W 62–25  19–2
 Shrine Auditorium 
Los Angeles, CA
NCAA tournament
Mar 22, 1940*
 vs. Colorado
NCAA Quarterfinals 		W 38–32  20–2
 Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
Mar 23, 1940*
 vs. Kansas
NCAA Semifinals 		L 42–43  20–3
 Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source[6]

References

  1. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "USC Trojans season-by-season results". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  3. ^ "History" (PDF). 2013–14 USC Trojans Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Southern California. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  4. ^ "1939-40 Pacific Coast Conference Season Summary | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "NCAA Division I Men's Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions". Rauzulu's Street. 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  6. ^ "Game-by-game records" (PDF). 2013–14 USC Trojans Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Southern California. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.