1946–47 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team

1946–47 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball
1946–47 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
National Championship Game, ; W 58-47 vs. Oklahoma
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. N/A
AP	No. N/A
Record	27–3
Head coach	Alvin "Doggie" Julian;
Assistant coach	Albert Riopel
	Seasons ← 1945–46 1947–48 →

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.^[1]

The Crusaders, who played their home games at Boston Garden and the South High Community School in Worcester, Massachusetts, won their first four games of 1946–47, tripped through a three-game losing streak, then finished the year with 23 straight victories.^[2]

The team entered the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the last seed in the 8-team tournament. In the first match, Holy Cross defeated the United States Naval Academy in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden by a score of 55 to 47. Mullaney led the team in scoring with 18 points, mostly in part to Navy coach Ben Carnevale's decision to have his players back off from Mullaney, who was reputed as being more of a playmaker than a shooter.^[3] In the semi-final match, Holy Cross faced the City College of New York (CCNY), coached by Nat Holman, one of the game's earliest innovators. The Crusaders, led by Kaftan's 30-point game, easily defeated the Beavers 60–45.^[4] In the championship game, Holy Cross faced the University of Oklahoma, behind coach Bruce Drake, in another sold-out game at Madison Square Garden. Kaftan followed up the semi-final match with 18 points in the title game, leading the Crusaders to a 58–47 victory against the Sooners.^[4]

Holy Cross became the first school from the New England area, as well as the state of Massachusetts, to win a national college basketball title. The Crusaders finished the 1947 season with 23 straight wins. Afterward, 35,000 people watched a parade in the team's honor on Holy Cross Day in Worcester. Future NBA legend Cousy was named AP and UP player of the year, and George Kaftan was voted to the all-decade team of the 1940s by the NCAA in 1989.

NCAA tournament results

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

	Holy Cross	55

	Navy	47
				Holy Cross	60

				CCNY	45
	CCNY	70

	Wisconsin	56
							Holy Cross	58

							Oklahoma	47
	Texas	42

	Wyoming	40
				Texas	54	Third place

				Oklahoma	55
	Oklahoma	56				CCNY		50

	Oregon State	54				Texas		54

Source^[5]

Awards and honors

George Kaftan
- NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP)
- Consensus Second Team All-American

References

^ "Holy Cross Was Once King of Hoops". sportslifer.wordpress.com. March 14, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
^ "70 years ago, 'Cinderella kids' from Holy Cross won NCAA title".
^ Reynolds, p51.
^ ^a ^b Reynolds, p52.
^ "1947 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket". All-time NCAA Tournament brackets. databaseSports.com. 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2010.