1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1939, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1940 NCAA basketball tournament Championship Game on March 30, 1940, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Indiana Hoosiers won their first NCAA national championship with a 60–42 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.

Rule changes
After a foul, teams received the option of either taking a free throw or taking the ball at mid-court.

Season headlines

 * College basketball was televised for the first time when W2XBS broadcast a doubleheader played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on February 28, 1940. In the first game, Pittsburgh defeated Fordham 50–37, and in the second game New York University defeated Georgetown 50–27.
 * Duquesne became the first school to play in both the National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA tournament. The Dukes finished as runner-up in the NIT and lost in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
 * In its second year, the NCAA tournament turned a profit (of $9,500) for the first time.
 * In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected USC as its national champion for the 1939–40 season.
 * In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Indiana as its national champion for the 1939–40 season.

Conference membership changes
NOTE: Columbia left the Metropolitan New York Conference while retaining membership in the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League. It was a member of both from 1933 until 1939.

Semifinals & finals

 * Third Place – Oklahoma A&M 23, DePaul 22

Major player of the year awards

 * Helms Player of the Year: George Glamack, North Carolina (retroactive selection in 1944)

Other major awards

 * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Ben Auerbach, NYU