College basketball history, part 1

The term “college basketball” typically refers to the National College Athletics Association (NCAA). The first recorded college ball game was in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, between Geneva College and the New Brighton YMCA on April 8, 1893, and the first intercollegiate game was two years later. Here, the Minnesota State School of Agriculture (now the University of Minnesota) defeated Hamlin College with a score of 9-3. A year later, the first game in the current 5-player format was played in Iowa City, Iowa. The first televised college game was between Pittsburgh and Fordham in 1940, which took place at Madison Square Garden. Pittsburgh prevailed.

In the early 1900s, there were enough college teams to start forming basketball leagues, and the NCAA was founded in Chicago in 1906. More than 5,500 fans witnessed the first ever NCAA Championship tournament, which took place in Evanston, Illinois. , 1939 (Oregon was victorious over Ohio State in the final game with a score of 46-33).

Another tournament, the National Invitational Tournament, was also very important at the time, and was believed to be as high-quality as the NCAA. However, in the 1950s, the NCAA was dominant and the NIT became a showcase for teams that were not so talented and could not participate in the NCAA tournament. It is still played today at Madison Square Garden.