Top 5 lowest-scoring men's basketball national championship games of all time

As UConn and Purdue prepare to battle for a championship, their matchup figures to be very different from early college basketball. The shot clock, the 3-point line, and officiating that calls fouls without a mauling — all these developments lead to more points. Thus Purdue and UConn are highly unlikely to play one of the lowest-scoring championship games ever. Here's the competition on that list.

Top 5 lowest-scoring men's basketball national championship games

Former Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall (middle) was on the 1949 UK team that played in one of the lowest-scoring NCAA championship games ever, although Hall did not play in the game.

5. 1949 (82 total points)

Kentucky and Adolph Rupp won their second NCAA title by outlasting Oklahoma A&M 46-36. The game was 25-20 at halftime but crawled to an even slower pace in the second half. 32-2 Kentucky was the defending national champion and No. 1 team. Henry Iba's Oklahoma State team was 23-5.

Kentucky star Alex Groza, a 6-foot-7 forward scored 25 points before fouling out late in the game. The only other player in the game who topped seven points was A&M's Jack Shelton, finishing with a dozen points.

4. 1944 (82 total points, game went to overtime)

Utah outlasted Dartmouth 42-40 in overtime in this snoozefest. The 22-4 Utes eventually outlasted the Mean Green of 19-2 Dartmouth. Arnie Ferrin was Utah's star, scoring 22 of the Utes' 42 points. Dartmouth had a pair of double-figure scorers, led by Aud Bradley with 11 points.

Shooting in this game was horrific. Utah shot 22% in the victory, while Dartmouth made 25% of its shots. Rebounds were not tracked, but with the two teams missing a combined 113 shots, it's safe to say that somebody had a ton of rebounds.

Utah had previously played in the NIT but was allowed to also play in the NCAA Tournament after two Arkansas players died in a car accident, causing their team to withdraw from the tournament.

3. 1943 (80 total points)

Wyoming bested Georgetown 46-34. Shooting percentages were not kept on all shots, but Wyoming made 44% of its free throws while Georgetown made 43%. The game included only one player who scored a double-digit point total. Wyoming's Kenny Sailors had 16 points.

The Cowboys finished the season 31-2. This victory remains the team's only Final Four appearance. Georgetown finished 22-5. The game was a 16-13 Georgetown advantage at halftime.

2. 1939 (79 total points)

This was the first NCAA Tournament ever. Oregon's 26-5 squad outlasted the 14-6 Ohio State by a 46-33 score. Oregon boasted a trio of double-figure scorers, led by John Dick's game-high 13 points. Ohio State was led by a dozen points from Jimmy Hull.

Oregon led throughout, leading 21-16 at intermission. Despite winning the first-ever NCAA Tournament, Oregon didn't return to another Final Four until 2017. Ohio State's 33 points is the lowest total in an NCAA championship game.

1.1941 (73 total points)

In the lowest-scoring championship game in NCAA history, Wisconsin defeated Washington State 39-34. Kirk Geburt scored 21 points for 24-5 Washington State in the loss. Wisconsin was led by Gene Englund's 13 points and 12 from John Kotz.

How different was college basketball in its early days? Kotz finished his Wisconsin career as the school's all-time leading scorer. He had a total of 841 career points.

Bonus-- the 2011 game (94 total points)

Yes, all of the games on the list above are before 1950. But what about the modern championship game with the lowest-scoring total? That'd be the 2011 game. UConn shot 35% in the 53-41 win over Butler. The Bears? They shot 19%. Maybe, on a given night, the game hasn't changed that much since the 1940s.

Will Purdue and UConn join the low-scoring club? It's far more likely that by halftime, the 2024 game will ensure that it's not on the list of the lowest-scoring title games ever.

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