Terry Frei

The World

How the first NCAA tournament was played in the shadow of impending world war

Sports

Kentucky and UConn square off for the NCAA men’s basketball championship Monday night. The game, and the circumstances, are a far cry from the first NCAA tournament, held in March of 1939. With the world on the brink of war, we take a look at how global events impacted the players of the eventual winners of the tournament, the Oregon Webfoots.