The Crusaders, behind coach Alvin "Doggie" Julian, George Kaftan, Joe Mullaney and sophomore point guard Bob Cousy, reached the Final Four for the second straight season before losing to Kentucky in the National semifinals.
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.
[2] 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.
[3] 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.
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.