• Prior to the season, the NCAA ruled that colleges and universities could no longer count games played against non-collegiate opponents in their annual won-loss records. Previously, it had been a common practice for many years for colleges and universities to include non-collegiate opponents in their schedules, with the games recognized as part of their official record for the season. • The California Basketball Association began play, with five original members. It would be renamed the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956 and the
West Coast Conference in 1989. • The NCAA forced
Kentucky to suspend its men's basketball program for the entire 1952–53 season as a result of the
CCNY point-shaving scandal, which had been revealed in 1951. • The
NCAA tournament expanded from 16 to 22 teams. •
Bill Chambers of
William and Mary grabbed 51 rebounds against
Virginia on February 14, 1953, becoming the first player with more than 50 rebounds in one game. •
Bob Houbregs of
Washington became the first player to score 40 or more points in an
NCAA tournament Final Four game when he scored 42 against
LSU in the national third-place game on March 18, 1953. •
Walter Dukes of
Seton Hall finished the season with 734 rebounds for the year, the first player to grab 700 rebounds in a single season. == Season outlook ==