1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

American college basketball season

1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball

NCAA tournament National champions Big Seven regular season champions
Conference	Mountain States Conference
Record	31–2 (4-0 Big Seven)
Head coach	Everett Shelton
Seasons ← 1941–42 1943–44 →

The 1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team represented the University of Wyoming in NCAA men's competition in the 1942–43 NCAA college basketball season.^[1] The Cowboys won the Mountain States Conference championship and were the first basketball team from the Rocky Mountains to win an NCAA title. Kenny Sailors of Hillsdale, Wyoming averaged 15.5 points per game and Milo Komenich averaged 16.7 points per game in leading the team to the championship.^[2] Despite playing just nine home games during the year, the Cowboys won 32 games.^[3]

Roster

Name	Position	Home Town
Charles Castle	Forward	Phoenix, AZ
James Collins	Guard	Laramie
Jimmy Darden	Forward	Cheyenne
Jack Downey	Guard	Phoenix, AZ
Vernon Jensen	Guard	Lyman
Antone Katana	Center	Rock Springs
Milo Komenich	Center	Gary, IN
Earl Ray	Guard	Casper
Jimmie Reese	Forward	Rock Springs
Lou Roney	Guard	Powell
Ken Sailors	Forward	Laramie
Kenneth Tallman	Forward	Cheyenne
Floyd Volker	Forward	Casper
Donald Waite	Guard	Scottsbluff, NE
Jim Weir	Forward	Green River

Source:^[4]

Regular season

In the fourth game of the season, the Cowboys lost to Duquesne. It would be the last game the Cowboys lost to a college team during the season. Their only other loss was to the Denver Legion team.^[3] The Cowboys outscored their opponents by an average of over twenty points per game and was the first Wyoming team to score over 100 points in a game, by beating Regis 101–45.

Postseason

NCAA tournament

West regional (Kansas City)
- Wyoming 53, Oklahoma 50
- Wyoming 58, Texas 54 (National semifinal)
Championship (New York)
- Wyoming 46, Georgetown 34

Source:^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Red Cross game

St. John's won the eight-team National Invitation Tournament the night before, also at Madison Square Garden, and claimed it was better than Wyoming and that the NIT was a better event than the eight-team NCAA tournament.^[9] Ev Shelton talked Ned Irish, the promoter at Madison Square Garden, into hosting a showdown game, with proceeds going to the Red Cross. Two days after winning the NCAA Championship at Madison Square Garden, Wyoming met St. John's in a Red Cross benefit game for the war effort, and the Cowboys won in overtime, 52–47.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

Awards and honors

First team from the Rocky Mountains to win an NCAA championship^[3]
Only Wyoming basketball team to win an NCAA championship^[3]
Defeated NIT champion St. John's in Red Cross benefit game^[3]
Ken Sailors, First-team All-America selection
Ken Sailors, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[13]

References

^ "Cowboys" is specific to men's sports at Wyoming; women's teams and athletes are "Cowgirls".
^ My Losing Season: Wyoming @ Utah: Sailors, Ferrin, Mikan and The Great Santini
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "University of Wyoming Official Athletic Site - Traditions". Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
^ "2011–12 Wyoming Cowboys media guide, pg. 115" (PDF). University of Wyoming Athletics. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
^ "Georgetown beaten by Wyoming, 46-34". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 8, part 2.
^ "Wyoming defeats Georgetown, 46-34, for NCAA basketball title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 31, 1943. p. 8.
^ "Wyoming takes coveted crown". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 11.
^ ^a ^b Moss, Irv (April 7, 2009). "Sailors still big shot in Wyoming history". Denver Post. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
^ "Wyoming five wins in overtime, 52 to 47". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. April 2, 1943. p. 14, part 2.
^ "Wyoming scores 52-47 victory over St. Johns in hoop tilt". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. April 2, 1943. p. 2.
^ "Champ of champs, new Wyoming title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. April 2, 1943. p. 11.
^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2009.

Wyoming Cowboys basketball 1942–43 NCAA champions

Head coach: Everett Shelton

v t e Wyoming Cowboys basketball
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Helms and NCAA national championships in bold

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball champions
1939 Oregon 1940 Indiana 1941 Wisconsin 1942 Stanford 1943 Wyoming 1944 Utah 1945 Oklahoma A&M 1946 Oklahoma A&M 1947 Holy Cross 1948 Kentucky 1949 Kentucky 1950 CCNY 1951 Kentucky 1952 Kansas 1953 Indiana 1954 La Salle 1955 San Francisco 1956 San Francisco 1957 North Carolina 1958 Kentucky 1959 California 1960 Ohio State 1961 Cincinnati 1962 Cincinnati 1963 Loyola (IL) 1964 UCLA 1965 UCLA 1966 Texas Western 1967 UCLA 1968 UCLA 1969 UCLA 1970 UCLA 1971 UCLA 1972 UCLA 1973 UCLA 1974 NC State 1975 UCLA 1976 Indiana 1977 Marquette 1978 Kentucky 1979 Michigan State 1980 Louisville 1981 Indiana 1982 North Carolina 1983 NC State 1984 Georgetown 1985 Villanova 1986 Louisville 1987 Indiana 1988 Kansas 1989 Michigan 1990 UNLV 1991 Duke 1992 Duke 1993 North Carolina 1994 Arkansas 1995 UCLA 1996 Kentucky 1997 Arizona 1998 Kentucky 1999 Connecticut 2000 Michigan State 2001 Duke 2002 Maryland 2003 Syracuse 2004 Connecticut 2005 North Carolina 2006 Florida 2007 Florida 2008 Kansas 2009 North Carolina 2010 Duke 2011 Connecticut 2012 Kentucky 2013 Louisville (Vacated) 2014 UConn 2015 Duke 2016 Villanova 2017 North Carolina 2018 Villanova 2019 Virginia 2020 No tournament 2021 Baylor 2022 Kansas 2023 UConn 2024 UConn

NCAA Division I men's basketball champions