1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball
1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball
NCAA tournament National champions; Big Seven regular season champions
National Championship Game, ; W 46-34 vs. Georgetown
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]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
December 11	at Fort Warren	W 49-33	1-0	near the South Platte River
December 11	at Fort Warren	W 53-43	2-0	near the South Platte River
December 19	Fort Warren	W 63-40	3-0	Laramie, WY
December 23	at Duquesne	L 33-43	3-1	Pittsburgh, PA
December 24	at Albright	W 56-42	4-1	Reading, PA
December 26	at La Salle	W 56-32	5-1	Philadelphia, PA
December 30	at Saint Francis (PA)	W 63-48	6-1	Loretto, PA
January 1, 1943	at Rochester (NY)	W 68-44	7-1	Rochester, NY
January 2, 1943	at Lawrence Tech	W 78-34	8-1	Southfield, MI
January 15, 1943	at Utah	W 66-38	9-1	Salt Lake City, UT
January 16, 1943	at Utah	W 68-25	10-1	Salt Lake City, UT
January 22, 1943	at Colorado State	W 66-42	11-1	Fort Collins, CO
January 23, 1943	Colorado State	W 49-23	12-1	Laramie, WY
January 28, 1943	Regis (CO)	W 101-45	13-1	Laramie, WY
January 30, 1943	at Regis (CO)	W 86-34	14-1	Denver, CO
February 2, 1943	at Phillips 66ers	W 42-41 ^OT	15-1	Bartlesville, OK
February 3, 1943	at Phillips 66ers	W 37-36	16-1	Bartlesville, OK
February 12, 1943	Colorado State	W 57-34	17-1	Laramie, WY
February 13, 1943	at Colorado State	W 65-40	18-1	Fort Collins, CO
February 19, 1943	Utah	W 75-46	19-1	Laramie, WY
February 20, 1943	Utah	W 45-31	20-1	Laramie, WY
February 25, 1943	BYU	W 53-42	21-1	Laramie, WY
February 26, 1943	BYU	W 47-43	22-1	Laramie, WY
February 27, 1943	BYU	W 66-43	23-1	Laramie, WY
March 16, 1943	at Howard Payne	W 77-40	24-1	Brownwood, TX
March 17, 1943	vs. Colorado Mines	W 77-51	25-1	Denver, CO
March 18, 1943	at Poudre Valley	W 64-27	26-1
March 19, 1943	at Denver Legion	L 33-41	26-2	Denver, CO
March 20, 1943	at Denver	W 58-45	27-2	Denver, CO
March 26, 1943	vs. Oklahoma NCAA Quarterfinal	W 53-50	28-2	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO
March 27, 1943	vs. Texas NCAA Semifinal	W 58-54	29-2	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO
March 30, 1943	vs. Georgetown NCAA Championship	W 46-34	30-2	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
April 1, 1943	at Saint John's (NY) Red Cross Benefit Game	W 52-47 ^OT	31-2	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] ^[10] ^[11]

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:^[12]

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:^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]

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.^[17] 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.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]

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^[21]

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.
^ "2023-24 Cowboy Basketball Media Guide". University of Wyoming. p. 145. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
^ "1942-43 Men's Basketball Schedule - Colorado State University Athletics".
^ "Prospector 1943" (PDF). Colorado Mines. p. 111. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
^ "Men's Basketball 1942-1943 - BYU Athletics". Brigham Young University. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
^ "2023-24 Utah MBB Media Guide Interactive" (PDF). University of Utah. p. 136. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
^ Grundman, Adolph (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball. University of Nebraska Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780803204720. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
^ Grundman, Adolph (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball. University of Nebraska Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780803204720. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
^ "1942-43 Wyoming Cowboys Men's Schedule and Results". Retrieved November 14, 2024.
^ "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.

[1] "Cowboys" is specific to men's sports at Wyoming; women's teams and athletes are "Cowgirls".

[mylosingseason.com-2] My Losing Season: Wyoming @ Utah: Sailors, Ferrin, Mikan and The Great Santini

[wyomingathletics.com-3] "University of Wyoming Official Athletic Site - Traditions". Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2015.

[4] "2023-24 Cowboy Basketball Media Guide". University of Wyoming. p. 145. Retrieved November 13, 2024.

[5] "1942-43 Men's Basketball Schedule - Colorado State University Athletics".

[6] "Prospector 1943" (PDF). Colorado Mines. p. 111. Retrieved November 13, 2024.

[7] "Men's Basketball 1942-1943 - BYU Athletics". Brigham Young University. Retrieved November 14, 2024.

[8] "2023-24 Utah MBB Media Guide Interactive" (PDF). University of Utah. p. 136. Retrieved November 14, 2024.

[9] Grundman, Adolph (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball. University of Nebraska Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780803204720. Retrieved November 14, 2024.

[10] Grundman, Adolph (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball. University of Nebraska Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780803204720. Retrieved November 14, 2024.

[11] "1942-43 Wyoming Cowboys Men's Schedule and Results". Retrieved November 14, 2024.

[12] "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.

[13] "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".

[gbbwy-14] "Georgetown beaten by Wyoming, 46-34". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 8, part 2.

[erwygeo-15] "Wyoming defeats Georgetown, 46-34, for NCAA basketball title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 31, 1943. p. 8.

[covet-16] "Wyoming takes coveted crown". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press. March 31, 1943. p. 11.

[denverpost.com-17] Moss, Irv (April 7, 2009). "Sailors still big shot in Wyoming history". Denver Post. Retrieved May 14, 2009.

[wfmj-18] "Wyoming five wins in overtime, 52 to 47". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. April 2, 1943. p. 14, part 2.

[redcr-19] "Wyoming scores 52-47 victory over St. Johns in hoop tilt". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. April 2, 1943. p. 2.

[chofoch-20] "Champ of champs, new Wyoming title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. April 2, 1943. p. 11.

[Tourney_History-21] "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2009.

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v t e Wyoming Cowboys basketball
Venues	Little Red Gym (1904–1924) Half Acre Gym (1924–1951) War Memorial Fieldhouse (1951–1982) Arena-Auditorium (1982–present)
Rivalries	Colorado State
Culture & lore	"Ragtime Cowboy Joe"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and NCAA national championships in bold