1943–44 Utah Redskins men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1943–44 Utah Redskins Basketball 1944_Utah_Utes.jpg 300px Mountain States Conference Mountain States 22–4 Vadal Peterson NCAA tournament National champions National Championship Game W Won 42–40 OT Overtime vs. Dartmouth The 1943–44 Utah Redskins men's basketball team represented the University of Utah during the 1943–44 NCAA men's basketball season. The Redskins captured the Mountain States Conference championship and its only national championship. Utah was given an opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament through an unusual circumstance. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks squad, who were supposed to appear in the tournament, were victimized by an automobile accident. Prior to the tournament, two of Arkansas’ starters were injured when their station wagon broke down after returning from a scrimmage in Fort Smith, Arkansas. While attempting to fix a flat tire, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones were injured when another car rammed into the back of the station wagon. Both players were injured. The severity of the accident caused Arkansas to withdraw from the upcoming NCAA tournament and the Redskins were tapped as a replacement.http://www.mylosingseason.com/2007/01/sailors-ferrin-mikan-and-great-santini.html My Losing Season: Wyoming @ Utah: Sailors, Ferrin, Mikan and the Great Santini 2010-10-07 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110714143204/http://www.mylosingseason.com/2007/01/sailors-ferrin-mikan-and-great-santini.html 2011-07-14 Schedule and results https://utahutes.com/documents/2012/11/12/record-book.pdf record book (PDF) 2018-03-20 yes no |- !colspan=12 style=Utah Utes|Regular Season November 12, 1943 18th Replacement Wing Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 48–24 1–0 November 19, 1943 A.S.T.P. Company D Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 51–21 2–0 November 22, 1943 A.S.T.P. Company B Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 76–24 3–0 November 24, 1943 A.S.T.P. ERC Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 71–17 4–0 November 26, 1943 yes Hill Field Fliers Ogden, UT 61–26 5–0 December 4, 1943 yes Weber Ogden, UT 63–25 6–0 December 4, 1943 yes Weber Navy Ogden, UT 60–25 7–0 December 16, 1943 yes Kearns 2nd Air Force Kearns, UT 45–35 8–0 January 4, 1944 Fort Douglas Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 41–26 9–0 January 6, 1944 yes Wendover Bomber Quin. Wendover, UT 64–28 10–0 January 15, 1944 Idaho State Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 54–43 11–0 January 22, 1944 Ecker Studio Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 46–44 12–0 January 28, 1944 yes Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO 48–34 13–0 January 29, 1944 yes Fort Logan Denver, CO 55–38 14–0 January 31, 1944 yes Fort Warren Cheyenne, WY 59–61 14–1 February 5, 1944 Kearns Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 57–37 15–1 February 12, 1944 Salt Lake Air Base Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 39–54 15–2 February 16, 1944 Bushnel Hospital Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 78–31 16–2 February 19, 1944 yes Idaho State Pocatello, ID 52–40 17–2 February 26, 1944 Dow Chemical Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 36–46 17–3 March 4, 1944 Salt Lake Air Base Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT 62–38 18–3 |- !colspan=12 style=Utah Utes| NIT March 20, 1944 yes Kentucky Madison Square Garden New York, NY 38–46 18–4 |- !colspan=12 style=Utah Utes| NCAA tournament March 24, 1944 yes Missouri Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO Quarterfinals 45–35https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1944-03-24-missouri.html Utah vs. Missouri Box Score, March 24, 1944 Sports-Reference.com 2018-03-20 19–4 March 25, 1944 yes Iowa State Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO Semifinals 40–31https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1944-03-25-iowa-state.html Utah vs. Iowa State Box Score, March 25, 1944 Sports-Reference.com 2018-03-20 20–4 March 28, 1944 yes Dartmouth Madison Square Garden New York, NY Championship 42–40 OTUtah Upsets Dartmouth in Extra Period to Take N.C.A.A Basketball Title https://www.nytimes.com/1944/03/29/archives/utah-upsets-dartmouth-in-extra-period-to-take-av-caa-basketball.html The New York Times March 29, 1944 September 10, 2023https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1944-03-28-dartmouth.html Utah vs. Dartmouth Box Score, March 28, 1944 Sports-Reference.com 2018-03-20 21–4 |- !colspan=12 style=Utah Utes| Red Cross Benefit Game March 30, 1944 yes St. John's Madison Square Garden New York, NY Red Cross Benefit Game 18,125https://www.deseret.com/1988/4/2/18762459/utah-s-blitz-kids-surprised-the-basketball-world-in-1944 Utah's 'Blitz Kids' Surprised the Basketball World in 1944 Deseret News 2 April 1988 43–36 22–4 Postseason National Invitation Tournament Utah competed in the 1944 National Invitation Tournament and lost its quarterfinal match. Quarterfinal Kentucky 46, Utah 38 http://www.nit.org/history/nit-postseason-results-1940s.html NIT OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - History 2009-05-15 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090422060815/http://www.nit.org/history/nit-postseason-results-1940s.html 2009-04-22 NCAA tournament In need of a replacement, the NCAA committee turned to Utah, despite the fact that the Redskins had 4 losses and had just lost their first-round game in the NIT tournament. Utah had one player, Lyman Condie, a medical student, who midway through the season quit the team to pursue medical school. Additionally, all of Utah's players were raised within 30 miles of the Utah campus. These players included Arnie Ferrin, Fred Sheffield, and Wat Misaka, who was of Japanese descent. West Utah 45, Missouri 35 Final Four Utah 40, Iowa State 31 Championship Utah 42, Dartmouth 40 (OT) http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1944 RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More Awards and honors Arnie Ferrin, NCAA Men's MOP Awardhttp://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history/outstandingplayer Final Four Most Outstanding Players cbs.sportsline.com 31 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20080907123518/http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history/outstandingplayer 7 September 2008 dead References Utah Redskins Utah Category:Utah Utes men's basketball seasons Utah Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons