1943-44 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Encyclopedia
The Utes captured the Mountain States Conference championship and its only national championship. The circumstances were nearly identical to the previous season’s champions, the Wyoming Cowboys.
The Arkansas Razorbacks team was victimized by an auto accident. Prior to the NCAA 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 lost its quarterfinal match.
, Fred Sheffield
, and Wat Misaka, who was of Japanese descent.
The Arkansas Razorbacks team was victimized by an auto accident. Prior to the NCAA 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.
National Invitation Tournament
Utah competed in the 1944 National Invitation Tournament1944 National Invitation Tournament
The 1944 National Invitation Tournament was the 1944 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.-Selected teams:Below is a list of the 8 teams selected for the tournament.-Brackets/Results:Below is the tournament bracket....
and lost its quarterfinal match.
- Quarterfinal
- Kentucky 46, Utah 38
NCAA Tournament
In need of a replacement, the NCAA committee turned to Utah, despite the fact that the Utes 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 FerrinArnie Ferrin
C. Arnold Ferrin Jr. is a retired American basketball player in college and the BAA and NBA.Ferrin attended high school in Ogden, Utah. In college with the University of Utah, he won the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award in 1944 when they won the championship over Dartmouth...
, Fred Sheffield
Fred Sheffield
Frederick Jolley Sheffield was an American basketball player. He won an NCAA championship with the University of Utah in 1944 and played one season for the Philadelphia Warriors in the Basketball Association of America .Sheffield, a 6'2 forward and center, played for Utah and, as a sophomore, was...
, 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
Awards and honors
- Arnie FerrinArnie FerrinC. Arnold Ferrin Jr. is a retired American basketball player in college and the BAA and NBA.Ferrin attended high school in Ogden, Utah. In college with the University of Utah, he won the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award in 1944 when they won the championship over Dartmouth...
, NCAA Men's MOP AwardNCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding PlayerAt the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships , the Associated Press selects a Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but almost always is a member of the Championship team, especially since the third place game was eliminated after 1981...