1944–45 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team


The 1944–45 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas in the 1944–45 college basketball season. The Razorbacks played their home games in the Men's Gymnasium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It was former Razorback All-American Eugene Lambert's third season as head coach of the Hogs. The Razorbacks finished second in the Southwest Conference standings with a record of 9–3 and 17–9 overall.[1][2]

1944–45 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Record17–9 (9–3 SWC)
Head coach
Home arenaMen's Gymnasium
Seasons
1944–45 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Rice 12 0   1.000 20 1   .952
Arkansas 9 3   .750 17 9   .654
SMU 7 5   .583 11 10   .524
TCU 7 5   .583 9 20   .310
Texas 5 7   .417 10 10   .500
Texas A&M 2 10   .167 3 18   .143
Baylor 0 12   .000 0 17   .000

Arkansas received a bid to the NCAA tournament, its second appearance in the tournament overall after not being able to participate the year before due to a serious car crash that killed a staff member, Everett Norris, and injured two starters, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones.[3][4] Arkansas beat Oregon in the first round of the tournament to advance to its second Final Four in as many tournament appearances before losing to eventual champion Oklahoma A&M in the two clubs' fourth meeting of the season.

Center George Kok was named First Team All-SWC for the season.[5][6]

Roster

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Roster retrieved from HogStats.com.[7]

1944–45 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 72 Melvin McGaha 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Mabelvale Oak Grove, Louisiana
G 37 Bill Flynt 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Jr Beebe
Ouachita Baptist
Beebe, Arkansas
F Ocie Richie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
So Natchitoches
Northwestern State
Natchitoches, Louisiana
15 Mike Schumchyk
So Center Moriches Long Island, New York
71 Earl Wheeler
Jr
24 Tony Byles
Fr Marthaville Robeline, Louisiana
G 40 Kenneth Kearns
Fr Denton Denton, Texas
78 Frank Schumchyk
Jr N/A Long Island, New York
Charles Joliff
Jr
55 Jady Copeland
C 42 George Kok 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Ottawa Hills Grand Rapids, Michigan
Head coach

Eugene Lambert (Arkansas)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: June 29, 2021

Schedule and Results

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Schedule retrieved from HogStats.com.[8]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
December 7, 1944*
at Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg W 45–30  1–0
 
Pittsburg, Kansas
December 9, 1944*
Blytheville AAB W 76–45  2–0
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
December 16, 1944*
vs. City College of New York W 59–47  3–0
Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
December 19, 1944*
at Westminster College L 61–71  3–1
 
New Wilmington, Pennsylvania
December 27, 1944*
vs. Denver
All College Tournament
W 50–36  4–1
Municipal Auditorium 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
December 28, 1944*
vs. Oklahoma
All College Tournament
W 54–51  5–1
Municipal Auditorium 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
December 29, 1944*
vs. Oklahoma A&M
All College Tournament
L 34–43  5–2
Municipal Auditorium 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
January 5, 1945
Baylor W 94–28  6–2
(1–0)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
January 6, 1945
Baylor W 90–30  7–2
(2–0)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
January 9, 1945*
Phillips 66ers L 40–60  7–3
(2–0)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
January 12, 1945*
vs. Oklahoma A&M W 41–38  8–3
(2–0)
 
Little Rock, Arkansas
January 13, 1945*
vs. Oklahoma A&M L 40–49  8–4
(2–0)
 
El Dorado, Arkansas
January 19, 1945
at Texas L 40–49  8–5
(2–1)
Gregory Gymnasium 
Austin, Texas
January 20, 1945
at Texas W 74–38  9–5
(3–1)
Gregory Gymnasium 
Austin, Texas
January 26, 1945
at Rice L 46–57  9–6
(3–2)
 
Houston, Texas
January 27, 1945
at Rice L 56–69  9–7
(3–3)
 
Houston, Texas
February 2, 1945
at TCU W 37–33  10–7
(4–3)
TCU Fieldhouse 
Fort Worth, Texas
February 3, 1945
at TCU W 60–35  11–7
(5–3)
TCU Fieldhouse 
Fort Worth, Texas
February 8, 1945*
Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg W 76–45  12–7
(5–3)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
February 16, 1945
at SMU W 59–52  13–7
(6–3)
Perkins Gymnasium 
Dallas, Texas
February 17, 1945
at SMU W 65–49  14–7
(7–3)
Perkins Gymnasium 
Dallas, Texas
February 23, 1945
Texas A&M W 80–21  15–7
(8–3)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
February 24, 1945
Texas A&M W 87–36  16–7
(9–3)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
February 28, 1945*
at Phillips 66ers L 34–62  16–8
(9–3)
Bartlesville High School 
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
NCAA Tournament
March 23, 1945*
vs. Oregon
Elite Eight
W 79–76  17–8
(9–3)
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, Missouri
March 24, 1945*
vs. Oklahoma A&M
Final Four
L 41–68  17–9
(9–3)
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

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  1. ^ "HogStats.com :: 1944-45 Arkansas Basketball Schedule". HogStats.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "1944-45 Southwest Conference Season Summary | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "Arkansas Fans Remember '44 Tragedy That Took Team Out of NCAA". Tulsa World. April 4, 1995. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "1943-44 | College Hoopedia". collegehoopedia.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Arkansas 2020-21 Men's Basketball Media Guide (PDF). Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas. 2020. p. 113. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  6. ^ "HogStats.com :: Player Information :: George Kok". HogStats.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "1944-45 Arkansas Basketball Schedule". HogStats.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  8. ^ "HogStats.com :: 1944-45 Arkansas Basketball Schedule". HogStats.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.