1944–45 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1944–45 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Louis Menze, who was in his seventeenth season with the Cyclones. They played their home games at the State Gymnasium in Ames, Iowa.

1944–45 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
Big Six Champions
Conference	Big Six Conference
Record	11–5 (8–2 Big Six)
Head coach	Louis Menze (17th season)
Home arena	State Gymnasium

1944–45 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Iowa State	8	–	2		.800			11	–	5		.688
Kansas	7	–	3		.700			12	–	5		.706
Oklahoma	5	–	5		.500			12	–	13		.480
Missouri	5	–	5		.500			12	–	13		.480
Kansas State	4	–	6		.400			10	–	13		.435
Nebraska	1	–	9		.100			2	–	17		.105

They finished the season 11–5, 8–2 in Big Six play to finish in first place and win the Big Six championship. They lost to Kansas, 50–35 on January 27 to drop their record to 5-5 (2-2) before winning their last six games en route to a conference championship. The March 2, 1945 contest turned into a de facto championship game, with the Cyclones routing the Jayhawks, 61–39, to win their second consecutive Big Six championship.

Jim Myers was awarded with a first team All-Big Six distinction by the United Press, while Bob Mott garnered second team honors.

Roster

1944–45 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown C Bill Bailey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Winona, Minnesota G 30 Bill Block (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Sr Muscatine, Iowa G Ted Chamberlain 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — C Sam Deal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Amarillo, Texas F 25 Orlyn Feuerbach 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Sr Keystone, Iowa C Jim Harland — — Cedar Falls, Iowa C Merl Kleen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Pomeroy, Iowa Harry Kraus — — Sargent, Nebraska Jack McDowell — — Harlan, Iowa C 24 Bob Mott — — Fr Jewell, Iowa F 18 Jim Myers 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Jr Sioux City, Iowa F Dana Omer 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Spirit Lake, Iowa F John Pflum 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) — G Bob Peterson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Fr Harlan, Iowa G Gene Phelps 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) — Wells, Minnesota Rex Wagner — — Homer, Nebraska	Head coach Louis Menze Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
December 4, 1944* 7:15 pm		Minnesota	W 42–21	1–0	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
December 13, 1944*		at Iowa Pre-Flight	L 39–49	1–1	Iowa City, Iowa
December 16, 1944* 8:15 pm		at Drake Iowa Big Four	L 45–52	1–2	Drake Fieldhouse  Des Moines, Iowa
December 29, 1944*		Iowa Pre-Flight	L 33–34	1–3	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
January 6, 1945 7:30 pm		Kansas State	W 60–31	2–3 (1–0)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
January 8, 1945		at Nebraska	W 50–38	3–3 (2–0)	Nebraska Coliseum  Lincoln, Nebraska
January 15, 1945* 7:15 pm		Ottumwa Naval	W 50–48	4–3	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
January 20, 1945		at Missouri	L 32–38	4–4 (2–1)	Brewer Fieldhouse  Columbia, Missouri
January 24, 1945* 7:15 pm		Drake Iowa Big Four	W 57–32	5–4	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
January 27, 1945		at Kansas	L 35–50	5–5 (2–2)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, Kansas
February 9, 1945		Missouri	W 58–30	6–5 (3–2)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
February 17, 1945		Oklahoma	W 51–43	7–5 (4–2)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
February 19, 1945		Nebraska	W 47–45	8–5 (5–2)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
February 24, 1945 7:45 pm		at Oklahoma	W 31–29	9–5 (6–2)	Municipal Auditorium  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
February 26, 1945		at Kansas State	W 44–39	10–5 (7–2)	Nichols Hall  Manhattan, Kansas
March 2, 1945 7:30 pm		Kansas	W 61–39	11–5 (8–2)	State Gymnasium (3,500) Ames, Iowa
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.