| 1944–45 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
NCAA tournament National champions MVC regular season champions | |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Record | 27-4 ( MVC) |
| Head coach | |
| Assistant coach | Bud Millikan |
The 1944–45 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, [1] in NCAA competition in the 1944–45 season.
The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, and Washington University in St. Louis. Additionally, the University of Iowa was an original member of the MVIAA, while maintaining joint membership in the Western Conference.
Gallagher-Iba Arena, also known as "The Rowdiest Arena in the Country" and "The Madison Square Garden of the Plains”, is the basketball and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. Originally completed in 1938 and named the 4-H Club and Student Activities Building, it was soon renamed Gallagher Hall to honor wrestling coach Ed Gallagher. After renovations in 1987, the name became Gallagher-Iba Arena, as a tribute to longtime basketball coach and innovator Henry Iba.
Bernard Louis Carnevale was an American basketball coach and college athletic administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1944 to 1946 and the United States Naval Academy from 1946 to 1966, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 309–171. Carnevale was the athletic director at New York University from 1966 to 1972 and the College of William & Mary from 1972 to 1981. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
Henry Payne “Hank” Iba was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwest Missouri State University, from 1929 to 1933; the University of Colorado Boulder from 1933 to 1934; and the Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, known as Oklahoma A&M prior to 1957, from 1934 to 1970, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 751–340. He led Oklahoma A&M to consecutive NCAA basketball tournament titles, in 1945 and 1946.
Bruce Drake was a college men's basketball coach. The Gentry, Texas native was head coach at the University of Oklahoma between 1938 and 1955, compiling a 200–181 record. He also coached the Air Force team to a 34–14 record in 1956.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The university's current athletic director is Chad Weiberg, who replaced the retiring Mike Holder on July 1, 2021. Oklahoma State has won 55 national titles, including 53 NCAA team national titles, which ranks sixth in most NCAA team national championships. These national titles have come in wrestling (34), golf (11), basketball (2), baseball (1), and cross country (5). Oklahoma State has also won non-NCAA national titles in football (1) and equestrian (1).
The 1945 NCAA basketball tournament was an eight-team single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college basketball. It began on March 22, 1945, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in New York City. A total of nine games were played, including a third place game in each region.
Raymond O. Courtright was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach of football, basketball, golf, and wrestling, and college athletics administrator. Courtright attended the University of Oklahoma where he played halfback for the football team from 1911 to 1913 and also competed in baseball, basketball and track. He was the head football coach at Pittsburg State University (1915–1917), the University of Nevada, Reno (1919–1923), and Colorado School of Mines (1924–1926). Courtright was also an assistant football coach (1927–1936), head golf coach (1929–1944) and head wrestling coach (1942–1944) at the University of Michigan.
Clifford Patrick Keen was an American coach who served as the head coach of the University of Michigan collegiate wrestling team from 1925 to 1970. He led the Michigan Wolverines to 13 Big Ten Conference championships, and coached 68 All-American wrestlers. In 1976, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team represents Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. All women's teams at the school are known as Cowgirls. The Cowboys currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. In 2020, CBS Sports ranked Oklahoma State the 25th best college basketball program of all-time, ahead of such programs as Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma State men’s basketball has a very rich history of success, having won more national titles and advanced to the NCAA Championship, Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen more times than any Big 12 program other than Kansas. Oklahoma State has won a combined 23 regular season conference titles and conference tournament titles, which is the most of any program in the state of Oklahoma.
George William Kok Sr. was an American basketball player. At the University of Arkansas in the 1940s, he was one of the first true big men to dominate the game. He was the second overall pick in the 1948 BAA draft, but never played in the league that was the predecessor of today's National Basketball Association.
James Carlos McNatt was an All-American basketball player for the Oklahoma Sooners and the AAU's Phillips 66ers. At Oklahoma, McNatt led his team to the first-ever NCAA final Four in 1939, and at Phillips 66, McNatt guided the 66ers to four consecutive AAU national championships. He was a two-time All-American at Oklahoma and a four-time AAU All-American for Phillips 66. The speedy player came to be known by his nickname “Scat” McNatt, a moniker originally traced back to the term “Boy Scats” which sportswriters had used to describe McNatt's fast-breaking, sophomore-led 1937-38 Oklahoma Sooners basketball team. McNatt grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, attended Norman High School, and then opted to stay in his hometown to play basketball for the University of Oklahoma.
The 1950–51 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in NCAA competition in the 1950–51 season.
The 1948–49 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in NCAA competition in the 1948–49 season.
The 1945–46 Oklahoma A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in NCAA competition in the 1945–46 season. The Aggies won their second consecutive NCAA championship, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels by a score of 43–40 in the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma A&M was also retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.
John Leonard "J. L." Parks was an American basketball player. He won two national championships at Oklahoma A&M University and represented the U.S. as a member of the 1950 FIBA World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The 1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1944, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1945 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1945, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Oklahoma A&M Aggies won their first NCAA national championship with a 49–45 victory over the NYU Violets.
Floyd B. Burdette was a head coach for both the Alabama and Tennessee–Martin Skyhawks men's basketball teams. Born in Martin, Tennessee, Burdette played college basketball for one season at UT Junior College and three at Murray State University from 1935 to 1938. In all four season he competed, Burdette led his team in scoring and was an all-conference selection. He then attended Oklahoma A&M where he both coached and played in 1944 before he began his head coaching career.
The 1944–45 NYU Violets men's basketball team represented New York University in intercollegiate basketball during the 1944–45 season. The team finished the season with a 14–7 overall record and were national runners-up to the Oklahoma A&M Aggies. The Violets were led by head coach and future Basketball Hall of Famer Howard Cann, while the Aggies were led by future hall of fame player Bob Kurland. The 1944–45 season was NYU's first of two NCAA Division I Final Four appearances; the second was in 1959–60.
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.