# 1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

The 1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team represented the University of Wyoming in NCAA men's competition in the 1942–43 NCAA college basketball season. The Cowboys won the Mountain States Conference championship and were the first basketball team from the Rocky Mountains to win an NCAA title. Kenny Sailors of Hillsdale, Wyoming averaged 15.5 points per game and Milo Komenich averaged 16.7 points per game in leading the team to the championship. Despite playing just nine home games during the year, the Cowboys won 32 games.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| December 11 | at Fort Warren | W 49-33 | 1-0 | near the South Platte River |
| December 11 | at Fort Warren | W 53-43 | 2-0 | near the South Platte River |
| December 19 | Fort Warren | W 63-40 | 3-0 | Laramie, WY |
| December 23 | at Duquesne | L 33-43 | 3-1 | Pittsburgh, PA |
| December 24 | at Albright | W 56-42 | 4-1 | Reading, PA |
| December 26 | at La Salle | W 56-32 | 5-1 | Philadelphia, PA |
| December 30 | at Saint Francis (PA) | W 63-48 | 6-1 | Loretto, PA |
| January 1, 1943 | at Rochester (NY) | W 68-44 | 7-1 | Rochester, NY |
| January 2, 1943 | at Lawrence Tech | W 78-34 | 8-1 | Southfield, MI |
| January 15, 1943 | at Utah | W 66-38 | 9-1 | Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 16, 1943 | at Utah | W 68-25 | 10-1 | Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 22, 1943 | at Colorado State | W 66-42 | 11-1 | Fort Collins, CO |
| January 23, 1943 | Colorado State | W 49-23 | 12-1 | Laramie, WY |
| January 28, 1943 | Regis (CO) | W 101-45 | 13-1 | Laramie, WY |
| January 30, 1943 | at Regis (CO) | W 86-34 | 14-1 | Denver, CO |
| February 2, 1943 | at Phillips 66ers | W 42-41 $^{OT}$ | 15-1 | Bartlesville, OK |
| February 3, 1943 | at Phillips 66ers | W 37-36 | 16-1 | Bartlesville, OK |
| February 12, 1943 | Colorado State | W 57-34 | 17-1 | Laramie, WY |
| February 13, 1943 | at Colorado State | W 65-40 | 18-1 | Fort Collins, CO |
| February 19, 1943 | Utah | W 75-46 | 19-1 | Laramie, WY |
| February 20, 1943 | Utah | W 45-31 | 20-1 | Laramie, WY |
| February 25, 1943 | BYU | W 53-42 | 21-1 | Laramie, WY |
| February 26, 1943 | BYU | W 47-43 | 22-1 | Laramie, WY |
| February 27, 1943 | BYU | W 66-43 | 23-1 | Laramie, WY |
| March 16, 1943 | at Howard Payne | W 77-40 | 24-1 | Brownwood, TX |
| March 17, 1943 | vs. Colorado Mines | W 77-51 | 25-1 | Denver, CO |
| March 18, 1943 | at Poudre Valley | W 64-27 | 26-1 | |
| March 19, 1943 | at Denver Legion | L 33-41 | 26-2 | Denver, CO |
| March 20, 1943 | at Denver | W 58-45 | 27-2 | Denver, CO |
| March 26, 1943 | vs. Oklahoma NCAA Quarterfinal | W 53-50 | 28-2 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| March 27, 1943 | vs. Texas NCAA Semifinal | W 58-54 | 29-2 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| March 30, 1943 | vs. Georgetown NCAA Championship | W 46-34 | 30-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| April 1, 1943 | at Saint John's (NY) Red Cross Benefit Game | W 52-47 $^{OT}$ | 31-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Roster

| Name | Position | Home Town |
| Charles Castle | Forward | Phoenix, AZ |
| James Collins | Guard | Laramie |
| Jimmy Darden | Forward | Cheyenne |
| Jack Downey | Guard | Phoenix, AZ |
| Vernon Jensen | Guard | Lyman |
| Antone Katana | Center | Rock Springs |
| Milo Komenich | Center | Gary, IN |
| Earl Ray | Guard | Casper |
| Jimmie Reese | Forward | Rock Springs |
| Lou Roney | Guard | Powell |
| Ken Sailors | Forward | Laramie |
| Kenneth Tallman | Forward | Cheyenne |
| Floyd Volker | Forward | Casper |
| Donald Waite | Guard | Scottsbluff, NE |
| Jim Weir | Forward | Green River |
    Source:

## Regular season

In the fourth game of the season, the Cowboys lost to Duquesne. It would be the last game the Cowboys lost to a college team during the season. Their only other loss was to the Denver Legion team. The Cowboys outscored their opponents by an average of over twenty points per game and was the first Wyoming team to score over 100 points in a game, by beating Regis 101–45.

## Postseason
### NCAA tournament

* West regional (Kansas City)
** Wyoming 53, Oklahoma 50
** Wyoming 58, Texas 54 (National semifinal)
* Championship (New York)
** Wyoming 46, Georgetown 34
    Source:

### Red Cross game

St. John's won the eight-team National Invitation Tournament the night before, also at Madison Square Garden, and claimed it was better than Wyoming and that the NIT was a better event than the eight-team NCAA tournament. Ev Shelton talked Ned Irish, the promoter at Madison Square Garden, into hosting a showdown game, with proceeds going to the Red Cross. Two days after winning the NCAA Championship at Madison Square Garden, Wyoming met St. John's in a Red Cross benefit game for the war effort, and the Cowboys won in overtime, 52–47.

## Awards and honors

* First team from the Rocky Mountains to win an NCAA championship
* Only Wyoming basketball team to win an NCAA championship
* Defeated NIT champion St. John's in Red Cross benefit game
* Ken Sailors, First-team All-America selection
* Ken Sailors, NCAA Men's MOP Award