# 1953–54 William & Mary Indians men's basketball team

The 1953–54 William & Mary Indians men's basketball team represented the College of William & Mary in intercollegiate basketball during the 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season. Under the second year of head coach Boydson Baird, the team finished the season 9–14, 6–5 in the Southern Conference. This was the 49th season of the collegiate basketball program at William & Mary, whose nickname is now the Tribe. William & Mary played its home games at Blow Gymnasium.
The Indians finished in 5th place in the conference and qualified for the 1954 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament, held at the WVU Field House in Morgantown, West Virginia. However, the Indians fell to West Virginia in the quarterfinals.

## Program notes

* Following the previous season, seven of William & Mary's Southern Conference co-members departed for the new Atlantic Coast Conference: Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest. As such, only 10 teams remained in the Southern Conference during the 1953–54 season.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| * | at Hampden–Sydney | W 78–58 | 1–0 | Hampden Sydney, VA |
| 12/8/1953* | at Maryland | L 54–69 | 1–1 | Ritchie Coliseum College Park, MD |
| * | at North Carolina | L 61–71 | 1–2 | Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC |
| 2/12/1953* | at Duke | L 44–109 | 1–3 | Duke Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| | George Washington | L 53–65 | 1–4 (0–1) | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| 1/1/1954* | at Seton Hall | W 57–55 | 2–4 | Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, NJ |
| * | Clemson | L 72–75 | 2–5 | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| * | Hampden–Sydney | W 78–65 | 3–5 | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| 1/9/1954 | at West Virginia | W 78–76 | 4–5 (1–1) | WVU Field House Morgantown, WV |
| | VMI | W 71–67 | 5–5 (2–1) | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| 1/16/1954 | at Richmond | L 73–85 | 5–6 (2–2) | Benedictine High School Gymnasium Richmond, VA |
| | VPI | W 82–66 | 6–6 (3–2) | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| 2/2/1954* | at NC State | L 70–80 | 6–7 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| 2/6/1954 | at Washington and Lee | W 73–58 | 7–7 (4–2) | Doremus Gymnasium Lexington, VA |
| 2/8/1954 | at VPI | W 66–52 | 8–7 (5–2) | War Memorial Gymnasium Blacksburg, VA |
| | at VMI | L 62–81 | 8–8 (5–3) | Cormack Field House Lexington, VA |
| 2/13/1954* | at No. 19 NC State | L 48–65 | 8–9 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| | at No. 8 George Washington | L 58–69 | 8–10 (5–4) | Washington, DC |
| | Washington and Lee | W 68–54 | 9–10 (6–4) | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| 2/20/1954* | Wake Forest | L 56–57 $^{OT}$ | 9–11 | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| 2/25/1954* | No. 11 Maryland | L 55–74 | 9–12 | Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA |
| 2/27/1954 | at Richmond | L 63–68 | 9–13 (6–5) | Benedictine High School Gymnasium Richmond, VA |
| 1954 Southern Conference Basketball Tournament ||||||
| 3/4/1954 | vs. (4) West Virginia Quarterfinals | L 69–84 | 9–14 | WVU Field House Morgantown, WV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
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