# 1943–44 Utah Redskins men's basketball team

The 1943–44 Utah Redskins men's basketball team represented the University of Utah during the 1943–44 NCAA men's basketball season. The Redskins captured the Mountain States Conference championship and its only national championship.
Utah was given an opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament through an unusual circumstance. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks squad, who were supposed to appear in the tournament, were victimized by an automobile accident. Prior to the tournament, two of Arkansas’ starters were injured when their station wagon broke down after returning from a scrimmage in Fort Smith, Arkansas. While attempting to fix a flat tire, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones were injured when another car rammed into the back of the station wagon. Both players were injured. The severity of the accident caused Arkansas to withdraw from the upcoming NCAA tournament and the Redskins were tapped as a replacement.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 12, 1943 | 18th Replacement Wing | W 48–24 | 1–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| November 19, 1943 | A.S.T.P. Company D | W 51–21 | 2–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| November 22, 1943 | A.S.T.P. Company B | W 76–24 | 3–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| November 24, 1943 | A.S.T.P. ERC | W 71–17 | 4–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| November 26, 1943 | at Hill Field Fliers | W 61–26 | 5–0 | Ogden, UT |
| December 4, 1943 | at Weber | W 63–25 | 6–0 | Ogden, UT |
| December 4, 1943 | at Weber Navy | W 60–25 | 7–0 | Ogden, UT |
| December 16, 1943 | at Kearns 2nd Air Force | W 45–35 | 8–0 | Kearns, UT |
| January 4, 1944 | Fort Douglas | W 41–26 | 9–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 6, 1944 | at Wendover Bomber Quin. | W 64–28 | 10–0 | Wendover, UT |
| January 15, 1944 | Idaho State | W 54–43 | 11–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 22, 1944 | Ecker Studio | W 46–44 | 12–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 28, 1944 | at Colorado College | W 48–34 | 13–0 | Colorado Springs, CO |
| January 29, 1944 | at Fort Logan | W 55–38 | 14–0 | Denver, CO |
| January 31, 1944 | at Fort Warren | L 59–61 | 14–1 | Cheyenne, WY |
| February 5, 1944 | Kearns | W 57–37 | 15–1 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| February 12, 1944 | Salt Lake Air Base | L 39–54 | 15–2 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| February 16, 1944 | Bushnel Hospital | W 78–31 | 16–2 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| February 19, 1944 | at Idaho State | W 52–40 | 17–2 | Pocatello, ID |
| February 26, 1944 | Dow Chemical | L 36–46 | 17–3 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| March 4, 1944 | Salt Lake Air Base | W 62–38 | 18–3 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, UT |
| NIT ||||||
| March 20, 1944 | vs. Kentucky | L 38–46 | 18–4 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 24, 1944 | vs. Missouri Quarterfinals | W 45–35 | 19–4 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| March 25, 1944 | vs. Iowa State Semifinals | W 40–31 | 20–4 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| March 28, 1944 | vs. Dartmouth Championship | W 42–40 | 21–4 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Red Cross Benefit Game ||||||
| March 30, 1944 | vs. St. John's Red Cross Benefit Game | W 43–36 | 22–4 | Madison Square Garden (18,125) New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Postseason
### National Invitation Tournament

Utah competed in the 1944 National Invitation Tournament and lost its quarterfinal match.
* Quarterfinal
** Kentucky 46, Utah 38

### NCAA tournament

In need of a replacement, the NCAA committee turned to Utah, despite the fact that the Redskins had 4 losses and had just lost their first-round game in the NIT tournament. Utah had one player, Lyman Condie, a medical student, who midway through the season quit the team to pursue medical school. Additionally, all of Utah's players were raised within 30 miles of the Utah campus. These players included Arnie Ferrin, Fred Sheffield, and Wat Misaka, who was of Japanese descent.
* West
** Utah 45, Missouri 35
* Final Four
** Utah 40, Iowa State 31
* Championship
** Utah 42, Dartmouth 40 (OT)

## Awards and honors

* Arnie Ferrin, NCAA Men's MOP Award