# 1958–59 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1958–59 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University as a member of the Big 8 Conference during the 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The head coach was Tex Winter, innovator of the Triangle offense and future member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, who was in his sixth year at the helm. The Wildcats finished with a record of 25–2 (14–0 Big 8), the No. 1 ranking in both major polls, but fell short of a second straight Final Four appearance after a loss to Cincinnati in the Midwest Regional final of the NCAA tournament.
The team played its home games at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1958* | | Purdue | W 96–83 | 1–0 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Dec 6, 1958* | | Indiana | W 82–79 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Dec 12, 1958* | No. 3 | at California | W 68–65 | 3–0 | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Dec 13, 1958* | No. 3 | at San Francisco | W 53–52 | 4–0 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 15, 1958* | No. 3 | at BYU | L 68–77 | 4–1 | Smith Fieldhouse Provo, Utah |
| Dec 19, 1958* | No. 3 | No. 4 NC State | W 69–67 | 5–1 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Dec 20, 1958* | No. 3 | vs. No. 14 Saint Joseph's | W 68–55 | 6–1 | Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 26, 1958* | No. 4 | vs. Missouri Big Eight Holiday Tournament | W 69–66 | 7–1 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 29, 1958* | No. 4 | Oklahoma Big Eight Holiday Tournament | W 73–59 | 8–1 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 30, 1958* | No. 3 | vs. Colorado Big Eight Holiday Tournament | W 67–66 | 9–1 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Big Eight Regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 1959 | No. 4 | at Iowa State | W 59–56 | 10–1 (1–0) | Iowa State Armory Ames, Iowa |
| Jan 10, 1959 | No. 4 | Colorado | W 89–58 | 11–1 (2–0) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Jan 12, 1959 | No. 4 | Oklahoma | W 90–45 | 12–1 (3–0) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Jan 17, 1959 | No. 4 | at Missouri | W 75–60 | 13–1 (4–0) | Brewer Fieldhouse Columbia, Missouri |
| Jan 26, 1959 | No. 3 | Iowa State | W 78–55 | 14–1 (5–0) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Feb 2, 1959 | No. 3 | at Nebraska | W 50–43 | 15–1 (6–0) | Nebraska Coliseum Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Feb 7, 1959 | No. 3 | at Colorado | W 70–59 | 16–1 (7–0) | Balch Fieldhouse Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 11, 1959 | No. 3 | Kansas Sunflower Showdown | W 82–72 | 17–1 (8–0) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Feb 14, 1959* | No. 3 | Oklahoma State | W 60–49 | 18–1 (9–0) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Feb 16, 1959 | No. 3 | at Oklahoma | W 75–55 | 19–1 (10–0) | McCasland Field House Norman, Oklahoma |
| Feb 21, 1959 | No. 4 | at Oklahoma State | W 62–50 | 20–1 (11–0) | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Feb 27, 1959 | No. 4 | at Kansas Sunflower Showdown | W 87–77 | 21–1 (12–0) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| Mar 7, 1959* | No. 2 | Missouri | W 108–69 | 22–1 (13–0) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Mar 9, 1959* | No. 1 | Nebraska | W 76–54 | 24–1 (14–0) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1959* | No. 1 | vs. DePaul Midwest Regional semifinal | W 102–70 | 25–1 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| Mar 14, 1959* | No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Cincinnati Midwest Regional final | L 75–85 | 25–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | Not released | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Coaches | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* Bob Boozer – Consensus First-team All-American (2x), Big Eight Player of the Year (2x)
* Tex Winter – Big Eight Coach of the Year

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 1 | Bob Boozer | Cincinnati Royals |