1943–44 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1943–44 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1943–44 NCAA men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Louis Menze, who was in his sixteenth season with the Cyclones. They played their home games at the State Gymnasium in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones qualified for the Final Four for the first time in school history, defeating Pepperdine in the NCAA Western Regional, before falling to Utah, 40–31. Initially, it was not even known if Iowa State would be able to fulfill its role in the postseason tournament, but they were ultimately able to do so.^[1] Star player Price Brookfield joined the Cyclones mid-season through the naval training program at Iowa State.^[2]

1943–44 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
Big Six Champions
1944 NCAA basketball tournament, Final Four
Conference	Big Six Conference
Record	14–4 (9–1 Big Six)
Head coach	Louis Menze (16th season)
Home arena	State Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1942–43 1944–45 →

1943–44 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Iowa State	9	–	1		.900			14	–	4		.778
Oklahoma	9	–	1		.900			15	–	8		.652
Kansas	5	–	5		.500			17	–	9		.654
Missouri	5	–	5		.500			10	–	9		.526
Kansas State	1	–	9		.100			7	–	15		.318
Nebraska	1	–	9		.100			2	–	13		.133

Roster

1943–44 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown 33 Price Brookfield 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — F Rae Chisholm 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Bob Deck 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — F James Felix 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — G Earl Kelso 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Rochester, New York G Lloyd Kester 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Ames, Iowa G Darle Larson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) — James Myers 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — G Lyle Naylor 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — C Don Nelson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — C 21 Gene Oulman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Mason City, Iowa G 20 Bob Sauer 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — C Lee Schneider 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Rock Island, Illinois F 28 Ray Wehde 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Holstein, Iowa F 27 Roy Wehde 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Holstein, Iowa	Head coach Louis Menze Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

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^[4][5]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
December 4, 1943* 7:30 pm		Iowa Pre-Flight	W 31–29	1–0	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
December 18, 1943* 8:00 pm		at Minnesota	L 28–31	1–1	Williams Arena  Minneapolis
December 31, 1943* 7:30 pm		Drake Iowa Big Four	W 43–20	2–1	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
January 3, 1944		at Kansas State	W 42–33	3–1 (1–0)	Nichols Hall  Manhattan, Kansas
January 8, 1944		at Nebraska	W 56–24	4–1 (2–0)	Nebraska Coliseum  Lincoln, Nebraska
January 15, 1944* 7:30 pm		Ottumwa Naval	W 60–37	5–1	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
January 17, 1944*		at Iowa Pre-Flight	L 27–33	5–2	Iowa City, Iowa
January 22, 1944 7:30 pm		Missouri	W 41–25	6–2 (3–0)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
January 29, 1944 7:30 pm		Kansas	W 40–29	7–2 (4–0)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
February 5, 1944		at Oklahoma	W 41–39	8–2 (5–0)	OU Field House  Norman, Oklahoma
February 9, 1944* 8:15 pm		at Drake	W 64–36	9–2	Drake Fieldhouse  Des Moines, Iowa
February 11, 1944 7:30 pm		Kansas State	W 47–20	10–2 (6–0)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
February 14, 1944		Nebraska	W 58–35	11–2 (7–0)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
February 21, 1944		at Missouri	W 43–32	12–2 (8–0)	Brewer Fieldhouse  Columbia, Missouri
February 28, 1944 7:15 pm		Oklahoma	L 30–44	12–3 (8–1)	State Gymnasium  Ames, Iowa
March 3, 1944		at Kansas	W 47–25	13–3 (9–1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, Kansas
Postseason
March 24, 1944 9:30 pm		vs. Pepperdine NCAA tournament West Regional semifinals	W 44–39	14–3	Municipal Auditorium (4,762) Kansas City, Missouri
March 25, 1944		vs. Utah NCAA Tournament West Regional Finals (Final Four)	L 31–40	14–4	Municipal Auditorium (5,112) Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

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References

1. "IOWA STATE DECLINES". Chicago Daily Tribune 1944 Mar 07:17.
2. "Centennial Moments: Price Brookfield".
3. (1) November 24, 1943 (Page 12 of 54). Des Moines Register 1943 Nov 24(156):12.
4. "Centennial Moments: Price Brookfield".
5. (1) December 2, 1943 (Page 11 of 16). Des Moines Register 1943 Dec 02(164):11.
6. "Iowa State Men's Basketball All-Time Results" (PDF). Iowa State University Athletic Department. Retrieved April 18, 2020.