1942–43 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team
# 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.

## 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
