1953–54 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 1953–54 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University in college basketball during the 1953–54 season. The team finished the season with a 19–13 record and were national runners-up to La Salle University in the 1954 NCAA tournament. It was the second time in five seasons that Bradley was the national runner-up; in 1949–50, they lost to CCNY in both the NCAA and NIT championships.

1953–54 Bradley Braves men's basketball
NCAA Tournament Runners-up
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 7
Record	19–13
Head coach	Forddy Anderson (6th season)
Captains	Bob Carney John Riley
Home arena	Robertson Memorial Field House

1953–54 NCAA men's basketball independents standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Holy Cross		–			–			26	–	2		.929
No. 17 Seattle		–			–			26	–	2		.929
No. 5 Duquesne		–			–			26	–	3		.897
No. 6 Notre Dame		–			–			22	–	3		.880
No. 2 La Salle		–			–			26	–	4		.867
Dayton		–			–			25	–	7		.781
Louisville		–			–			22	–	7		.759
No. 9 Penn State		–			–			18	–	6		.750
Oklahoma City		–			–			18	–	7		.720
Navy		–			–			18	–	8		.692
Army		–			–			15	–	7		.682
Villanova		–			–			20	–	11		.645
Lafayette		–			–			17	–	10		.630
Saint Joseph's		–			–			14	–	9		.609
Xavier		–			–			18	–	12		.600
No. 7 Bradley		–			–			19	–	13		.594
John Carroll		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Seton Hall		–			–			13	–	10		.565
Temple		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Muhlenberg		–			–			12	–	10		.545
Washington University		–			–			12	–	10		.545
Syracuse		–			–			10	–	9		.526
Cincinnati		–			–			11	–	10		.524
DePaul		–			–			11	–	10		.524
Iona		–			–			11	–	10		.524
Butler		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Boston College		–			–			11	–	11		.500
Loyola Marymount		–			–			14	–	16		.467
Rutgers		–			–			11	–	13		.458
Creighton		–			–			14	–	17		.452
Gonzaga		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Valparaiso		–			–			10	–	13		.435
Marquette		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Lehigh		–			–			8	–	12		.400
Pittsburgh		–			–			9	–	14		.391
Georgetown		–			–			11	–	18		.379
Siena		–			–			7	–	14		.333
Portland		–			–			9	–	19		.321
Loyola (IL)		–			–			7	–	15		.318
Drake		–			–			7	–	16		.304
Colgate		–			–			5	–	12		.294
Bucknell		–			–			4	–	16		.200
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
12/1/1953*		Illinois State	W 91–75	1–0	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
12/8/1953*		Purdue	L 73–77	1–1	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
12/11/1953*		at Pittsburgh Steel Bowl Tournament	L 64–66	1–2	Fitzgerald Field House  Pittsburgh, PA
12/12/1953*		vs. Wake Forest Steel Bowl Tournament	W 78–74	2–2	Fitzgerald Field House  Pittsburgh, PA
12/14/1953*		Alabama	L 61–63	2–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
12/21/1953*		USC	W 79–64	3–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
12/23/1953*		No. 19 Notre Dame	W 74–72	4–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
12/28/1953*		Arizona	W 79–53	5–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
12/30/1953*		Rutgers	W 89–70	6–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
1/2/1954*		No. 19 BYU	W 77–50	7–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
1/9/1954*		Iowa State	W 92–76	8–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
1/11/1954*		Drake	W 93–53	9–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
1/13/1954*		Saint Louis	W 76–59	10–3	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
1/16/1954*		at Louisville	L 86–95	10–4	Jefferson County Armory  Louisville, KY
1/18/1954*		Houston	W 86–71	11–4	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
2/1/1954*		at Arizona	L 74–87	11–5	Bear Down Gym  Tucson, AZ
2/3/1954*	No. 18	Tulsa	L 63–66	11–6	Expo Square Pavilion  Tulsa, OK
2/6/1954*	No. 18	at No. 14 Wichita State	L 83–91	11–7	Wichita, KS
2/9/1954*		DePaul	W 80–69	12–7	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
2/12/1954*		at Marquette	W 97–90	13–7	Old Gym  Milwaukee, WI
2/15/1954*		Louisville	L 90–96	13–8	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
2/20/1954*		at Drake	L 74–81	13–9	Drake Fieldhouse  Des Moines, IA
2/22/1954*		Illinois Wesleyan	W 87–72	14–9	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
2/27/1954*		at DePaul	L 76–80 OT	14–10	Chicago, IL
3/3/1954*		at Saint Louis	L 79–89	14–11	Kiel Auditorium  St. Louis, MO
3/6/1954*		Tulsa	W 90–69	15–11	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
3/8/1954*		Marquette	L 68–76	15–12	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
1954 NCAA Tournament
3/9/1954*		Oklahoma City NCAA First Round	W 61–55	16–12	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
3/12/1954*		vs. Colorado NCAA Quarterfinals	W 76–64	17–12	Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, OK
3/13/1954*		at No. 5 Oklahoma State NCAA Quarterfinals	W 71–57	18–12	Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, OK
3/19/1954*		vs. USC NCAA Final Four	W 74–72	19–12	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
3/20/1954*		vs. No. 12 La Salle NCAA National Championship	L 76–92	19–13	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source