1948–49 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team


The 1948–49 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas in the 1948–49 college basketball season. The Razorbacks played their home games in the Men's Gymnasium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It was former Razorback All-American Eugene Lambert's seventh and final season as head coach of the Hogs. Arkansas received its first-ever rating in the new AP Poll (which was first published on January 18, 1949) on February 28, 1949, coming in at #20.[1] The Razorbacks tied Baylor and Rice for the Southwest Conference regular season championship with a record of 9–3 and 15–11 overall.[2][3]

1948–49 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Record15–11 (9–3 SWC)
Head coach
Home arenaMen's Gymnasium
Seasons
1948–49 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Arkansas 9 3   .750 15 11   .577
Baylor 9 3   .750 14 10   .583
Rice 9 3   .750 13 11   .542
Texas 7 5   .583 17 7   .708
SMU 5 7   .417 11 13   .458
Texas A&M 2 10   .167 5 19   .208
TCU 1 11   .083 4 20   .167
Rankings from AP Poll

Arkansas received a bid to the NCAA tournament, its third appearance in the tournament overall and second with Lambert as coach after advancing to the 1945 Final Four and not being able to participate during the 1943–44 season due to a serious car crash that killed a staff member, Everett Norris, and injured two starters, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones.[4][5] Arkansas lost to Oregon State in the first round of the tournament, the Razorbacks' first-ever loss in the first round, before going on to defeat #17 Wyoming in a consolation game, the Hogs' first game and win against an AP-ranked team.

Guard Kenneth Kearns was named First Team All-SWC for the season, going on to be drafted by the New York Knicks in the 1949 BAA Draft.[6]

Coach Eugene Lambert moved on after the end of the season, entering sports administration before coaching stints at Memphis State and Alabama, eventually settling as the athletic director at Memphis State.[7]

Roster

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Roster retrieved from HogStats.com.[8]

1948–49 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 11 Bob Ambler 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So N/A Texarkana, Arkansas
G 40 Kenneth Kearns
Sr Denton High School Denton, Texas
G 21 Cliff Horton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Sr N/A Marshall, Arkansas
F 14 Jim Cathcart 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Little Rock Central High School Little Rock, Arkansas
G 3 John Campbell 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sr Harrison High School Harrison, Arkansas
41 Bob Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
So N/A Billings, Missouri
G 31 Gerald Hudspeth
Jr St. Joe High School St. Joe, Arkansas
15 Mike Schumchyk
Center Moriches Long Island, New York
G 32 Norman Price 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
So N/A Mansfield, Arkansas
55 Roxie Rankin
Fayetteville High School Fayetteville, Arkansas
22 Paul Coleman
N/A Marion, Arkansas
30 Robert Adams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Jr N/A Mulberry, Arkansas
35 Elmo Adams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Beebe High School Beebe, Arkansas
Head coach

Eugene Lambert (Arkansas)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: August 16, 2022

Schedule and results

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Schedule retrieved from HogStats.com.[9]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
November 29, 1948*
at Phillips 66ers L 40–58  0–1
 
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
December 1, 1948
Oklahoma City W 31–29  1–1
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
December 4, 1948*
at Oklahoma A&M L 28–53  1–2
Gallagher Hall 
Stillwater, Oklahoma
December 9, 1948*
vs. Long Island University L 42–56  1–3
Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
December 11, 1948*
at Canisius L 51–60  1–4
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 
Buffalo, New York
December 13, 1948*
at Kentucky L 39–76  1–5
Alumni Gymnasium 
Lexington, Kentucky
December 16, 1948*
Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg W 79–53  2–5
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
December 23, 1948*
Oklahoma A&M L 45–50  2–6
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
December 30, 1948*
vs. Tennessee
Delta Bowl Classic
W 58–55  3–6
 
Memphis, Tennessee
January 5, 1949
Baylor L 37–41  3–7
(0–1)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
January 8, 1949*
Phillips 66ers L 32–58  3–8
(0–1)
 
Little Rock, Arkansas
January 15, 1949
at SMU W 54–45  4–8
(1–1)
Perkins Gymnasium 
Dallas, Texas
January 17, 1949
at TCU W 41–36  5–8
(2–1)
TCU Fieldhouse 
Fort Worth, Texas
January 21, 1949
Rice L 48–49  5–9
(2–2)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
January 31, 1949
Texas A&M W 62–47  6–9
(3–2)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
February 5, 1949
at Baylor W 52–46  7–9
(4–2)
Marrs McLean Gymnasium 
Waco, Texas
February 7, 1949
at Texas W 60–54  8–9
(5–2)
Gregory Gymnasium 
Austin, Texas
February 12, 1949
Texas W 54–50  9–9
(6–2)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
February 19, 1949
SMU W 47–39  10–9
(7–2)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
February 21, 1949
TCU W 67–52  11–9
(8–2)
Men's Gymnasium 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
February 26, 1949
at Rice L 48–54  11–10
(8–3)
 
Houston, Texas
February 28, 1949
No. 20 at Texas A&M W 61–46  12–10
(9–3)
DeWare Fieldhouse 
College Station, Texas
NCAA District 6 Playoffs
March 9, 1949*
vs. Rice W 50–34  13–10
(9–3)
Fair Park Recreation Building 
Dallas, Texas
March 10, 1949*
vs. Arizona W 65–44  14–10
(9–3)
Fair Park Recreation Building 
Dallas, Texas
NCAA Tournament
March 18, 1949*
vs. Oregon State
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
L 38–56  14–11
(9–3)
 
Kansas City, Missouri
March 19, 1949*
vs. No. 17 Wyoming
NCAA Tournament Consolation Game
W 61–48  15–11
(9–3)
 
Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

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  1. ^ "Arkansas 1949 AP Men's Basketball Rankings | College Poll Archive". College Poll Archive. College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "HogStats.com :: 1948-49 Arkansas Basketball Schedule". HogStats.com. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  3. ^ "1948-49 Southwest Conference Season Summary | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "Arkansas Fans Remember '44 Tragedy That Took Team Out of NCAA". Tulsa World. April 4, 1995. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "1943-44 | College Hoopedia". collegehoopedia.com. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "HogStats.com :: Player Information:: Kenneth Kearns". HogStats.com. HogStats.com. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Eugene Lambert (Former Head Coach) - Coaches Database". Coaches Database. Lakefront Digital Marketing. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "1948-49 Arkansas Basketball Schedule". HogStats.com. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "HogStats.com :: 1948-49 Arkansas Basketball Schedule". HogStats.com. Retrieved August 16, 2022.