1949–50 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team 1949–50 season of University of Kentucky men's basketball team
The 1949–50 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeast Conference . The head coach was Adolph Rupp and the team played their home games at Alumni Gymnasium for the final season. The Wildcats won SEC regular season and tournament championships. After losing to eventual National Invitation Tournament champion CCNY , Kentucky finished the season with a record of 25–5 (11–2 SEC).
Charles Newton , a player on this squad, returned to Kentucky as athletic director from 1989 to 2000.
Roster
1949–50 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G/F
18
Dale Barnstable (C)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Sr
Antioch, Illinois
F
19
Walter Hirsch
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Jr
Dayton, Ohio
F
25
Jim Line
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sr
Akron, Ohio
F
11
Shelby Linville
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
So
Middletown, Ohio
G/F
35
Charles Newton
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jr
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
G
31
Leonard Pearson
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Sr
Chicago, Illinois
C
77
Bill Spivey
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
So
Warner Robins, Georgia
G
7
Guy Strong
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
Jr
Irvine, Kentucky
G
38
Bobby Watson
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
155 lb (70 kg)
So
Owensboro, Kentucky
G
32
Lucian Whitaker
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
So
Sarasota, Florida
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
[ 2]
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Regular Season
Dec 3, 1949
Indiana Central College
W 84–61
1–0
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 10, 1949
Western Ontario
W 90–18
2–0
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 15, 1949 *
at St. John's
L 58–69
2–1
Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Dec 21, 1949 *
DePaul
W 49–47
3–1
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 23, 1949 *
at Purdue
W 60–54
4–1
Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, Indiana
Dec 29, 1949 *
vs. Villanova Sugar Bowl Classic
W 57–56[ 3] OT
5–1
Municipal Auditorium New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 30, 1949 *
vs. Bradley Sugar Bowl Classic
W 71–66[ 3]
6–1
Municipal Auditorium New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 2, 1950 *
at Arkansas
W 57–53
7–1
Robinson Auditorium Little Rock, Arkansas
Jan 4, 1950
Mississippi State
W 87–55
8–1 (1–0)
Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, Kentucky
Jan 9, 1950 *
No. 2
North Carolina
W 83–44
9–1
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 14, 1950
No. 2
at Tennessee
L 53–66
9–2 (1–1)
Alumni Memorial Gymnasium Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 16, 1950
No. 2
at Georgia Tech
W 61–47
10–2 (2–1)
Heisman Gymnasium Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 17, 1950
No. 5
at Georgia
L 60–71
10–3 (2–2)
Woodruff Hall Athens, Georgia
Jan 21, 1950 *
No. 5
at DePaul
W 86–53
11–3
Chicago Stadium Chicago, Illinois
Jan 23, 1950 *
No. 5
at Notre Dame
L 51–64
11–4
Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 26, 1950 *
No. 4
at Xavier
W 58–47
12–4
Schmidt Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 28, 1950
No. 4
Georgia
W 88–56
13–4 (3–2)
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 30, 1950
No. 4
at Vanderbilt
W 58–54
14–4 (4–2)
McQuiddy Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 2, 1950
No. 6
at Alabama
W 66–64
15–4 (5–2)
Foster Auditorium Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Feb 4, 1950
No. 6
vs. Ole Miss
W 61–55
16–4 (6–2)
Ellis Auditorium Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 11, 1950
No. 7
Tennessee
W 79–52
17–4 (7–2)
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 13, 1950
No. 7
Alabama
W 77–57
18–4 (8–2)
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 15, 1950
No. 5
Ole Miss
W 90–50
19–4 (9–2)
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 18, 1950
No. 5
Georgia Tech
W 97–62
20–4 (10–2)
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 23, 1950 *
No. 5
Xavier
W 58–53
21–4
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 25, 1950 *
No. 5
Vanderbilt
W 70–66
22–4 (11–2)
Alumni Gymnasium Lexington, Kentucky
SEC Tournament
Mar 3, 1950 *
(1) No. 4
vs. (10) Mississippi State Second Round
W 56–46
23–4
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 4, 1950 *
(1) No. 4
vs. (4) Georgia Semifinal
W 79–63
24–4
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 4, 1950 *
(1) No. 4
vs. (7) Tennessee Championship Game
W 95–58[ 4]
25–4
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky
National Invitation Tournament
Mar 14, 1950 *
No. 3
at CCNY Second Round
L 50–89
25–5
Madison Square Garden New York, New York
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
[ 5]
Rankings
Team players drafted into the NBA
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics