1949–50 Kentucky Wildcats 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).

1949–50 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
SEC regular season champions
SEC tournament champions
ConferenceSoutheast Conference
Ranking
APNo. 3
Record25–5 (11–2 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coachHarry Lancaster
CaptainDale Barnstable
Home arenaAlumni Gymnasium
Seasons
1949–50 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Kentucky 11 2   .846 25 5   .833
Vanderbilt 11 3   .786 17 8   .680
Auburn 12 6   .667 17 7   .708
Tulane 8 4   .667 15 7   .682
Alabama 8 9   .471 9 12   .429
Georgia 6 7   .462 15 9   .625
Tennessee 5 6   .455 15 11   .577
Georgia Tech 7 9   .438 14 13   .519
LSU 5 8   .385 13 12   .520
Mississippi State 6 10   .375 7 11   .389
Florida 4 10   .286 9 14   .391
Ole Miss 4 13   .235 8 17   .320
1950 SEC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Charles Newton, a player on this squad, returned to Kentucky as athletic director from 1989 to 2000.

Roster

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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

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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

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1949-50 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1949–50 Kentucky Wildcats Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Sugar Bowl Collegiate Basketball History". Sugar Bowl. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  4. ^ "Kentucky Trounces Tennessee, 95-58". The Times (Shreveport). March 5, 1950. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "2019-20 Kentucky Men's Basketball Record Book" (pdf). University of Kentucky Athletics. p. 188. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  6. ^ "1950 NBA Draft". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 6, 2020.