The 1943–44 Utah Redskins men's basketball team represented the University of Utah during the 1943–44 NCAA men's basketball season. The Redskins captured the Mountain States Conference championship and its only national championship. Utah was given an opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament through an unusual circumstance. The

University of Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas ...

squad, who were supposed to appear in the tournament, were victimized by an automobile accident. Prior to the tournament, two of Arkansas’ starters were injured when their station wagon broke down after returning from a scrimmage in Fort Smith, Arkansas. While attempting to fix a flat tire, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones were injured when another car rammed into the back of the station wagon. Both players were injured. The severity of the accident caused Arkansas to withdraw from the upcoming NCAA tournament and the Redskins were tapped as a replacement.

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, NIT , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, Red Cross Benefit Game

Postseason

National Invitation Tournament

Utah competed in the

1944 National Invitation Tournament The 1944 National Invitation Tournament was the 1944 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 8 teams selected for the tournament.

and lost its quarterfinal match. *Quarterfinal **Kentucky 46, Utah 38

NCAA tournament

In need of a replacement, the NCAA committee turned to Utah, despite the fact that the Redskins had 4 losses and had just lost their first-round game in the NIT tournament. Utah had one player, Lyman Condie, a medical student, who midway through the season quit the team to pursue medical school. Additionally, all of Utah's players were raised within 30 miles of the Utah campus. These players included Arnie Ferrin,

Fred Sheffield Frederick Jolley Sheffield (November 5, 1923 – December 8, 2009) was an American basketball player. He won an NCAA championship with the University of Utah in 1944 and played one season for the Philadelphia Warriors in the Basketball Associatio ...

, and

Wat Misaka Wataru Misaka (December 21, 1923 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A point guard of Japanese descent, he broke a color barrier in professional basketball by being the first non-white player and the first p ...

, who was of Japanese descent. *West **Utah 45, Missouri 35 *Final Four **Utah 40, Iowa State 31 *Championship **Utah 42, Dartmouth 40 (OT)

Awards and honors

* Arnie Ferrin, NCAA Men's MOP Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1943-44 Utah Redskins men's basketball team Utah Redskins Utah Utah Utes men's basketball seasons Utah NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons