The 1961–62 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

during the 1961–62 NCAA University Division basketball season. The

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

were led by second-year head coach

Joe Cipriano Joe Cipriano is an American voice over actor, radio and TV on-air personality, and author. Early life and education Cipriano was born September 8, 1954, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended Watertown High School. Career Cipriano began his ca ...

and played their home games on campus at the Memorial Gymnasium in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

. In the four years between the demise of the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...

(1959) and the founding of the Big Sky Conference (1963), Idaho was an independent; this season the Vandals had a record. During this season, Vandal great Gus Johnson was a sophomore at

Boise Junior College Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

and averaged thirty points and twenty rebounds a game for the Broncos; he transferred to Idaho in 1962 and played the following season. For the intrastate series with

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, this year marked the introduction of the "King Spud Trophy," an oversized metallic potato with a face and a crown. The first season was an exact split, with the home team winning by two points. Years later in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, the Vandals regained it with a home win after enduring seven consecutive losses to ISU; Bengal head coach

Lynn Archibald Lynn J. Archibald (September 27, 1944 – May 28, 1997) was an American college basketball Coach (sport), coach. He served as head basketball coach at Idaho State University and the University of Utah. Early life Born in Logan, Utah, Archibald ...

thought it should go to the losing team: "It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. The only good thing that happened last week was losing it."

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Idaho Vandals: 1961–62 basketball season
''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1962 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1961–62 basketball season

– student newspaper – 1962 editions {{DEFAULTSORT:1961-62 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team Idaho Vandals men's basketball seasons

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...