The 1937–38 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in intercollegiate

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

during the 1937–38 season. The team scored 740 points in 20 games for an average of 37.0 points per game—the second highest point total and scoring per game in school history. Despite prolific scoring for the era, Michigan finished in a tie for fifth in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. The team compiled a 9–1 record in the first half of the season, including a six-game winning streak at the start of the season. However, the team went 3–7 in the second half of the season for a season record of 12–8, and 6–6 against Big Ten opponents. One of the highlights of the season was a tour of the east during the winter break. Michigan played and defeated Maryland, Rochester, and a highly touted Dartmouth team on the trip. The Wolverines held Dartmouth to one point in the first half and led 21–1 at halftime. While the second half of the season was a disappointment, the Wolverines had scored their highest single game total in a 58–29 over Wisconsin on February 21, 1938.1938 Michiganensian, "Basketball," page 423. Franklin "Cappy" Cappon was in his seventh and final year as the team's coach. Cappon had played basketball and football at Michigan from 1919 to 1923. As a senior, he was awarded the Western Conference Medal for all-around excellence in both athletics and academics. After seven seasons as Michigan's head coach, Cappon served as the head basketball coach from 1938 to 1961 at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he mentored

Butch van Breda Kolff Willem Hendrik "Butch" (sometimes "Bill") van Breda Kolff (October 28, 1922August 22, 2007) was an American basketball player and coach. He played four seasons for the New York Knicks before becoming a head coach at Lafayette. Ultimately, he co ...

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a United States Senate, United States senator from New ...

and

Frank Deford Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American sportswriter and novelist. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on NPR's ''Morning Edition'' radio program. Deford wrote fo ...

. He compiled a combined record of 340–242 at Michigan and Princeton and was inducted into the Helms Foundation College Basketball Hall of Fame in 1957. John "Jake" Townsend, a six-foot, four inch center from Indiana, was the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and leading scorer. Townsend was the team's leading scorer for three straight seasons. He scored 154 points during the 1935–36 season, 191 points during the 1936–37 season, and 226 points (81 field goals and 64 of 91 free throws) in 20 games as a senior during the 1937–38 season. Townsend 226 points during the 1937–38 season broke the school's single season scoring record of 181 points set by Arthur Karpus in the 1918–19 season. His career total of 571 points also broke Karpus's career scoring record of 338 points. Townsend was selected as a consensus All-American the end of the 1937–38 season. Townsend later played professional basketball in the National Basketball League for the

Indianapolis Kautskys Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork of ...

Oshkosh All-Stars The Oshkosh All-Stars were an American professional basketball team based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Founded in 1929 by Lonnie Darling, the team was a member of the National Basketball League, a forerunner to the NBA, from 1937 until 1949. History ...

and

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. On March 8, 1938, the day after the season's final game, Coach Cappon announced that he had accepted the head coaching job at Princeton.

Schedule

Scoring statistics

Coaching staff

Franklin Cappon Franklin C. "Cappy" Cappon (October 17, 1900 – November 29, 1961) was an American college football and college basketball player and coach. He played football and basketball at Phillips University and the University of Michigan and coached at L ...

- coach *

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American college football player, coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

- athletic director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1937-38 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball seasons Michigan Wolverines basketball Michigan Wolverines basketball