1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 54th. They were led by coach Phog Allen in his 35th season overall, 33rd consecutive. He guided Kansas to its first NCAA Tournament championship, their 3rd National Championship overall, behind center Clyde Lovellette, who scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in an 80–63 victory over St. John's in the title game. Lovellette became the only player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring while leading his team to the national championship in the same season. Also on the team was Dean Smith, who later went on to a Hall of Fame coaching career at North Carolina. Seven members of the team, as well as Allen, would be named to the 1952 United States men's Olympic basketball team.

1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
Big Seven champions
ConferenceBig Seven Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 8
Record28–3 (11–1 Big 7)
Head coach
Assistant coachDick Harp (3rd season)
Captains
Home arenaHoch Auditorium
Seasons
1951–52 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Kansas 11 1   .917 28 3   .903
No. 3 Kansas State 10 2   .833 19 5   .792
Missouri 6 6   .500 14 10   .583
Iowa State 4 8   .333 10 11   .476
Colorado 4 8   .333 8 16   .333
Oklahoma 4 8   .333 7 17   .292
Nebraska 3 9   .250 7 17   .292
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

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1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 3 Jerry Alberts 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Fr Lincoln, Illinois
F/C 25 B. H. Born 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Medicine Lodge, Kansas
F 4 Larry Davenport 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Newton, Kansas
G/F 12 Everett Dye 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Independence, Kansas
G/F 21 Bill Heitholt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Fr Quincy, Illinois
G/F 5 Charlie Hoag 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Oak Park, Illinois
G 17 Bill Hougland 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Beloit, Kansas
G 13 Weston Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) So Newton, Kansas
G/F 20 John Keller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Page City, Kansas
G 24 Allen Kelley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) So McCune, Kansas
F 14 Dean Kelley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Jr McCune, Kansas
F 9 Bob Kenney 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Winfield, Kansas
F 11 Bill Lienhard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Newton, Kansas
C 16 Clyde Lovellette 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Terre Haute, Indiana
F 22 Dean Smith 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Topeka, Kansas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[2][3]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
December 3*
Baylor W 57–46  1-0
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
December 8*
Denver W 84–53  2-0
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
December 10*
No. 8 Creighton W 65–47  3-0
Vinardi Center 
Omaha, NE
December 14*
No. 8 at SMU W 74–51  4-0
Perkins Gym 
Dallas, TX
December 15*
No. 8 at SMU W 58–57  5-0
Perkins Gym 
Dallas, TX
December 18
No. 7 vs. Rice W 68–48  6-0
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
December 22*
No. 7 USC W 76–55  7-0
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
December 26
No. 4 vs. Colorado W 76–56  8-0
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
December 28
No. 4 vs. No. 8 Kansas State
Sunflower Showdown
W 90–88  9-0
Memorial Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
December 29
No. 4 vs. Missouri
Border War
W 75–65  10-0
Memorial Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
January 5
No. 1 Oklahoma W 71–48  11-0
(1-0)
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
January 12
No. 1 at Missouri
Border War
W 60–59  12-0
(2-0)
Brewer Fieldhouse 
Columbia, MO
January 14
No. 1 at Nebraska W 69–66  13-0
(3-0)
Nebraska Coliseum 
Lincoln, NE
January 26
No. 2 at No. 7 Kansas State
Sunflower Showdown
L 64–81  13-1
(3-1)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, KS
January 30*
No. 4 at Oklahoma A&M L 45–49  13-2
Gallagher-Iba Arena 
Stillwater, OK
February 2
No. 4 Iowa State W 86–68  14-2
(4-1)
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
February 4
No. 4 Colorado W 73–68  15-2
(5-1)
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
February 11
No. 6 at Iowa State W 55–50  16-2
(6-1)
The Armory 
Ames, IA
February 16
No. 9 Nebraska W 90–52  17-2
(7-1)
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
February 19*
No. 7 Oklahoma A&M W 66–46  18-2
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
February 25
No. 9 Missouri
Border War
W 65–54  19-2
(8-1)
Hoch Auditoriium 
Lawrence, KS
March 1
No. 8 at Oklahoma W 74–55  20-2
(9-1)
Field House 
Norman, OK
March 7
No. 8 No. 3 Kansas State
Sunflower Showdown
W 78–61  21-2
(10-1)
Hoch Auditorium 
Lawrence, KS
March 10
No. 8 at Colorado W 72–55  22-2
(11-1)
Balch Fieldhouse 
Boulder, CO
March 21*
No. 8 vs. TCU
NCAA regional semifinals
W 68–64  23-2
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
March 22*
No. 8 vs. No. 5 Saint Louis
NCAA Regional Finals
W 74–55  24-2
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
March 25*
No. 8 vs. Santa Clara
NCAA National Semifinals
W 74–55  25-2
Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
March 26*
No. 8 vs. No. 10 St. John's
National Championship
W 80–63  26-2
Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
March 30*
No. 8 vs. Southwest Missouri State W 92–65  27-2
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
March 31*
No. 8 vs. La Salle W 70–65  28-2
Madison Square Garden (III) 
New York, NY
April 1*
No. 8 vs. Peoria L 60–62  28-3
Madison Square Garden (III) 
New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

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Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 9 Clyde Lovellette Minneapolis Lakers

[5]

References

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  1. ^ "1951-52 Big Seven Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "1952 NCAA Final Four program". March 1952. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. ^ 2014-15 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball media guide. Retrieved 2015-May-22.
  4. ^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "1952 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2009.