1949–50 record 27–8 (7–2 IIC) | Head coach John Longfellow | |
Conference Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Home arena Indiana State Teacher's College Gymnasium | ||
The 1949–50 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball season is considered one of the greatest in the school's history. The Sycamore's were led by NAIB All-American Lenny Len Rzeszewski. He led them to the national title game versus East Central Oklahoma and ended the season as the National Champion with a record of 27–8. This season was Indiana State's 4th NAIA Final Four, its 3rd National Title game and its 1st National Championship.
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Regular season
During the 1949–50 season, Indiana State finished the regular season 20–8, 7–2 in the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference. They won on average by over 10 points per game, dropping a hard fought battle to the national ranked (# 2) Duquesne Dukes on the road.
They won 4 of 5 during their Christmas vacation road-trip before kicking off the conference schedule.
They won the NAIA Regional Championship by downing Hanover and Evansville and qualified for the NAIA Tournament.
Once in Kansas City they ran the table winning their first NAIA National title (after twice finishing 2nd.) Len Rzeszewski received several honors at the end of regular season including the Chuck Taylor Award as the Most Valuable Player of the Year in the NAIA. He was also selected to the NAIA All-American team.
Roster
The Sycamores were led by Rzeszewski, the NAIA Player of the Year and his 13.4 average. He was followed by Don McDonald’s 13.2 average. The starting lineup also included Jim Powers, Bob Gilbert and Clarence Walker. The remainder of the roster consisted of Dan Dimich, Bill Jagodzinski, Jim Berger, Jim Hans, and Jerry Kunkel.
SENIORS
JUNIORS
SOPHOMORES
FRESHMEN
NAIA basketball tournament
*National Championship