1958–59 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team


The 1958–59 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represented West Virginia University in NCAA competition in the 1958–59 season. Coached by Fred Schaus and led by Hall of Fame guard Jerry West, the Mountaineers, then a member of the Southern Conference, lost in the final of that year's NCAA tournament to California.

1958–59 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball
Southern Conference champions
NCAA tournament, runner-up
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 10
Record29–5 ( SoCon)
Head coach
Home arenaWVU Field House
Seasons
1958–59 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 10 West Virginia 11 0   1.000 29 5   .853
Virginia Tech 10 2   .833 16 5   .762
The Citadel 7 4   .636 15 5   .750
William & Mary 7 7   .500 13 11   .542
Richmond 6 8   .429 11 11   .500
Furman 5 7   .417 14 12   .538
George Washington 4 7   .364 14 11   .560
Davidson 2 8   .200 9 15   .375
VMI 2 11   .154 5 13   .278
Southern Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Season Summary

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West Virginia wasn’t a one-man team, far from it, but guard Jerry West was the star of the show, as he proved after leading the mountaineers to the final four. He scored 38 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a semifinal win over Louisville, then scored 28 points and snared 11 boards against California in the title game. That effort wasn’t enough to prevent the Bears from winning, by a single point, 71-70.

NCAA basketball tournament

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  • East
    • West Virginia 82, Dartmouth 68
    • West Virginia 95, St. Joseph’s, Pennsylvania 92
    • West Virginia 86, Boston 82
  • Final Four
    • West Virginia 94, Louisville 79
    • California 71, West Virginia 70

[1]

Team players drafted into the NBA

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
3 20 Bob Smith Minneapolis Lakers

[2]

References

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  1. ^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
  2. ^ "1959 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
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  NODES
Note 1