1961–62 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team

The 1961–62 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1961–62 NCAA University Division basketball season. The independent Vandals were led by second-year head coach Joe Cipriano and played their home games on campus at the Memorial Gymnasium in Moscow, Idaho.[1][2][3]

1961–62 Idaho Vandals men's basketball
ConferenceIndependent
1961–62 record13–13 (.500)
Head coach
Assistant coachWayne Anderson
MVPChuck White
Home arenaMemorial Gymnasium

In the four years between the demise of the Pacific Coast Conference (1959) and the founding of the Big Sky Conference (1963), Idaho was an independent; this season the Vandals had a 13–13 (.500) record.[4][5]

During this season, Vandal great Gus Johnson was a sophomore at Boise Junior College and averaged thirty points and twenty rebounds a game for the Broncos; he transferred to Idaho in 1962 and played the following season.[6]

For the intrastate series with Idaho State, this year marked the introduction of the "King Spud Trophy," an oversized metallic potato with a face and a crown.[7][8][9] The first season was an exact split, with the home team winning by two points.[10] Years later in 1979, the Vandals regained it with a home win after enduring seven consecutive losses to ISU; Bengal head coach Lynn 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."[11]

References
  1. Chapin, Dwight (November 30, 1961). "Cipriano striving to polish Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 8.
  2. "Idaho to meet Pirates tonight". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 1, 1961. p. 12.
  3. "Gonzaga plays Nevada here as cage season begins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 1, 1961. p. 16.
  4. "Washington nips Vandals 55-54". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 10, 1962. p. 2.
  5. Missildine, Harry (March 10, 1962). "Husky rally ruins Idaho home finale". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 10.
  6. "Vandal prospects for season reviewed by Cipriano". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 15, 1962. p. 12.
  7. "'King Spud' crown at stake tonight". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 2, 1962. p. 14.
  8. "Basketball". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1963. p. 250.
  9. "Basketball". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1964. p. 264.
  10. "Idaho, WSU dealt defeats". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 3, 1962. p. 11.
  11. Van Sickel, Charlie (February 28, 1979). "Dutch Rub: Today's smorgasbord". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 18.
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