1975–76 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

The 1975–76 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball team that played in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos, representing Western Michigan University (WMU), finished the season 25–3 overall and 15–1 in the conference, won the MAC championship and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. They finished the season ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the UPI Poll.[1]

1975–76 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball
Mid-American Conference Champions
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 10
1975–76 record25–3 (15–1 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dick Shilts
  • Rich Walker
Home arenaUniversity Arena
1975–76 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 10 Western Michigan151 .938  253  .893
Miami142 .875  188  .692
Toledo133 .813  187  .720
Central Michigan88 .500  1214  .462
Bowling Green88 .500  1215  .444
Kent State79 .438  1214  .462
Ohio79 .438  1115  .423
Ball State511 .313  1114  .440
Northern Illinois214 .125  521  .192
Eastern Michigan115 .063  720  .259
Rankings from AP Poll

Season

The Broncos were featured in a Sports Illustrated article in the February 9, 1976, issue.[2] After starting the season 16–0, the Broncos entered the AP Poll as the No. 17-ranked team.[3] In the MAC showdown against Miami in Kalamazoo, a Western Michigan University (WMU) record 10,519 fans attended the game.[2]

In an early-season game, WMU beat Wisconsin–Green Bay (UWGB) 51–50 on a put-back by Jeff Tyson with one second left on the clock. The Broncos led by 10 points early in the second half, but UWGB took the lead by one point with 10 seconds remaining. After a timeout, WMU missed a long 25-foot field goal, but Tyson was able to get the rebound and score.[4]

NCAA Tournament

In the NCAA Tournament, Western Michigan defeated Virginia Tech 77–67 in overtime. They lost to No. 2-ranked Marquette in the Sweet Sixteen by 5 points, 62–57.[5]

Roster

The following players were on the 1975–76 team:[6]

  • Dave Carnegie
  • Rod Curry
  • Tom Cutter
  • Dale DeBruin
  • Paul Griffin
  • Jimmie Harvey
  • Jim Kurzen
  • Marty Murray
  • Bob Pyykkonen
  • Herman Randle
  • Mark Rayner
  • Mike Reardon
  • Dave Roland
  • S. L. Sales
  • Marc Throop
  • Jeff Tyson

The team was coached by Eldon Miller, along with assistant coaches Dick Shilts and Rich Walker.[7]

Schedule

The Broncos finished the season 25–3 and first place in the MAC with a 15–1 record.[8]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
December 1, 1975*
Grand Valley State W 107–73  1–0
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
December 3, 1975*
Wisconsin–Parkside W 77–74  2–0
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
December 6, 1975*
at Wisconsin–Green Bay W 51–50  3–0
Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena (2,052[4])
Ashwaubenon, WI
December 10, 1975*
at Northern Iowa W 91–61  4–0
McElroy Auditorium (~850[9][10])
Waterloo, IA
December 13, 1975*
Michigan State W 78–68  5–0
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
December 15, 1975*
Detroit W 81–71  6–0
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
December 20, 1975*
Wisconsin–Oshkosh W 115–83  7–0
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 3, 1976
at Bowling Green W 67–57  8–0
(1–0)
Anderson Arena 
Bowling Green, OH
January 7, 1976
at Eastern Michigan W 78–58  9–0
(2–0)
Bowen Field House 
Ypsilanti, MI
January 10, 1976
Toledo W 78–73  10–0
(3–0)
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 14, 1976*
Loyola (IL) W 79–77  11–0
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 17, 1976
at Northern Illinois W 78–65  12–0
(4–0)
Chick Evans Field House 
DeKalb, IL
January 21, 1976
Kent State W 75–53  13–0
(5–0)
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
January 24, 1976
at Ball State W 62–57  14–0
(6–0)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, IN
January 28, 1976
Miami W 82–68  15–0
(7–0)
Read Fieldhouse (10,519[1])
Kalamazoo, MI
January 31, 1976
Ohio W 75–59  16–0
(8–0)
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
February 4, 1976*
No. 17 at Loyola (IL) W 80–73  17–0
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, IL
February 7, 1976
No. 17 at Central Michigan W 76–73  18–0
(9–0)
Daniel P. Rose Center 
Mount Pleasant, MI
February 11, 1976
No. 15 Eastern Michigan W 85–73  19–0
(10–0)
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
February 14, 1976
No. 15 at Toledo W 88–80  19–1
(10–1)
Field House 
Toledo, OH
February 21, 1976
No. 17 Northern Illinois W 91–74  20–1
(11–1)
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
February 25, 1976
No. 16 at Kent State W 73–63  21–1
(12–1)
Memorial Gym 
Kent, OH
February 28, 1976
No. 16 Ball State W 93–67  22–1
(13–1)
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
March 1, 1976*
No. 16 at No. 8 Notre Dame W 95–86 OT 22–2
Athletic and Convocation Center 
South Bend, IN
March 3, 1976
No. 14 at Miami W 73–58  23–2
(14–1)
Millett Hall 
Oxford, OH
March 6, 1976
No. 14 Bowling Green W 71–58  24–2
(15–1)
Read Fieldhouse 
Kalamazoo, MI
March 13, 1976*
No. 16 vs. Virginia Tech
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
W 77–67 OT 25–2
Athletic and Convocation Center 
South Bend, IN
March 18, 1976*
No. 10 vs. No. 2 Marquette
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
W 62–57  25–3
LSU Assembly Center (14,150[5])
Baton Rouge, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Statistics

The following table lists the individual player statistics for the season.[11]

PlayerGPGSPtsAvgFGFGAPctFTFTAPctRebAvgPFFOA
Jeff Tyson282850117.9212425.49977109.7061324.783363
Tom Cutter282836212.9140217.64582108.75929810.684257
Jimmie Harvey282835612.7163323.5053044.6821003.673142
Paul Griffin282830310.8115192.59973100.7302779.982584
Marty Murray2802488.985218.39078108.722411.564250
Jim Kurzen28281987.179170.4654051.784441.653072
Dave Carnegie240632.62750.540917.529612.52902
Dale DeBruin190482.51733.5151427.519402.12507
S. L. Sales180422.31840.450615.400191.11500
Mike Reardon210401.91736.472611.54590.4800
Herman Randle210381.81550.300814.57190.4700
Marc Throop120100.828.250613.462151.3900
Bob Pyykkonen5040.826.33301.00030.6100
Dave Roland6030.505.00037.42910.2101
Rod Curry5020.416.1670051.0100
Mark Rayner1000.0000022.0100
WMU totals28221879.28931779.502432625.691117642.053614392
Opp. totals28189867.87761817.427346484.715581330

References

  1. "2013–14 WMU Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Western Michigan University. p. 54. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-03. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  2. Hannon, Kent (February 9, 1976). "Who's Who In Kalamazoo. Western Michigan (16–0) is a new big shot, but just in its hometown". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  3. "Western Michigan 1976 AP Men's Basketball Rankings". College Poll Archive. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  4. McGinn, Bob (December 7, 1975). "Last Shot Tips UWGB". Green Bay Press Gazette. p. D-1. Retrieved March 16, 2018 via newspapers.com.
  5. "Official Basketball Box Score – Marquette vs Western Michigan – 3/18/76" (PDF). Western Michigan University. March 18, 1976. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  6. "Statistics Summary for 1975–76". Western Michigan University. July 2, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  7. "NCAA Tournament Team". Western Michigan University. October 23, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  8. "2013–14 WMU Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Western Michigan University. pp. 85–86. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-03. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  9. Evans, Burke (December 10, 1975). "UNI outclassed by Broncos 91–61". The Courier. p. 23. Retrieved March 16, 2018 via newspapers.com.
  10. Evans, Burke (December 10, 1975). "UNI outclassed by Broncos 91–61". The Courier. p. 24. Retrieved March 16, 2018 via newspapers.com.
  11. "1975–76 Men's Basketball Stats". Western Michigan University. July 2, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
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