1944–45 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team

The 1944–45 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State College for the 1944–45 college basketball season. Led by seventeenth-year head coach Jack Friel, the Cougars were members of the Pacific Coast Conference and played their home games on campus at the WSC Gymnasium in Pullman, Washington.

1944–45 Washington State Cougars men's basketball
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
1944–45 record23–13 (11–5 PCC)
Head coach
Home arenaWSC Gymnasium
1944–45 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
North
Oregon †11–5 .688  30–15  .667
Washington State11–5 .688  23–13  .639
Oregon State10–6 .625  20–8  .714
Washington5–11 .313  22–18  .550
Idaho3–13 .188  13–20  .394
South
UCLA3–1 .750  12–12  .500
USC2–2 .500  15–9  .625
California1–3 .250  7–8  .467
† North division playoff winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The Cougars were 22–11 overall in the regular season and 11–5 in conference play, tied for first in the Northern division.[1][2][3]

In the best-of-three playoff series with Oregon, the road teams won the first two games,[4][5] which were played six nights apart.[6][7] In the deciding third game in Eugene the next night, the home team rallied from a six-point deficit at halftime to win by a basket;[8][9] [10] Oregon advanced to the eight-team NCAA Tournament,[9][11] but lost their opener by three points.[12]

Postseason results
Date
time, TV		 Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Pacific Coast Conference Northern Division Playoff Series
Sat, March 10
8:00 pm		 Oregon
Game One		 L 41–51  22–12
 WSC Gymnasium 
Pullman, Washington
Fri, March 16
8:00 pm		 at Oregon
Game Two		 W 53–48  23–12
 McArthur Court (7,000)
Eugene, Oregon
Sat, March 17
8:00 pm		 at Oregon
Game Three		 L 37–39  23–13
 McArthur Court (6,000)
Eugene, Oregon
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific time.

References
  1. "Cougars and Oregon start playoff March 10 in Pullman". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 5, 1945. p. 12.
  2. "Northern Division, Coast Conference final standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 4, 1945. p. 18.
  3. "Playoff series start(s) Saturday in Pullman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 5, 1945. p. 6.
  4. Strite, Dick (March 11, 1945). "Oregon sweeps over WSC in first playoff win, 51-41". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 16.
  5. Johnson, Bob (March 12, 1945). "Backboard shy Cougar five drops opener to Oregonians". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 12.
  6. "WSC wins tilt from U-O 53-48". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 17, 1945. p. 1.
  7. "Cougars, Oregon even in playoff". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 17, 1945. p. 6.
  8. Strite, Dick (March 18, 1945). "Webfoots rally to grab title playoff, 39-37". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1.
  9. "Oregon grabs Coast crown". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 19, 1945. p. 3.
  10. "Cougars return to Pullman; Ducks travel to Kansas City". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 19, 1945. p. 10.
  11. "Oregon wins division title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 18, 1945. p. 11.
  12. Strite, Dick (March 24, 1945). "Arkansas clips Webfoots, 79-76". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1.
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