1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 54th. They were led by legendary coach Phog Allen in his 35th season overall, 33rd consecutive. He guided Kansas to its first NCAA Tournament championship, their 3rd National Championship overall, behind center Clyde Lovellette, who scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in an 80-63 victory over St. John's in the title game. Lovellette became the only player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring while leading his team to the national championship in the same season. Also on the team was Dean Smith, who later went on to a Hall of Fame coaching career at North Carolina. Seven members of the team, as well as Allen, would be named to the 1952 United States men's Olympic basketball team.

1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Big Seven Champions
NCAA tournament, National Champions
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 8
Record	28–3 (11–1 Big 7)
Head coach	Phog Allen (35th season)
Assistant coach	Dick Harp (3rd season)
Captains	Bill Hougland John Keller Bob Kenney Bill Lienhard Clyde Lovellette
Home arena	Hoch Auditorium
Seasons ← 1950–51 1952–53 →

1951–52 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Kansas	11	–	1		.917			28	–	3		.903
No. 3 Kansas State	10	–	2		.833			19	–	5		.792
Missouri	6	–	6		.500			14	–	10		.583
Iowa State	4	–	8		.333			10	–	11		.476
Colorado	4	–	8		.333			8	–	16		.333
Oklahoma	4	–	8		.333			7	–	17		.292
Nebraska	3	–	9		.250			7	–	17		.292
Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Roster

1951–52 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 3 Jerry Alberts 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Fr Lincoln, Illinois F/C 25 B. H. Born 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Medicine Lodge, Kansas F 4 Larry Davenport 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Newton, Kansas G/F 12 Everett Dye 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Independence, Kansas G/F 21 Bill Heitholt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Fr Quincy, Illinois G/F 5 Charlie Hoag 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Oak Park, Illinois G 17 Bill Hougland 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Beloit, Kansas G 13 Weston Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) So Newton, Kansas G/F 20 John Keller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Page City, Kansas G 24 Allen Kelley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) So McCune, Kansas F 14 Dean Kelley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Jr McCune, Kansas F 9 Bob Kenney 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Winfield, Kansas F 11 Bill Lienhard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Newton, Kansas C 16 Clyde Lovellette 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Terre Haute, Indiana F 22 Dean Smith 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Topeka, Kansas	Head coach Phog Allen Assistant coach(es) Dick Harp Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

^[2][3]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
December 3*		Baylor	W 57–46	1-0	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
December 8*		Denver	W 84–53	2-0	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
December 10*	No. 8	Creighton	W 65–47	3-0	Vinardi Center  Omaha, NE
December 14*	No. 8	at SMU	W 74–51	4-0	Perkins Gym  Dallas, TX
December 15*	No. 8	at SMU	W 58–57	5-0	Perkins Gym  Dallas, TX
December 18	No. 7	vs. Rice	W 68–48	6-0	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
December 22*	No. 7	USC	W 76–55	7-0	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
December 26	No. 4	vs. Colorado	W 76–56	8-0	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
December 28	No. 4	vs. No. 8 Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 90–88	9-0	Memorial Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
December 29	No. 4	vs. Missouri Border War	W 75–65	10-0	Memorial Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
January 5	No. 1	Oklahoma	W 71–48	11-0 (1-0)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
January 12	No. 1	at Missouri Border War	W 60–59	12-0 (2-0)	Brewer Fieldhouse  Columbia, MO
January 14	No. 1	at Nebraska	W 69–66	13-0 (3-0)	Nebraska Coliseum  Lincoln, NE
January 26	No. 2	at No. 7 Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	L 64–81	13-1 (3-1)	Ahearn Field House  Manhattan, KS
January 30*	No. 4	at Oklahoma A&M	L 45–49	13-2	Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, OK
February 2	No. 4	Iowa State	W 86–68	14-2 (4-1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
February 4	No. 4	Colorado	W 73–68	15-2 (5-1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
February 11	No. 6	at Iowa State	W 55–50	16-2 (6-1)	The Armory  Ames, IA
February 16	No. 9	Nebraska	W 90–52	17-2 (7-1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
February 19*	No. 7	Oklahoma A&M	W 66–46	18-2	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
February 25	No. 9	Missouri Border War	W 65–54	19-2 (8-1)	Hoch Auditoriium  Lawrence, KS
March 1	No. 8	at Oklahoma	W 74–55	20-2 (9-1)	Field House  Norman, OK
March 7	No. 8	No. 3 Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 78–61	21-2 (10-1)	Hoch Auditorium  Lawrence, KS
March 10	No. 8	at Colorado	W 72–55	22-2 (11-1)	Balch Fieldhouse  Boulder, CO
March 21*	No. 8	vs. TCU NCAA regional semifinals	W 68–64	23-2	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
March 22*	No. 8	vs. No. 5 Saint Louis NCAA Regional Finals	W 74–55	24-2	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
March 25*	No. 8	vs. Santa Clara NCAA National Semifinals	W 74–55	25-2	Bank of America Arena  Seattle, WA
March 26*	No. 8	vs. No. 10 St. John's National Championship	W 80–63	26-2	Bank of America Arena  Seattle, WA
March 30*	No. 8	vs. Southwest Missouri State	W 92–65	27-2	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, MO
March 31*	No. 8	vs. La Salle	W 70–65	28-2	Madison Square Garden (III)  New York, NY
April 1*	No. 8	vs. Peoria	L 60–62	28-3	Madison Square Garden (III)  New York, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Main article: 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball rankings

Awards and honors

• Clyde Lovellette, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[4]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	9	Clyde Lovellette	Minneapolis Lakers

^[5]

References

1. "1951-52 Big Seven Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
2. "1952 NCAA Final Four program". March 1952. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
3. 2014-15 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball media guide. Retrieved 2015-May-22.
4. . cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
5. . databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2009-05-08.