1928–29 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball team

1928–29 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball
RMAC Champions
Helms Foundation National Champions
Conference Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Western
1928–29 record 36–2 (11–1 RMAC)
Head coach Schubert R. Dyche (1st year)
1928–29 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Eastern
Colorado 10 2   .833     10 2   .833
Wyoming 11 3   .786     15 4   .789
Northern Colorado 8 6   .571     8 6   .571
Denver 7 7   .500     12 8   .600
Colorado State 6 6   .500     6 6   .500
Colorado College 6 6   .500     8 9   .471
Western State 1 9   .100     1 9   .100
Colorado School of Mines 1 11   .083     1 11   .083
Western
Montana State 11 1   .917     36 2   .947
BYU 6 6   .500     20 10   .667
Utah State 4 8   .333     8 10   .444
Utah 3 9   .250     5 12   .294
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1928–29 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball team represented Montana State University during the 1928–29 NCAA men's basketball season in the United States. The head coach was Schubert R. Dyche, coaching in his first season with the Bobcats. The team finished the season with a 36–2 record[1] and were named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.[2] They defeated Amateur Athletic Union champion Cook's Painters in a best-of-three series.[3] This team was later nicknamed the "Golden Bobcats" and is now a prominent part of the lore for the men's basketball program at Montana State University.[4]

This Montana State squad is considered one of the best college teams in the first half of the 20th century.[5] The 1928–29 season was a culmination of the entire decade in which the school revolutionized a fast break offense coupled with high-pressure defense, something that no other teams had ever done.[5] Players John "Cat" Thompson and Frank Ward were named consensus All-Americans at the end of the season, and Thompson was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[5]

References

  1. "Montana State season-by-season results". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  2. "NCAA Division I Men's Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions". Rauzulu's Street. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  3. "Bobcats Athletic Traditions". The Golden Bobcats. Montana State University. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  4. "Last of 'Golden Bobcats' dies". Billings Gazette. TheBillingsGazette.com. April 25, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Golden Bobcat National Championship Team". Hall of Fame. Montana State University. Retrieved May 27, 2014.