Kentucky time machine: The Cats became back-to-back NCAA champs in 1949

Editor’s Note: The Herald-Leader continues its series re-publishing the stories from Kentucky’s eight national championship game victories in chronological order. These stories appear, with some light editing, as they were written at the time in the Herald, the Leader or the Herald-Leader. We hope you’re enjoying them.

March 26, 1949

KENTUCKY 46, OKLAHOMA A&M 36

At Hec Edmundson Pavilion

Sunday Herald-Leader headline:

Cats Out-Defense Oklahoma Aggies To Win NCAA Championship, 46-36

With Alex Groza as chief gunner, piling in 25 points, Kentucky remained the national collegiate basketball champion tonight by crushing Oklahoma A&M, 46-36.

Big Alex was a scoring wildman before a howling crowd of 12,500. The 6-foot-7-inch senior center wound up his college career by winning unanimous selection as the “Player Of The Tournament.” Sports writers, awed by his display of scoring, voted him the honor without a dissent.

The University of Illinois squeezed past Oregon State, 57-53, to win third place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association finals.

Coach Hank Iba’s Oklahoma Aggies drew first blood and held an early lead of 5-2, but when Groza and Kentucky began to roll the final outcome was plain. The big guy hit a lay-in, added a free throw point to tie it up, then intercepted a pass and outraced the Aggies for the basket that put his team ahead.

By the half it was 25-20.

Four minutes after the start of the second half the last Oklahoma hope went glimmering when lanky Bob Harris fouled out. By that time Kentucky was 10 points to the good, 31-21. From there on the Wildcats appeared content to coast.

When Harris left Coach Adolph Rupp pulled Groza to the bench, the big fellow having four fouls. Eight minutes before the finish Rupp sent him back, and Groza added 10 counters to the 15 he collected in the first half. He fouled out after three minutes more of play. Six minutes and five seconds remained when Big Alex went to the bench amid thunderous applause.

Groza’s 25 points tonight gave him 82 for the three tournament games — breaking the old mark of Bob Kurland, ex-Aggie star, by six points. Kentucky also set a new team scoring record by amassing 207 points in beating Villanova, 85-72; Illinois, 76-47; and the Aggies, 46-36. The Cats’ 85 against Villanova also was a high mark for a single game.

Three minutes from the end, Oklahoma A&M lost scrappy J.L. Parks on fouls and Kentucky stalled the rest of the way.

The Aggies worked smoothly in the opening minutes, cracking the Kentucky defense open for lay-in shots which they could not convert. Rupp solved Iba’s style of attack by halftime and the Aggies did not get a field goal for 13 minutes in the second half.

Nobody came close to Groza’s scoring efforts. Harris and Parks each had seven when they left the game. Forward Jack Shelton of the Aggies was second man to Groza with 12.

Late in the game, with Groza and Harris out and no organized cheering, the packed pavilion at times became so quiet that at times the ball could be heard hitting the backboard. The noise would blast up again each time a foul was called against the desperately driving Aggies.

By the victory, Kentucky joined its victim as the only teams to win more than one NCAA title.

Iba’s Cowboys won the crown in 1945 and ‘46 and were shooting tonight for their third.

The triumph of the Wildcats gave the East its fifth national championship against six for the West.

The usually taciturn Kentuckians were wildly excited over the win — and Rupp was wearing the largest smile of all. For Ralph Beard, Groza, Clifford Barker and Wallace (Wah Wah) Jones it was the windup of their Kentucky career. The other starter, James Line, is a junior.

Of the Aggie starters, Joe Bradley, Parks, Vernon Yates and Harris bowed out of college basketball. Shelton has another season.

Members of the two teams were awarded wrist watches in a ceremony immediately following the game. Their excitement had subsided somewhat when the announcement was made that Groza had been named the event’s outstanding star.

They gathered around the big guy, pounding him on the back and shouting congratulations.

Bob Harris, the Aggies’ center, committed four personal fouls during the first period in a vain effort to halt the 6-foot, 7-inch Wildcat pivotman. The Aggies took the lead at the start but Kentucky soon moved ahead and was on tip by a slim margin most of the period. Groza’s tip broke a 5-5 tie and the Aggies were unable to get in front again during the period.

Kentucky shot 31 times in the first half and hit 10 for 31.2 percent. The Aggies took only 21 shots, connecting with seven for a 33.3 mark.

Groza got the tip to Barker on the opening toss-up but the Aggies came back down and Jack Shelton put A&M ahead, 2-0, with a jump shot. Jim Line fouled Joe Bradley who hit the toss to put the Aggies on top 3-0 but Line came back with a spinner and Kentucky had scored its first two points.

Big Bob Harris connected on a spinner to make it 5-2, Aggies, but Groza dropped in a spinner and was fouled by Harris on the shot. Groza’s goal was good and he then dropped in the free toss to make it 5-all with four minutes gone. Groza broke up a play and went the length of the floor to give Kentucky a 7-5 lead at the end of five minutes.

Parks converted a free throw after being fouled by Groza to narrow the lead but Beard hit a one-hander and then dropped in a free throw to put UK ahead, 10-6. Parks hit a one-hander and Bradley sank a charity toss after being fouled by Barker to cut the Big Blue lead to one point with 10 minutes to go in the first half.

Quick fielders by Jones and Groza gave the Wildcats a 14-9 lead and prompted an Aggie timeout. Bradley and Harris scored one apiece after being fouled by Barker and Groza, respectively, but Barker dropped in a one-hander from the side and then made a free toss after Shelton had fouled him. Yates and Harris came back for the Aggies with spinners to make it 17-15, Kentucky, with five minutes to go in the half.

Big Al made a layup but Harris tallied on a tip-in to make it 19-17 before Groza dropped in another layup and then a free throw to give the Cats a five-point edge. Again it was Groza a moment later with a spin shot. Gale McArthur marked for the Ags on a free throw and then Groza tallied again on a free throw as Harris was guilty of his fourth personal foul. Parks connected just before the half ended to leave the Wildcats with a 25-20 halftime edge. Groza racked up 15 points in the half.

Barker started the Cats’ second half assault with a free throw but Parks sank a similar toss before Line tapped a field goal to make it 28-21. Groza then got rid of Harris for good as he faked the big Aggie center and sank a layup with Harris on his back. The foul on Harris was his fifth and Big Al racked up another point as he made the free throw to give Kentucky a 31-21 lead with five minutes gone in the first half.

Parks and Shelton sank free throws for the Ags after being fouled by Groza but Big Al came back with a layup and a free toss to make the score 34-25. Groza was replaced by Walt Hirsch. Groza went out with four fouls against him and Parks went to the Oklahoma bench for good as he committed his fifth personal. Jones made a free throw but McArthur retaliated with another charity toss. Dale Barnstable hit a free throw as did Shelton and Norman Pilgrim for the Ags just before Barnstable hit a long one to make the score 38-26, Kentucky, with 10 minutes to go.

Shelton hit two free throws after being fouled by Hirsch and Pilgrim hit another charity toss after Jones’ infraction to cut the Cats’ lead to 38-29. Groza came back in the game replacing Jones as Jones fouled Tom Jaquet who dropped in a free throw. Line then hit after being fouled by Bradley but Shelton then popped in a field goal — the Aggies’ first goal of the second half.

Groza hit two free tosses and a layup but was sent from the game with six minutes and five seconds to play as he committed his fifth foul. Shelton sank the free toss to make it 43-33 with five minutes to go.

The referees called a technical foul on the Kentucky bench but Shelton missed the toss. Shelton hit after being fouled by Line a moment later but Hirsch then flipped in a one-hander followed by Barker’s free throw to make the score 46-34. Yates pushed in a one-hander with three minutes to go and from that time on the Cats kept the ball and won their last game of the season by a score of 46-36 and the NCAA title for the second straight year.

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 7:39 AM.