A Hoops Powerhouse (For Once)

When Princeton defeated UCLA in the opening round of the men's basketball NCAA tournament this past March, it marked a rare occasion in which an Ivy League squad was able to compete with today's athletic powerhouses.

But 50 years ago, the 1945-46 Harvard men's basketball team was one of those powerhouses. Harvard, under coach Floyd Stahl, defeated some of the nation's top teams and earned the squad's only NCAA tournament berth in school history.

Led by a starting five of guards Saul Mariaschin '47 and Paul Champion '47, forwards John Gantt '47 and captain Wyndol Gray '46, and center Lou Decsi '46, the Crimson opened the season with six consecutive victories.

After a 47-42 setback to Holy Cross on January 12, Harvard promptly ran off seven more victories, setting up a big weekend against traditional rivals Quonset Naval Air Station and Boston University.

Playing without the services of leading scorer Gray, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle, the Crimson won both games decisively behind a combined 31 points from Mariaschin.

The victories earned Harvard a berth in the NCAA tournament as the New England regional champion, beating out rivals Rhode Island State and Boston University.

Unlike today's "March Madness," which features 64 teams from all regions of the country, the 1946 tournament involved only eight squads.

Four eastern representatives, including Harvard, played on March 21 and 23 at New York's Madison Square Garden, while four western squads competed on the same dates in Kansas City. The winners of each bracket then faced off in the championship game on March 26.

The Crimson drew a tough opponent in its opening match--Ohio State University, the winner of four consecutive Big Ten titles, which was making its fourth tournament appearance.

Best by nerves, Harvard dropped a 46-38 contest before 18,000 unsupportive New York fans, who were bored by each team's conservative style.

After Ohio State and the Crimson battled to an 18-18 tie midway through the second quarter, the Buckeyes surged ahead to take a 26-20 halftime lead they would not relinquish.

Ohio State's 6'6" center, Jack Undermann, dominated the inside game, scoring 14 points before fouling out in the final minutes. Gray and Mariaschin led the Crimson with 11 points apiece.

Harvard did score a victory of sorts, however, by beating the 10-point spread oddsmakers had awarded to Ohio State.

According to the March 22 Crimson, when Buckeye guard Paul Huston scored a basket just after the final whistle that would have given Ohio State the requisite 10-point victory, "thousands of pluggers went berserk."

Two days later, the Crimson played the region's consolation game against New York University, which had lost its opener to North Carolina.

After the highly-touted Violets took control early in the first half, the Crimson fought back, narrowing an 11-point deficit to just 62-57 with three minutes remaining. Harvard could get no closer, however, and lost by a score of 67-61.

The game featured a tense matchup between Gray and Violets reserve center Tom Kelly, who each scored 22 points. Decsi added 13 points in the losing cause.

While Gray's Harvard career ended with the loss, he was selected as a Sporting News All-American for the 1945-46 season and went on to star with Boston and St. Louis in the NBA.

The squad's 19 wins, .864 winning percentage and 14 consecutive victories remain school records.

But even in 1946--the Crimson's most glorious season to date--Harvard did not win the Ivy League.