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men_s_basketball:1958

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1958/1959

Record: 23-6
Postseason: NCAA Regional 4th Place
Coach: Eddie Hickey
Captain: Gene Suppelsa
Leading Scorer: Mike Moran (18.1 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: Don Kojis (13.0 rpg)

Season review

Followers of Marquette athletics will recall 1959 as the year when the Warrior cage team returned to college basketball's Promised Land.

Not since the “Cinderella” team of 1954-55 finished its season as the eight ranked power in the country has a Marquette club approached the heights reached by the one of 1958-59.

Eddie Hickey, who succeeded Jack Nagle as basketball coach after an illustrious career at St. Louis University, estimated that it would take two years to restore the Warriors to their former position of renown. But the team, using Hickey's crowd pleasing fast break offense as a springboard soared to a 22-4 record and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Mike Moran, a six-foot eight-inch senior center, led the way with 526 points, an 18.1 average. The lefthanded hook shot artist concluded his career as the possessor of every significant scoring record at Marquette. His 526 points set a single season record, and his 1,355 points represented a career record. Moran also set the single game high in 1957-58 with a 44 point explosion against Creighton.

Fowards Walt Mangham and Don Kojis finished with 387 and 403 points, respectively. Mangham, the national high school high jump champion in 1956, wrestled down 372 rebounds. His cat-like jumping feats were a continuous source of amazement to spectators. Kojis, generally acclaimed as one of the finest high school players ever developed in Milwaukee, climaxed a brilliant sophomore year by being selected to the NCAA all-tournament team. A fiery competitor, Kojis led the Warriors with 376 rebounds and placed second to Moran in scoring. Their combined efforts on the glass resulted in an amazing average of 56.9 rebounds per game, a school record that still stands nearly 50 years later.

Senior guard Jim McCoy was the team's chief outside threat. An excellent driver and steady ball handler, McCoy was often at his best when the chips were down. He tallied 337 points.

Junior guard Jim Kollar was the playmaker. He did not shoot much but scored 251 points. His .773 free throw percentage led the team. The players recognized Kollar's leadership value by electing him captain for 1959-60.

Marquette finished the season ranked 15th in the final UPI poll and 20th in the final AP poll.

Schedule and Results

Date Opponent Result Record
12/2/58 @ Wisconsin W 76-47 1-0
12/6/58 Illinois W 69-53 2-0
12/8/58 @ Nebraska L 60-62 2-1
12/9/58 @ Creighton W 53-49 3-1
12/13/58 St Norbert W 82-74 4-1
12/15/58 Drake W 79-63 5-1
12/18/58 New York W 70-59 6-1
12/20/58 Creighton W 70-49 7-1
12/22/58 #9 Xavier W 86-71 8-1
12/27/58 Wisconsin-Milwaukee W 76-60 9-1
1/3/59 @ Detroit W 78-63 10-1
1/5/59 Loyola (Ill) W 70-59 11-1
1/9/59 Air Force W 67-46 12-1
1/13/59 @ Valparaiso W 96-74 13-1
1/31/59 #17 Louisville W 66-62 14-1
2/2/59 Detroit W 75-66 15-1
2/4/59 Bowling Green W 73-62 16-1
2/7/59 @ Loyola (Ill) W 90-60 17-1
2/9/59 @ Depaul L 80-89 17-2
2/14/59 @ Louisville L 55-68 17-3
2/21/59 @ Xavier W 79-70 18-3
2/24/59 Notre Dame W 95-76 19-3
2/27/59 @ Western Michigan W 81-71 20-3
2/28/59 @ Toledo W 56-53 21-3
3/4/59 DePaul W 82-69 22-3
3/7/59 @ Notre Dame L 35-51 22-4
3/10/59 vs Bowling Green (NCAA Tournament) W 89-71 23-4
3/13/59 vs #7 Michigan St (NCAA Tourneament) L 69-74 23-5
3/14/59 vs #2 Kentucky (NCAA Tournament) L 69-98 23-6
men_s_basketball/1958.1201919427.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/12/07 16:39 (external edit)