1945–46_Idaho_Vandals_men's_basketball_team
1945–46 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1945–46 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1945–46 NCAA college basketball season. Members of the Pacific Coast Conference, the Vandals were led by fourth-year acting head coach James "Babe" Brown and played their home games on campus at Memorial Gymnasium in Moscow, Idaho.
For the first time in 23 years, the Vandals were Northern Division champions of the PCC,[2] 22–9 overall in the regular season and 11–5 in conference play.[3][4] In the last game of the regular season, the Vandals defeated Palouse neighbor Washington State by two points in Moscow,[3] and Oregon took down runner-up Oregon State by a point in overtime on the road in Corvallis.[5] In the four-game series with each, the Vandals split with both Oregon and Oregon State, took three from Washington, and swept Washington State.
Idaho met Southern Division champion California in the best-of-three championship series in Berkeley,[6] lost game one in a near-riot,[7][8] won game two,[9][10] but lost the third.[11][12][13]