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1976–77 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team

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1976–77 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball
Big Sky tournament champions
Big Sky Season Champions
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record25–5 (13–1 Big Sky)
Head coach
MVPSteve Hayes
Home arenaISU Minidome
Seasons
1976–77 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Idaho State † 13 – 1   .929 25 – 5   .833
Weber State 11 – 3   .786 20 – 8   .714
Gonzaga 7 – 7   .500 11 – 16   .407
Montana State 6 – 8   .429 12 – 14   .462
Northern Arizona 5 – 9   .357 12 – 15   .444
Boise State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 16   .385
Montana 5 – 9   .357 7 – 19   .269
Idaho 3 – 11   .214 5 – 21   .192
† Conference tournament winner

The 1976–77 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team represented Idaho State University during the 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.[1] The Bengals were led by sixth-year head coach Jim Killingsworth and played their home games on campus at the ISU Minidome in Pocatello. Led by seven-foot (2.13 m) senior center Steve Hayes, they finished the regular season at 21–4 overall, with a 13–1 record in the Big Sky Conference.[2]

As regular season champions, Idaho State hosted and won the second edition of the four-team conference tournament; the 32-team NCAA tournament started on their home floor with a victory over Long Beach State.[3] At Provo, Utah, the Bengals drew national attention with their one-point upset of longtime power UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen.[4][5][6] After UCLA scored to draw within one, freshman reserve guard Ernie Wheeler was quickly fouled in the backcourt with eight seconds remaining; he made both to go up by three. UCLA scored again with a second left, but time ran out after ISU successfully got the ball inbounds. Wheeler had earlier hit both free throws with 37 seconds remaining; the Bengals made nine of ten free throws in the final two minutes.[4][5][6] This was the first time since 1963 that UCLA made the tournament but failed to get to the Final Four, which included the previous ten.

In the Elite Eight game (regional final) against UNLV,[7][8] ISU led by a point at halftime, but lost by seventeen and ended the season at 25–5.[9]

For the third consecutive year, Hayes was named to the all-conference team, joined by senior guard Ed Thompson; junior forward Jeff Cook and senior forward Greg Griffin were on the second team.[10][11]

The Bengals were the fourth (of five) Big Sky teams to advance to the Sweet Sixteen; they remain the only Elite Eight team in conference history, and the only one to post consecutive wins in a given NCAA tournament.

After the season in late March, Killingsworth departed for Oklahoma State University of the Big Eight Conference.[12][13][14]

Roster

[edit]
1976–77 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 21 Scott Goold 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Highland HS Pocatello, ID
G 14 Ed Thompson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Santa Barbara CC Santa Barbara, CA
F 30 Greg Griffin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Pasadena CC Cleveland, OH
F 32 Jeff Cook 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Edgewood HS West Covina, CA
C 33 Steve Hayes 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Aberdeen HS Aberdeen, ID
F 22 Brand Robinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Manhattan HS Manhattan, MT
G 12 Ernie Wheeler 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr San Luis Obispo HS San Luis Obispo, CA
F 15 Brian Bemis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Coeur d'Alene HS Coeur d'Alene, ID
F 20 Paul Wilson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Fontana HS Fontana, CA
C 35 Stan Klos 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr St. Peters (NJ) Old Bridge, NJ
F 31 Gene Bowen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Southern Idaho Lafayette, IN
G 10 Kelly Gardner 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Provo HS Provo, UT
F 34 Mark McQuaid 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Chaffey HS Ontario, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Postseason results

[edit]
Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Big Sky tournament
Fri, March 4
9:00 pm 		(1) (4) Montana State
Semifinal 		W 93–77  22–4
 ISU Minidome (4,427)
Pocatello, Idaho
Sat, March 5
8:00 pm 		(1) (2) Weber State
Final 		W 61–55  23–4
 ISU Minidome (9,300)
Pocatello, Idaho
NCAA tournament
Sat, March 12*
4:37 pm 		vs. Long Beach State
First round 		W 83–72  24–4
 ISU Minidome (10,897)
Pocatello, Idaho
Thu, March 17*
9:15 pm, NBC 		vs. No. 2 UCLA
Sweet Sixteen 		W 76–75  25–4
 Marriott Center (21,639)
Provo, Utah
Sat, March 19*
2:15 pm, NBC 		vs. No. 4 UNLV
Elite Eight 		L 90–107  25–5
 Marriott Center (19,298)
Provo, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain time.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rushdi, Farid (April 7, 2013). "Sweet 16 ISU's lucky number for '77 season: Beating UCLA turned Bengals into Cinderella". Idaho State Journal. (Pocatello). Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  2. ^ "Zags draw Weber State". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). February 28, 1977. p. 17.
  3. ^ "Bruins rip, Rebs soar". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 13, 1977. p. D1.
  4. ^ a b Benson, Lee (March 18, 1977). "Utes fall short, Idaho State stuns UCLA". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6B.
  5. ^ a b "ISU has greatest win". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 21.
  6. ^ a b "UCLA becomes the obscure one". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 18, 1977. p. 1B.
  7. ^ Benson, Lee (March 19, 1977). "Vegas-ISU victor to join NCAA Final 4". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.
  8. ^ "Vegas-Idaho State: 'My turn,' says Tark". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 19, 1977. p. 2B.
  9. ^ "Tark's ploy sends Rebels past Bengals". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 20, 1977. p. 1B.
  10. ^ "Grady wins All-Big Sky cage honors". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 15, 1977. p. 22.
  11. ^ "Mayhew, Hayes head all-Big Sky cage team". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. March 15, 1977. p. B6.
  12. ^ "Cowboys hire Jim Killingsworth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 31, 1977. p. 41.
  13. ^ "ISU loses Killingsworth to OSU". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. March 31, 1977. p. F6.
  14. ^ "OSU names Killingsworth". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. March 31, 1977. p. 21.
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