West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball
The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. WVU has won 13 conference tournament championships, and has 29 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including two Final Fours, most recently in 2010. The Mountaineers have also appeared in 16 National Invitation Tournaments, and have won two championships, in 1942 and 2007.
Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls
Wyoming's Men's Basketball program has a rich tradition. In 2006, Street & Smith’s published its “Greatest College Basketball Programs of All-Time” and the University of Wyoming was ranked as the 42nd greatest program in the history of college basketball. Back in 1943, it defeated Georgetown University 46-34 to win the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Two days following its NCAA Championship, Wyoming was asked to play the 1943 National Invitation Tournament Champion (NIT), St. John’s, in a game to benefit the Red Cross and raise money for the country’s war effort. Wyoming defeated St. John’s, 52-47, in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Kenny Sailors was the national MVP that year. He is the man credited with creation of the shot known today as the jump shot. When Sailors went to the NBA his coaches told him he could never be successful in the game if he didn't learn to shoot with his feet on the ground. Sailors created the jump shot in his youth on his family farm in Hillsdale, Wyoming, during pickup games with an older brother, who was considerably taller than Kenny. Fennis Dembo was a popular player in the mid-1980s. He led the Cowboys back to Madison Square Garden in 1986, as they advanced to the semifinals of the 1986 NIT. UW defeated Florida (67–58) in the semifinals before losing to Ohio State (73-63) in the championship game. Dembo also helped lead Wyoming to the Sweet 16 of the 1987 NCAA Tournament, defeating Virginia (64–60) and UCLA (78–68) in the first and second rounds before losing to UNLV (78–92) in the West Regional semifinals. Wyoming also made the NCAA Tournament in 2002 as a #11 seed, defeating #6 Gonzaga (73–66) before losing to #3 Arizona (60–68). Wyoming then won the Mountain West Basketball Tournament for the first time in 2015 and returned to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Northern Iowa 71-54 as a #12 seed.