| 1961–62Idaho Vandals men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 13–13 (.500) |
| Head coach |
|
| Assistant coach | Wayne Anderson |
| MVP | Chuck White |
| Home arena | Memorial Gymnasium |
Seasons | |
The1961–62 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented theUniversity of Idaho during the1961–62 NCAA University Division basketball season. TheindependentVandals were led by second-year head coachJoe Cipriano and played their home games on campus at theMemorial Gymnasium inMoscow, Idaho.[1][2][3]
In the four years between the demise of thePacific Coast Conference (1959) and the founding of theBig Sky Conference (1963), Idaho was an independent; this season the Vandals had a13–13 (.500) record.[4][5]
During this season, Vandal greatGus Johnson was a sophomore atBoise Junior College and averaged thirty points and twenty rebounds a game for theBroncos; he transferred to Idaho in 1962 and played thefollowing season.[6]
For the intrastate series withIdaho State, this year marked the introduction of the "King Spud Trophy," an oversized metallic potato with a face and a crown.[7][8][9] The first season was an exact split, with the home team winning by two points.[10] Years later in1979, the Vandals regained it with a home win after enduring seven consecutive losses to ISU; Bengal head coachLynn Archibald thought it should go to the losing team: "It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. The only good thing that happened last week was losing it."[11]