In 1963, the Bears hosted the Vikings in 1963 in the first round of the NCAA regional. Washington University won that game, 71-66 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
The programs would then wait 43 years to meet again. Despite the short history, this is a rivalry that has an age-old feel.
Here is a quick look at every game in the Augustana-Washington University series:
1962-1963: Washington University defeats Augustana, 71-66
Story: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 5, 1963
The first-ever meeting between Washington University and Augustana occurred in 1963 when the Bears hosted the Vikings in the first-round of the NCAA regional. Sandy Pomerantz led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 11-15 from the floor and 5-5 from the free-throw line.
The Bears fought off a late Viking rally thanks to clutch free-throw shooting. The Bears went 17-23 from the line, including a 4-6 and 7-8 performance by Ed Dancy and Joe Patterson.
Left: Ed Dancy (24) tips the ball to Bill Roe (52) for the rebound in the NCAA Regional against Augustana. Right: Ron Jones (14) fouls Tom Hoder. Photos: St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 9, 1963
2006-2007: Augustana defeats Washington University, 75-73
The No. 24 ranked Vikings overcame a 6-point half-time deficit to get the win in Rock Island. Aaron Thompson tied the game with 38 seconds left. Then Drew Wessels stole the ball on a Washington University inbound play and was fouled. Wessels shot two free-throws to give Augustana a 75-73 lead. In the final play of the game, Tyler Nading drove the lane but his lay-up rolled off the rim.
2007-2008: Augustana defeats Washington University, 66-60
The No 5. Vikings defeated the No. 1 Bears for the second-straight year. This game was played in Grant Gymnasium as part of the Webster Classic. Troy Ruths scored with 40 seconds left to bring the Bears within two points, but the Vikings closed out the game at the line. Nading finished with a double-double including 20 points and 12 rebounds. Thompson added 17 points and 3 rebounds.
Headline: Quad City Dispatch, November 25, 2007
2007-2008: Washington University defeats Augustana, 70-67 OT
The teams met again in 2007-2008; this time in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Bears got the win in OT to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
The Bears held a 4-point lead at the half and possessed a single-digit lead for most of the second half. The Vikings knocked down two free-throws with 0:01 left to force overtime. In the extra period, the Vikings used two free-throws to take a one-point lead. Cameron Smith drained a three-pointer with 1:00 left. Danny O’Boyle added a free-throw to bring the lead to 3 and the Bears held on for the win.
The three-point margin of victory of ended up being the smallest win for the Bears in the tournament, though Buena Vista also forced an overtime before eventually falling, 85-77. In his column, Tom Johnston, Augustana beat writer, suggested that this game deserved to be played in Salem as part of the Final Four.
Headline: Quad City Dispatch, March 9, 2008
Story: Quad City Dispatch, March 9, 2008
2008-2009: Washington University defeats Augustana, 87-82
In one of the most highly anticipated match-ups of the non-conference season, the No. 1 ranked Bears defeated the No. 2 ranked Vikings in Rock Island in front of a crowd of 2,200. Thompson led all scorers with 26 points. Zach Kelly finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Story: Student Life, November 24, 2008
2009-2010: Washington University defeats Augustana, 71-53
The No. 1 ranked Bears easily defeated the Vikings in St. Louis. Aaron Thompson led the way, finishing with 26 points on 9-10 shooting (4-4 three-point shooting).
Story: Quad City Dispatch, December 13, 2009
2010-2011: Augustana defeats Washington University, 78-55
The 24th ranked Vikings defeated the No. 20 ranked Washington University. The Bears were young and generally inexperienced, returning only one starter from a team that graduated 5 seniors from 2009-2010.
2011-2012: Washington University defeats Augustana, 71-68
The Bears defeated the No. 1 ranked Vikings in the championship game of the 28th annual Lopata Classic. Dylan Richter scored 27 points in what was one of the greatest individual performances in the Lopata Classic.
2015-2016: Augustana defeats Washington University, 70-67
The No. 1 ranked Vikings defeated the No. 20 ranked Bears in St. Louis after a four-year break in the series. The Bears raced out to a 59-51 lead after trailing by 10 at the half. The Bears trailed by 2 points with one minute left, before the Vikings closed out the game.
The Bears had hoped to play Augustana in the second round of the NCAA tournament the season prior, but DePauw played spoiler, defeating the Bears, 83-73 in the Field House.
2016-2017: Washington University defeats Augustana, 68-61
The No. 20 ranked Bears raced out to an 11-0 lead and held off a late rally to defeat the No. 18 ranked Vikings in Rock Island.
Headline: Rock Island Argus, November 28, 2016
2017-2018: Augustana defeats Washington University, 72-57
The No. 10 ranked Bears shot 55% from the line in the 72-57 loss to the No. 3 ranked Vikings in St. Louis. Andrew Sanders finished with 21 points.
2018-2019: Augustana defeats Washington University, 78-55
The No. 3 ranked Viking defeated the Bears in Rock Island; the 400th Augustana win for Coach Giovanine.
Story: Quad City Times, December 30, 2018
2019-2020: Washington University defeats Augustana, 73-70
The No. 15 ranked Bears edged the No. 17 ranked Vikings in a game that featured an unfortunate technical for Augustana on a kicked ball after the whistle. The Vikings missed a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. Jack Nolan scored a career-high 28 points. Jonathan Arenas recorded a career-high 8 rebounds.
The College Athletic Conference was not the first Division III conference. In fact, the conference formed 10 years before the reorganization of the NCAA College Division in to Division II and Division III.
But, in 1962, the College Athletic Conference was founded on what we know today as a Division III philosophy. Players were to be comprised of teams that were representative of their student bodies. Financial aid for the purposes of encouraging athletic participation was strictly prohibited. Scholarships were to be awarded by the faculty.
The CAC was aspirational in its mission, seeking to demonstrate that amateur athletics played “solely because of interest and enjoyment of the game” were both feasible and worthwhile. The CAC was also a precursor to the University Athletic Association; a conference of high-academic institutions.
The College Athletic Conference began in January 1962 with four institutions. Centre College, Rhodes (then known as Southwestern), Washington University and Lee and the University of the South agreed to begin competition that Fall. Washington University joined soon after and the Bears finally had a conference to call home.
By September 1962, the league was operational under the leadership of Dr. Edward McCrady. In basketball, the 1963 season was played as a tournament hosted by the University of the South. Washington University was seeded No. 1 and awarded the first-round bye. The Bears were heavy favorites going in thanks to players like Sandy Pomerantz and Ron Jones who averaged 20 points and 15 points per game respectively. The Bears easily beat the Generals of Washington and Lee, 78-57 in the second round. A day later, Washington University defeated Centre, 68-62 to win the first annual CAC championship.
The Washington University team photo at the first annual College Athletic Basketball tournament. Photo: Sewanee Purple newspaper. March 7 1963
1964-1971: By the Numbers
In 1964, Washington University basketball lost in the second round to Centre, 94-80, but recovered with a third-place win over Sewanee, 62-48. The Bears finished in third-place in 1967, 1968 and 1971.
The Bears twice lost in the championship round including a 82-61 loss to Sewanee in 1966 and a 82-69 loss to Washington and Lee in 1970.
In the 1965, Washington University won a second CAC championship with wins over Centre (93-68) and Rhodes (86-73).
Washington University twice hosted the CAC tournament. First in 1965 and then again in 1970.
The St. Louis Naborhood New preview of the 1965 CAC tournament
Legendary Match-ups
There were many great players and match-ups through the first decade of the CAC. For the Bears, that included players such as Wayne Williams, Joe Young and Steve Dodge in addition to the aforementioned Pomerantz and Jones. However, there is one match-up that stands out.
Long before they established themselves as two of the winningest coaches in Division III, Mark Edwards and Mike Neer battled it out as players in the College Athletic Conference. In 1968, Washington University met Washington and Lee in the second round of the CAC with the Generals coming out on top, 65-60.
The 1968 second round box score between Washington University and Washington and Lee.
The All-Sports Trophy
The CAC hosted an all-sports trophy to be given to the school with the most overall points in competition. The conference was given a 300 pound railroad bell sponsored by the Norfolk and Western Railway.
Bolstered by strong seasons in baseball, cross-country, track and field and tennis, Washington University was very successful in the all-sports competition.
The Bears won the first four all-sports trophies before finishing a close second to Rhodes in the 1967. The Bears would finish second to Washington and Lee in 1968 and 1969, before winning consecutive all-sports trophies in 1970 and 1971.
The 1970-1971 was the final full season of competition for Washington who excited the CAC in 1971 with Washington and Lee departing soon after. The CAC later expanded in to Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas, eventually becoming the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. In 2011, Centre, Rhodes and the University of the South, citing travel concerns, left the CAC to form the Southern Athletic Conference.
In January 1985, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a story on the career of Fred Amos, the first superstar of the Coach Edwards era.
Here is the Post-Dispatch story in full with a few updates at the end.
Wash. U.’s Scoring-King-T0-Be Once Quit Club For—All The Right Reasons
By Jerry Stack
Very soon, Fred Amos will become the leading scorer in the history of intercollegiate basketball at Washington University. Amos is just 12 points shy of the career scoring mark.
The thing is, he could have broken the record last season. But last season, in the middle of his junior year, he quit the team.
The story of Fred Amos is unlike those usually heard when discontented college basketball players announce they’ve had enough.
We’re not talking about a reserve looking for more playing time. We’re not talking about academic problems. We’re not talking about disciplinary problems. We’re talking about the star of the team quitting. And, eventually, returning.
As a sophomore, Amos had averaged 21.2 points a game, was named to the NCAA Division III Region team and had, great expectations for his junior season. However, in the season opener, Amos suffered a broken wrist. Great expectations turned into mounting frustrations.
He missed six games. Wearing a soft cast, he played sparingly the next three. After semester break, he rejoined the team on a full-time basis. But while Amos’ wrist was getting better, the team was, too. “When Fred came back and rejoined the team, the team had a new direction,” Washington U. Coach Mark Edwards said.
During his freshman and sophomore seasons, the forward had been the focal point of the Washington U. offense. When the Bears needed to score, they looked to him. With Amos out of the lineup, that was no longer the case.
“We gained a lot of confidence in each other,” Edwards said. “They realized they didn’t need Fred to score points.” Said Amos, “I think they learned to play well without me.” The problem was they didn’t play as well when Amos returned. Amos didn’t seem to fit in.
“The team had been winning without me,” Amos said. “When I came back we started losing real bad. I could only attribute that to me. I had lost that chemistry with the team. I didn’t like playing anymore. My enthusiasm was gone. I could never make the right pass or the right shot.” Frustration be thy game.
“You could tell he was frustrated, the team was frustrated, You could see it building,” Edwards said. “We’d be playing Wabash and there were three entities on the court: Wabash, Washington U. and Fred Amos.
“He finally came to me and said, ‘Hey Coach, I’m just holding everyone else back. I’m just going to step away.’ “Fred’s very intelligent and very much his own man. He’s able to sit down and decide what he’s going to do and do it Still, it was a very traumatic decision for him.” Though he was no longer a team member, Amos remained close to the team. He went to all the home games. “My teammates were still my friends,” he said. “I still went to games as a fan.”
So the team’s leading scorer and rebounder quits midway in his junior season and life goes on. “It’s an unusual situation,” Edwards said. “People say it can’t happen. But If there’s any place it can happen, it’s here. These guys have different priorities.”
So does Edwards.“My reaction was if this is going to make Fred happy, then fine,” Edwards said. “As for the team, we were in a state of flux, vacillating between being independent and dependent on him. I’m not saying Fred’s leaving was anything positive, but by Fred not playing, we grew quicker. Don’t forget, Fred’s not going to play next year.
“As for me, I don’t have to worry about reading attendance figures. I don’t have to worry about revenue.”
And the players don’t have to worry about athletic scholarships, getting them, keeping them or losing them. In the Division that is III in the NCAA, priorities are different. The emphasis is on academics, not athletics. In Division III, there are athletes on scholarship, but there are no athletic scholarships.
“My main priority is to get a degree,” Amos said. “Basketball is just a distraction from my books.” Still, the distraction tugged strongly on Amos’ sense of being.
“He missed it” Edwards said. “He missed the players, the team, basketball in general.
He knew this likely would be his last year of organized ball.” There were other reasons Amos returned for his senior season. “I had put a lot of time into the program. I wanted the opportunity to play on an above .500 team,” said. “I also have a very close tie with my coach. He had a lot of perseverance with me when I was a less likable person.”
Amos less likable? To the casual observer, Amos has always appeared a most pleasant person. Pleasantness was a facade his freshman year, Amos said.
“When I was a freshman, I came straight off the streets of Chicago to where the majority of the players were white. It wasn’t my natural environment It took me a long time to adjust I had a lot of the street in me. I was a harsh person. But I eventually found out it’s not necessary to be harsh in this environment”
Edwards feels Amos may be judging himself a bit harshly. “I don’t think I ever had to put up with anything from Fred,” Edwards said. “He was just like any other freshman, a different kid, with different needs, different expectations.”
He came from St. Ignatius Prep in Chicago where he led the Catholic League in scoring his senior year. “I think I had the talent to go to a Division I school and develop,” Amos said. “But if I would have gone to a school like, say, Georgetown, I would have majored in phys ed.”
At Washington U., Amos is majoring in economics. “I’m interested in who controls the wealth,” he said. “I’m interested in current affairs. All that excites me.”
On the basketball court, Amos does the exciting. “Fred has an ability to score in a variety of ways facing the basket with his back to the basket, going to the basket” Edwards said. “Coupled with his jumping ability, he becomes a power.”
Among the Washington U. players, Amos is famous for his jumping ability. How high can Amos jump? “We’ve never measured if Edwards said. “All I know is he can get above the rim. And once you get above the rim, everything else is academic.”
His 465 rebounds place him fourth on the university’s career rebounding list. His 1,203 points trail only Jim Barton’s 1,215 points at the top of the career scoring list. Barton played from 1953-1957. Amos also holds the record for most field goals in a game (17) and in a season (222).
The only major scoring record that does not belong to Amos is the single-season scoring mark of 580 points by Sandy Pomerantz In the 1962-1963 season.
Rich Meckfessel, basketball coach at Division II rival University of Missouri-St. Louis, has nothing but praise for Amos. “He jumps well, rebounds well and has a good short jumper. He’s by far the best Division III player we’ve played against,” Meckfessel said. “Their team revolves around his scoring and rebounding.” There’s little question that Amos could be playing at a higher level. Certainly, Amos has raised the level of basketball at Washington U. during his four years.
That Amos’ career and the rebirth of basketball at the university coincide makes for a nice touch and an ironic one. When Amos arrived at Washington U., he hadn’t even checked out the basketball team. He just assumed that there was one and that he would walk on.
He was mildly surprised to discover the university was just starting varsity basketball after a one-year absence. Edwards was pleasantly surprised to discover Amos among the motley crew that first season. “I didn’t put a timetable on the development of the program,”
Edwards said. “The first thing you have to do is create credibility. Fred helped with that immediately. What we needed to do was build on that.”
That they have. Playing an abbreviated schedule that first season, the Bears went 2-16. The second season, they finished 6-20. Last season the record was 8-18. So far this season, they are 7-4, having pulled off back-to-back upsets in the Trinity Classic in San Antonio over the weekend.
Amos scored 29 points and hit a 12-foot turnaround jumper with five seconds left as the Bears beat the host school in Saturday night’s championship game, 70-68. The addition of freshman guard Kevin Suiter from DeSmet has given the Bears two bona fide scoring threats, thereby eliminating the double-teaming Amos faced his first three seasons.
Amos is averaging 18.3 points a game this season and Suiter 13.5. “Some games he gets so hot it’s unbelievable,” Amos said of the long-range shooting of Suiter. “One game he missed his first shot and made 12 of his next 12.”
In Saturday night’s final, Suiter was eight of eight from the field as he scored 20 points. The starting point guard is senior Scott Allen, who along with junior forward Mark Sparrow were teammates on Quincy High’s 1981 Illinois Class 2A state championship team. Lending more experience are seniors, Joe Mayberger and Tom Weeks, who along with Amos are the only three Bears to have played in each of the four seasons since basketball was brought back .
Next up for the Bears are home games this weekend with Wabash and DePauw. Amos should get his 12 points. “To be honest, I don’t know how many points I need,” Amos said last week. “Coach said I’m getting close. I didn’t even want to hear about it. Now that you bring it up, I’m a little curious. It’ll be a nice achievement.
But there’s more satisfaction in being a part of the rebuilding of basketball at Washington University. “I’ll tell you, we’re gonna raise a lot of eyebrows this season.” Amos already has.
A few more facts about Fred Amos worth mentioning:
Fred Amos in 1984
Amos scored 16 points in his first collegiate game in a 86-72 road loss to Maryville (MO).
In 1982, Amos scored 32 points in the Bear’s first ever game against Case Western Reserve University.
Amos chose to miss the game against Grinnell to study for an exam. His team won the game 60-59.
In the Fall 1983, Amos broke his wrist in a game against Principia. Amos would return in December before quitting the team in January.
Amos returned in 1984 for his senior season and scored 29 points in his first game back against MacMurray.
In 1984, Amos was named the Most Valuable Player in the first-ever Lopata Classic. Amos led the Bears to wins over Cal Tech and Johns Hopkins in a tournament that also featured MIT and was nicknamed the “Battle of the Brains.”
Amos rewrote the record books, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots each season. His record-setting 17 field goals scored against Blackburn still stands.
Amos set the then all-time scoring record and currently ranks 10th overall with 1,388 points scored. Amos played just 76 games, averaging 18.3 points per game.
Editors Note: this blog is written as a supplement to the St. Louis Nine Network series Living St. Louis: Decades episode on the 1940s. I highly recommend this episode along with the others in the series.
As far as athletics go, Saint Louis University and Washington University pursued divergent paths a long time ago. But the Bears and Billikens once had a decades-long rivalry going back to the earliest days of basketball in St. Louis. By the 1930s, the schools had a fierce rivalry that culminated in a ten year period between 1937-1947.
The first official games between the teams go back to 1914-1915 when Washington University recorded back to back 29-22 and 20-7 wins over SLU. However, both schools were fielding club teams as early as 1901-1902 and may have played each other as part of the fledgling St. Louis Basketball League.
By the late 1930s, the two had become regular competitors and conference rivals after Saint Louis joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 1937.
As the importance of the games increased, so did the rhetoric from the local newspapers. Note: it took a while before everyone settled on one spelling for the Billiken mascot.
The fans also understood the intensity of the rivalry. In 1937, for example, Saint Louis fans were responsible for a 5-minute delay of the game due to excessive booing and cheering. The fans were assessed a technical foul (true story!) with the Bears being the beneficiaries.
According to the Post-Dispatch, the “intense rivalry” made the game more difficult than usual to call.
SLU would lose the game from the free-throw line, shooting just 3-16.
In 1939, the Bears defeated the Billikens, 42-35 in front of of 2,500 fans. Dr. James Naismith was also reported to be in attendance.
The win tied the series 1-1, prompting a third, non-conference game to be scheduled the following week. Washington University won that game, 34-28 to capture yet another city championship.
In January 1940, the Post-Dispatch did its part to add fuel to the flames the rivalry by reporting that the Billikens were looking to bust the city championship monopoly. Saint Louis would go on to win that game 26-24, but the Billikens would ultimately split the series after falling to the Bears, 32-20.
Washington and Saint Louis would team up in 1940 to host consecutive double-headers with Drake and Washburn to kick-off Missouri Valley Conference play. The first of two games were played at the Field House with the following two games played at the West Pine Gym.
The rivalry would continue through the 1946-1947 season despite the decision by Washington University to leave the Missouri Valley Conference in 1942 and WWII-related scheduling challenges. The results were as follows:
1936-1937 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 1
1937-1938 Washington University 1, Saint Louis 2
1938-1939 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 1
1939-1940 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 1
1940-1941 Washington University 2, Saint Louis o
1941-1942 Saint Louis 2, Washington University 1
1942-1943 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 0
1943-1944 ——-
1944-1945 Saint Louis University 2, Washington University 0
1945-1946 Saint Louis University 2, Washington University 0
1946-1947 Saint Louis University 2, Washington University 0
It is unclear why the teams chose not to continue the series after the 1946-1947 season, though it may have been related to coaching changes at Washington University—the Bears had four coaches over a five year period heading in to the 1947-1948 season. It also could have been the rise of SLU basketball in the “tall boy” era of “Easy” Ed Macauley and Marvin Schatzman, a team that would win the 1948 NIT with a win over New York University.
Saint Louis and Washington University would play sparingly after 1947 leaving the 1940s as the last great decade of the rivalry. The record as it stands today favors Washington University, 37-29.
File Under: At Least He Cared Enough to Write a Letter to the Editor
Though unrelated to the rivalry, take a look at this letter to the editor of the St. Louis Star and Times published January 13, 1940 from a Washington University student who had experienced the “razzle-dazzle style of play of the eastern teams through movie newsreels” and was sure that his classmates wanted “fast, furious and wild” basketball.
In March 2020, the Washington University Men’s Basketball team exploded for two big wins over Bethany Lutheran and Nebraska Wesleyan en route to the Sweet 16 before the season was halted by the NCAA due to concerns over Covid-19. But, this was not the first time the Bears ended the season with a win over Nebraska Wesleyan.
In 1964, Washington University defeated Nebraska Wesleyan in the Midwest regional. Here is how it happened:
The 1963-1964 Hilltoppers had “high hopes” after finishing 18-8 the previous season.
-In February 1964, Washington University received an invitation to the NCAA tournament despite losing to Centre in the second round of the College Athletic Conference (CAC) tournament. The Bears were invited to play in Cedar Fall along with Mankato State, Nebraska Wesleyan and host State College of Iowa.
-The Bears were 15-7 going in to the tournament, but were ranked No. 9 in the AP small college rankings thanks in part to upset wins over Drake and New Mexico in the regular season. The State College of Iowa was ranked No. 8.
-The Des Moines Register had Nebraska Wesleyan as the team to beat as the other teams were missing players.
-Washington University played without leading scorer Wayne Williams, who was declared ineligible for the tournament, and Steve Levitt, who was out with an injury.
-The Bears did bring Ray Cerkus, Ron Jones (who was struggling with a sprained ankle), and “Dancing” Ed Dancy.
-In the first round, the Bears lost a tough game to the hosts, 71-56, setting up a third-place game with Nebraska Wesleyan who lost to Mankato. The Bears struggled mightily against the Panthers with only two players—Dancy and Ron Jackson—scoring in double-figures.
-In the consolation game, Washington University used a 17-22 effort from the line to defeat the Plainsmen, 77-74. Boyd Shelton and Dancy combined for a 6-0 run with 7 minutes left to give the Bears a 64-57 lead. The Plainsmen would battle back to within one with 1:50 left, but the Bears went 6-6 from the line to close out the game. Five Bears scored in double-figures including Cerkus who led the Bears with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
-Larry Dennis of the Lincoln Journal claimed that Nebraska Wesleyan “did everything better here, but it wasn’t good enough…”
Facts worth mentioning…
The 1963-1964 team after defeating Valparaiso at the Field House, 66-64.
-Coach Chuck Smith once referred to his offense as a “controlled fast-break.” Smith had only 9 players in Cedar Falls, though he preferred to “run more and press more on defense…” and had planned to “use 10 in every game.”
-Nebraska Wesleyan was a member of both the NCAA and the NAIA but was on probation with the latter after declining a bid to the 1962 NAIA tournament. They did so in order to compete for the more prestigious NCAA small college championship.
-Washington University hosted Princeton and future Senator Bill Bradley in January 1964. The Crystal City, Missouri native would score 31 points on 14-21 shooting in just 26 minutes of action. Attendance for the game was reported to be 6,000 in the Field House. Bradley received a standing ovation after the game. The Bears were ranked No. 4 going in to the game, just behind Wittenberg.
-The State College of Iowa also played without a starter, though his replacement would have a breakout game against the Bears.
-During the regular season, two Washington University players told Harold Tuthill of the Post-Dispatch that they enrolled primarily in evening classes so that they could work during the day to pay for tuition.
– A few days after the game, Tuthill reported that the Bears flew home in a rain storm that was “so rough that virtually everybody aboard was affected.”
-The State College of Iowa—known today as the University of Northern Iowa—was coached by University of Missouri legend Norm Stewart. “Norm” would bring his Panthers to St. Louis in the Fall 1964, but would find himself on the losing side of a Bears win, 82-71. The Bears would go on to finish 21-6 in 1964-1965, good enough for a CAC championship and a Sweet 16 run.
-Washington University first played the “Methodists” of Nebraska Wesleyan in 1919, losing 28-25 in Lincoln. According to the Post-Dispatch, Coach Rutherford switched up the starting line-up so to “save his regulars for an important Missouri Valley Conference series with the Cornhuskers” scheduled for the next day. Rutherford deployed the starters with 8 minutes left to play, but it was too little, too late.
