1939–40 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team

1939–40 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball
1939–40 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball
NIT championship game,; NCAA tournament Final Four
Conference	Independent
Record	20–3
Head coach	Chick Davies (16th season);
Home arena	Duquesne Gardens
	Seasons ← 1938–39 1940–41 →

The 1939–40 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team represented Duquesne University during the 1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season. The Dukes were led by head coach Chick Davies and played their home games at Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Playing as an NCAA independent, Duquesne finished the regular season with a 17–1 record. The team advanced to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament before losing to Colorado, then played in the NCAA tournament where they reached the only Final Four in program history. The Dukes finished with a 20–3 record overall with two of the losses coming to National champion Indiana.

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G/F	Moe Becker	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Pittsburgh
G	Rudy Debnar	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jr	Charleroi, Pennsylvania
	Lou Kasperik	—	—	Jr	Smithton, Pennsylvania
G	Ed Milkovich	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Pittsburgh
F	Paul Widowitz	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Pittsburgh

Head coach

Chick Davies

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 27, 1939*	Indiana	L 49–51	3–1	Duquesne Gardens Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 2, 1940*	Colorado	W 47–45 ^OT	4–1	Duquesne Gardens Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NIT
Mar 11, 1940*	vs. St. John's Quarterfinals	W 38–31	18–1	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Mar 13, 1940*	vs. Oklahoma A&M Semifinals	W 34–30	19–1	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Mar 15, 1940*	vs. Colorado Championship game	L 40–51	19–2	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 22, 1940*	vs. Western Kentucky East Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 30–29	20–2	Butler Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana
Mar 23, 1940*	vs. Indiana National Semifinal – Final Four	L 30–39	20–3	Butler Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.

^[1]^[2]

References

^ "1939–40 Duquesne Dukes Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Duquesne Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Duquesne University Athletics. Retrieved August 19, 2023.

[1] "1939–40 Duquesne Dukes Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.

[2] "2023-24 Duquesne Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Duquesne University Athletics. Retrieved August 19, 2023.

[1]

[2]

v t e Duquesne Dukes men's basketball
Venues	Duquesne Gardens (1914–1956) Fitzgerald Field House (1956–1957, 1963–1964) Pittsburgh Civic Arena (1964–1988) UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (1988–present)
Rivalries	Pittsburgh
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics