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Preliminary Round: (Thursday, February 26, 1925)
Game 1: Virginia 31, South Carolina 25
Game 2: North Carolina 42, Virginia Tech 13
Game 3: Maryland 27, Alabama 21
First Round: (Friday, February 27, 1925)
Game 4: Mississippi 27, Virginia Military 20
Game 5: Virginia 29, Auburn 27
Game 6: Kentucky 31, Mississippi A.&M. 25
Game 7: North Carolina State 30, Maryland 18
Game 8: Tulane 37, Washington & Lee 20
Game 9: Georgia Tech 31, Sewanee 14
Game 10: North Carolina 35, Louisiana State 21
Quarterfinals: (Saturday, February 28, 1925)
Game 11: Mississippi 32, Virginia 24
Game 12: North Carolina 34, Georgia Tech 26
Game 13: Tulane 41, North Carolina State 24
Game 14: Georgia 32, Kentucky 31
Semifinals: (Monday, March 2, 1925)
Finals: (Tuesday, March 3, 1925)
Game 17: North Carolina 26, Tulane 28
Originally sixteen teams were slated to participate, but eighteen teams eventually were a part of the tournament as North Carolina State and defending champion North Carolina entered their names within 12 hours before the deadline, followed by L.S.U. To accomodate these additional teams the format was modified from its originally intended four-day event into a five-day event, with three games played Thursday night at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30.
The number of entrants were actually reduced from 19 to 18 Thursday afternoon when Clemson withdrew at the last minute, giving Georgia a bye in the first round. Vanderbilt, Florida and Tennessee were also originally invited but declined: Vandy because officials did not think they could miss classes for an extended time, while Florida and Tennessee had disappointing seasons.
Drawings for the tournament were made after the noon deadline on the Sunday before the tournament began. Making the drawings were Al Doonan, Bill Alexander, Herman Stegeman and Coach Wilbur Hutsell of Auburn.
"Court Work Starts Tuesday - Work on the tournament court at the auditorium will start at midnight Tuesday by Gude & Co., contractors engaged to prepare for each of the S.I.C. tournaments. The court will be completed and ready for play Thursday, in accordance with earlier plans, so there will be no rushing, with the tournament starting Thursday, as it is now indicated it will." - ("18 Teams are Assured for SIC Cage Tourney," by George Congdon Atlanta Constitution, February 22, 1925.)
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"Visiting teams will be quartered at the Ansley Hotel. Most of the competing squads will arrive Thursday; in each party there will be eight players, a coach and a manager. "Prices have been fixed at 50 cents for the gallery and $1 in the arena for the first three days: $1 and $1.50 for the Monday and Tuesday bills. All gate receipts will be pooled and, after expenses of staging the tournament are extracted, divided on a pro rata basis among the teams. "Details of the big meet are in the hands of Al Doonan, of the Atlanta Athletic Club; W.A. Alexander, of Georgia Tech; H.J. Stegeman, of University of Georgia; and Wilbur Hutsell, of Auburn." - ("Conference Basketball Preliminaries Start Thursday Night at Auditorium," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian February 23, 1925.) |
"Another group that never misses an edition is the Atlanta Athletic Club squad. The gang sits over in a box along the first base line and makes remarks about the team play of the collegians.
"At that I know of no basketball team better qualified to talk about other folks' playing than these same Bearmen -- gee, that was a club!" - ("An Ear to the Ground - The Fashion Show," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian March 2, 1925.)
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"OUR NEIGHBORS - Over at Macon they are playing for the S.I.A.A. championship. Do not smile at the tiny field of eight clubs that qualified - did you glance over the records of conference teams printed in The Georgian Wednesday and see how many clubs were knocked silly by one or two of those same S.I.A.A. clubs?
Oh, well - the season is over; and the tournament is on. Forget it." - ("An Ear to the Ground," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, February 27, 1925.)
"Hundreds of handsome young men, from all parts of the South, are wearing absolutely the last gasp in masculine toggery. Some are players on clubs that have been put out of the running but are 'staying over'; others are visiting students from Athens; and of course the beauty chorus from Georgia Tech is there in all its glory.
"The colors of their socks ring sweet harmonies, their neckties make Paine's fireworks look drab as a foggy day in Pittsburg, when they take off their gray hats, all of which are creased the same way, the glitter of their hair causes one to blink.
Every one of them seems to be wearing a gray suit, too, with balloon pants that make their feet look very small. You must go down and take a look, really." - ("An Ear to the Ground - The Fashion Show," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian March 2, 1925.)
Thursday, February 26, 1925 - Preliminary Round
Game 1: Virginia 31, South Carolina 25
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"The Southern Conference basket ball tournament in which the best teams of the south are entered got off to a start here Thursday night when the University of Virginia team outplayed the University of South Carolina quintet and won 31 to 25. The contest held special attention because of the fact that neither team had lost a previous contest." - ("Southern Tourney Gets Under Way," Lexington Leader, February 27, 1925.)
"TINY GUARD IS STAR - To this reporter, the best back guard on the floor Thursday night was a scrawny little chap, No. 13 with Virginia. His name on the program is W.A. Brown.
"Brown looked sort of pitiful out there fixing to play with the big boys when Virginia faced South Carolina, but his skill at breaking up dribbles, intercepting passes and pushing the ball back down the floor stamp him as a remarkable little player." - ("An Ear to the Ground," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, February 27, 1925.)
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"Captain Jack Cobb, leading scorer of last year's tourney, was up to his old tricks, and, while he was not in the battle all the time, he managed to snag sixteen points. The Tarheels used many subs. They haven't Monk McDonald along this year, but they are still the smooth-working machine of the past. Dodderer played a fine game at center." - ("Champion Tarheels Swamp V.P.I.; Maryland and Virginia Other Winners," by Morgan Blake Atlanta Journal, February 27, 1925.)
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Game 3: Maryland 27, Alabama 21
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"The last game of the evening between Maryland and Alabama was a wild rambunctious battle, in which Maryland demonstrated the best brand of basket ball and deserved to win. The victors beat the Alabamians to the ball, passed better, and were considerably faster on their feet. Alabama was very poor in the first half, scoring only 5 points. The Tide did better in the second half but couldn't overcome the big lead.
"It is doubtful if two teams ever met in a tournament with such tall birds competing. Both Supplee and Propst, the two rival centers, are as tall as the average office buildings and they were surrounded by Goliaths in the main." - ("Champion Tarheels Swamp V.P.I.; Maryland and Virginia Other Winners," by Morgan Blake Atlanta Journal, February 27, 1925.)
Friday, February 27, 1925 - First Round
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Game 4: Mississippi 27, Virginia Military 20
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Game 5: Virginia 29, Auburn 27
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Game 6: Kentucky 31, Mississippi A.&M. 25
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Game 7: North Carolina State 30, Maryland 18
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"MARYLAND BUMPED - The most stunning blow to the talent however, came when North Carolina State revealed unexpected attacking form and eliminated Maryland by the staggering score of 30 to 16. Maryland had been figured as a semifinalist, too.
Red Johnson, yipping like a cowboy, sank shot after shot in the last half and when he retired with a lame ankle he was given a rousing ovation." - ("8 Teams Survive in Conference Tourney," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, February 28, 1925.)
"The North Carolina State Team is also a fast and furious organization. They use their lungs as well as their legs and arms and brains to play the game. Whenever a Maryland player would start to shoot at a basket Friday the Staters would yell at him at the top of their voices. "Red" Johnson, the demon guard was a regular conversational kid. The way he trailed the giant center, Supplee, of Maryland, was a caution. 'I've got the big boy,' he would advise his pals and as long as Johnson was on his heels Supplee didn't shoot a field goal, although he towered above the little red head like Goliath over David." - ("Georgia in Bow Tonight in Game With Kentucky; Tulane Tackles N.C.S.," by Morgan Blake Atlanta Journal, February 28, 1925.)
Game 8: Tulane 37, Washington & Lee 20
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Game 9: Georgia Tech 31, Sewanee 14
| "WYCOFF KAYOED - Doug Wycoff, of the Gold-darn Tornado, has a reputation of being rugged. In fact Doug has gone through two football seasons, a baseball campaign and has dodged javelins and shots at several track meets and still has never been knocked out. Doug has shamed the durable idols of fistlana in his ability to stand punishment and folks here had come to the conclusion that Doug could not be put down for the count of ten by any athlete.
"Yet Tuesday Wycoff was knocked out. And it took Wycoff to do it. Wycoff floored Wycoff in one round and now Doug is sporting a black eye and a split eyebrow as a souvenir. It happened like this: "Doug and little Red Barron were engaged in a heated argument over whether a certain dish of lukewarm liquid was 'chicken soup' or 'chicken gumbo soup.' It was an important technical point and was being debated with more heat than the soup contained. The Tech lunch room rang with the bickering. 'Dawg gone it,' said Wycoff angrily, 'I'll just go back and ask the cook.' Doug set out for the kitchen, looking back over his shoulder, continuing the debate - and collided with an iron post. He went down in a heap, but the dinner bell saved him. "When you see Doug at the tournament wearing his black eye and he tells you he ran into a door, for once you can believe that bromidic statement." - ("An Ear to the Ground," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, February 27, 1925.) |
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Game 10: North Carolina 35, Louisiana State 21
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"QUEER TRICKS - The crowd saw a lot Friday night. They saw a man knocked flat on his back, shoot for a field basket and have the ball rim the cup. They also saw the huddle system on offense - a club that galloped in a body down the floor when driving for a basket. And they saw a man actually miss the entire backboard in trying to shoot a point after a foul." - ("An Ear to the Ground," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, February 28, 1925.)
Saturday, February 28, 1925 - Quarterfinals
Game 11: Mississippi 32, Virginia 24
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"Mississippi started off trailing the Old Dominion and were soon on the little end of an 8 to 2 score. A hastily called session, with the team acting as a committee of the whole decided on a different style of defense, and from that time on their fortune turned. The man to man defense seemed to be the proper solution to Mississippi's troubles." - ("Tournament Notes," by Frank A. Kopf Atlanta Journal, March 1, 1925.)
Game 12: North Carolina 34, Georgia Tech 26
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"Even though North Carolina, twice winner of these tourneys, defeated Georgia Tech Saturday and went into the semi-finals, the young Tarheels will always entertain Douglas Wycoff with the utmost respect. Doug was the high-point man of the game, and time after time his fine work threatened to overhaul the Carolinians, but always with a burst of the form which has made them famous they sped out of danger." - ("Tech Beaten by Tarheels," by Charles Shonesy Atlanta Georgian, March 2, 1925.)
"In the opinion of the writer, the Tulane Greenbacks look like the best team in the tournament, with North Carolina State a very close second. The game between the two tonight should be the battle of the century. In E. Henican, Tulane boasts one of the greatest forwards an Atlanta audience has ever seen, and in kind of of the finest guards, J. Henican. Davidson and Morgan the other members of the first five are also splendid players. It seems a perfectly balanced team as to ability, weight and height. There are no giants on the team and also no pygmies. How those boys do play basket ball." - ("Georgia in Bow Tonight in Game With Kentucky; Tulane Tackles N.C.S.," by Morgan Blake Atlanta Journal, February 28, 1925.)
Game 13: Tulane 41, North Carolina State 24
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"Morgan, of Tulane, is exceptionally good at tipping the ball into the basket on follow-up shots. He made three of these in rapid succession in the first half against North Carolina State." - ("Tournament Notes," by Frank A. Kopf Atlanta Journal, March 1, 1925.)
"In the first game of the evening session, Tulane's well-balanced team got off in front of North Carolina State and stayed there, winning 41 to 24. State was seriously handicapped in the loss of "Red" Johnson, their spectacular forward and one of the best players in the tournament. "Red" hurt his ankle in the Maryland game Friday and had to sit on the bench in civilian clothes and see his mates licked." - ("Georgia Meets North Carolina; Tulane . . .," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, March 2, 1925.)
Game 14: Georgia 32, Kentucky 31
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"Four years ago, in the first of the college tournaments, Kentucky won the championship from Georgia in the finals by one point in one of the most hair-raising struggles of history. Saturday night history repeated itself so far as a desperately hard-fought game was concerned, but this time Georgia came out on top by one point, thus securing a greatly longed for revenge." - ("Kentucky Loses Thriller to Bulldogs, 32-31; Tech Gives Carolina a Battle" by Morgan Blake Atlanta Journal, March 1, 1925.)
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"Then Nolan Richardson, long of arm, picked up the ball from somewhere and tried a desperate overhead backward shot. The shot missed and rolled outside. A Georgia man took it and shot quickly to one of his mates, who leaped at it hungrily. The ball hit the rim and bound off.
"Charley Wiehrs, his face grimy, hid head encased in a black headgear, leaped for the leather sphere that seemed to float in the air like a toy balloon and touched it with the tips of his fingers. The ball swished through the hoop and as it did so, the report of the timer's pistol ended the game, and advanced Georgia to the semi-final round by one thin point." - ("Georgia Meets North Carolina; Tulane . . .," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, March 2, 1925.)
"That Georgia-Kentucky finish converted dozens to basketball. No football game ever was so exciting - for in no football game could the advantage change so frequently. The last three minutes of the game was as full of action as the first round of the Dempsey-Firpo fight.
"When Kentucky was nosed out of the race, several of the best players in the tournament were lost to public view for this season. McFarland and Underwood are two of the best forwards who have been seen here: Milward is an exceptionally good center and little Alberts is a fine guard. However, the Kentucky five owes its success to team play and not to individual stars." - ("North Carolina Meet Georgia; Mississippi Faces Tulane in Semi-Finals," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian, March 2, 1925.)
Monday, March 2, 1925 - Semifinals
Game 15: North Carolina 40, Georgia 19
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Game 16: Tulane 44, Mississippi 23
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Tuesday, March 3, 1925 - Finals
"Tuesday night on the well worn pine boards of the Auditorium, Tulane's Greenies, from the West, will buck up against the University of North Carolina, from the East, so to speak, in the finals of the Conference tourney.
"Tech High will grapple with College Park Epworth team at 8 o'clock in the only preliminary contest.
"Georgia and Mississippi decided not to play for third place." - ("North Carolina and Tulane Battle Tonight in Conference Basketball Finals," by Charles Shonesy Atlanta Georgian, March 3, 1925.)
Game 17: North Carolina 36, Tulane 28
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"The finals produced a most magnificent burst of Berserker basketball. It came in the last half when Tulane was leading the Tarheels, 26 to 24, with six minutes to play . . . when it was anybody's game.
"The Tarheels seemed suddenly to realize their plight and were struck by an inspirational fervor.
"Right at that moment, frankly, it looked like Tulane would win; they appeared to have found their game; they had improved vastly in their play under the basket.
"But with all the amazing suddenness of the explosion of a concealed fireworks set - McDonald, Doddered, McDonald, Cobb, McDonald, Purser - like shots fanned out of a frontier forty-five by a veteran plainsman, fired a the basket and plugged it dead-center. When the smoke cleared away, the Tarheels were lazily passing in the back court with two minutes to go and Tulane was 10 points astern." - ("An Ear to the Ground," by Ed Danforth Atlanta Georgian March 4, 1925.)
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1925 All-Tournament Team
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Jack Cobb - North Carolina
Ellis Henican - Tulane
Howard Holland - Virginia
Billie Izard - Mississippi A.&M.
Henry Lind - Tulane
Edward Morgan - Tulane
Charles Wiehrs - Georgia
After the tournament was over, Mercer (winner of the S.I.A.A. tournament) challenged the Southern Conference champion, North Carolina, to a match to determine the best team in the South. The North Carolina team declined however, noting that they had been away from campus for more than a week, and considered their season over when the final gun sounded in Atlanta.
The receipts for the 1925 tournament came up short, nearly half of the previous year's receipts. With expenses of approximately $11,000 this resulted in a deficit which needed to be made up by the 18 participating teams. This was the first time in the tournament's history that costs fell substantially below expenses.
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"Cobb and Henican both broke the tournament record in total number of points scored. Cobb made 67 in five games and Henican 63 in four games. The previous record was made by Bill Redd in 1923 with 62 as the total. - ("Tournament Notes," by Frank A. Kopf Atlanta Journal March 4, 1925.)
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"There's no doubt about the Tarheels being the best team to ever win a tournament here. The first winners knew nothing of the stuff and tricks now used by all the teams. Basketball is growing fast, it is developing upon a marvelous scale. I believe next year's winner will be better than this year's North Carolina team. The game is moving forward," the popular official concluded. - ("Tarheels Best Team of All Conference Tourneys --- Sutton," by Charles Shonesy Atlanta Georgian, March 6, 1925.)
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