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1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1957, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 22, 1958, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Wildcats won their fourth NCAA national championship with an 84–72 victory over the Seattle Chieftains.

Season headlines

  • The NCAA University Division grew to 179 teams,[1] an increase from 156 the previous season.[2]
  • Adolph Rupp won his fourth championship as he led the Kentucky Wildcats to an 84–72 win over the Seattle Chieftains and their star, Elgin Baylor. The starting unit was nicknamed the "Fiddlin' Five," after a quip by Rupp that his team were fiddlers when he really needed violinists. The Wildcats fought back from two 11-point deficits to gain the victory.[3]
  • Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson became the first player to lead the nation is scoring in his first varsity season. The sophomore (freshmen were ineligible) averaged 35.1 points per game for the Bearcats. He also became the first player to score 50 or more points in an NCAA tournament game when he scored 56 against Arkansas in a regional third-place game on March 15, 1958.[4]
  • Dom Flora, a senior point guard at Washington and Lee University, finished his college career with 2,310 points and 696 free throws made, both of which were ranked fifth in their respective categories in college basketball history at the end of the 1957–58 season.[5]
  • Future Hall of Fame coach Howard Cann of NYU retired at the conclusion of the season, after 35 years at the helm.
  • The NCAA championship game saw the first use of an orange basketball. Previously, the NCAA had used brown basketballs.[4]
  • The Western New York Little Three Conference disbanded at the end of the season.

Major rule changes

Beginning in 1957–58, the following rules changes were implemented:

  • Offensive goaltending was banned so that no player from either team could touch the ball or basket when the ball was on the basket's rim or above the cylinder. The only exception was the shooter in the original act of shooting.
  • One free throw for each common foul was taken for the first six personal fouls by one team in each half, and the one-and-one was used thereafter.
  • On uniforms, the single-digit numbers "1" and "2" and any digit greater than "5" in player numbers were prohibited as a means of simplifying referees' hand signals to the scorer's table when calling a foul. A failure to comply resulted in the assessment of a technical foul against the offending team.[6][7][8] The single-digit numbers "1" and "2" were not permitted again until the 1999–2000 season[9] and digits greater than 5 were not permitted again until the 2023–24 season.[8]
  • A ball that passes over the backboard – either front-to-back or back-to-front — was considered out of bounds.[10]

Conference membership changes

School Former conference New conference
Cincinnati Bearcats NCAA University Division independent Missouri Valley Conference
Detroit Titans Missouri Valley Conference NCAA University Division independent
East Tennessee State Buccaneers non-NCAA University Division Ohio Valley Conference
Fresno State Bulldogs West Coast Athletic Conference NCAA University Division independent
North Texas State Mean Green non-NCAA University Division Missouri Valley Conference
Texas Tech Red Raiders NCAA University Division independent Southwest Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference Regular
season winner[11]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Atlantic Coast Conference Duke Pete Brennan, North Carolina[12] 1958 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum
(Raleigh, North Carolina)
Maryland
Big Eight Conference Kansas State Bob Boozer, Kansas State[13] No Tournament
Big Ten Conference Indiana None Selected No Tournament
Border Conference Arizona State None Selected No Tournament
Ivy League Dartmouth None Selected No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference St. John's None Selected No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Toledo None Selected No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Cincinnati None Selected No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference Idaho State None Selected No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference Tennessee Tech None Selected No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference California & Oregon State None Selected No Tournament
California defeated Oregon State in a single-game conference playoff
Southeastern Conference Kentucky None Selected No Tournament
Southern Conference West Virginia Dom Flora, Washington and Lee[14] 1958 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Arena
(Richmond, Virginia)
West Virginia[15]
Southwest Conference Arkansas & SMU Rick Herrscher, SMU (awarded by Coach magazine) No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Mike Farmer, San Francisco, & Leroy Wright, Pacific[16] No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference St. Bonaventure No Tournament
Yankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament

Conference standings

1957–58 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 10 Duke 11 3   .786 18 7   .720
No. 20 NC State 10 4   .714 18 6   .750
No. 13 North Carolina 10 4   .714 19 7   .731
No. 6 Maryland 9 5   .643 22 7   .759
Virginia 6 8   .429 10 13   .435
Clemson 4 10   .286 8 16   .333
South Carolina 3 11   .214 5 19   .208
Wake Forest 3 11   .214 6 17   .261
1958 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[17]
1957–58 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Kansas State 10 2   .833 22 5   .815
No. 7 Kansas 8 4   .667 18 5   .783
Iowa State 8 4   .667 15 8   .652
Oklahoma 5 7   .417 13 10   .565
Nebraska 5 7   .417 10 13   .435
Missouri 3 9   .250 9 13   .409
Colorado 3 9   .250 8 15   .348
No. 19 Oklahoma State 0 0   21 8   .724
Rankings from AP Poll[18]
1957–58 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 12 Indiana 10 4   .714 13 11   .542
No. 17 Michigan State 9 5   .643 16 6   .727
Purdue 9 5   .643 14 8   .636
Northwestern 8 6   .571 13 9   .591
Ohio State 8 6   .571 9 13   .409
Iowa 7 7   .500 13 9   .591
Michigan 6 8   .429 11 11   .500
Illinois 5 9   .357 11 11   .500
Minnesota 5 9   .357 9 12   .429
Wisconsin 3 11   .214 8 14   .364
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Border Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Arizona State–Tempe 8 2   .800 13 13   .500
New Mexico A&M 7 3   .700 14 9   .609
Texas Western 5 5   .500 14 9   .609
Hardin–Simmons 4 6   .400 11 14   .440
Arizona 4 6   .400 10 15   .400
West Texas State 2 8   .200 3 15   .167
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Dartmouth 11 3   .786 22 5   .815
Princeton 9 5   .643 15 8   .652
Yale 9 5   .643 14 10   .583
Pennsylvania 8 6   .571 13 12   .520
Harvard 7 7   .500 16 9   .640
Cornell 5 9   .357 11 11   .500
Brown 5 9   .357 10 15   .400
Columbia 2 12   .143 6 18   .250
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
St. John's 6 0   1.000 18 8   .692
Manhattan 3 1   .750 16 10   .615
St. Francis (NY) 2 1   .667 14 9   .609
NYU 2 2   .500 10 11   .476
CCNY 2 5   .286 9 8   .529
Fordham 1 3   .250 15 9   .625
Brooklyn 0 4   .000 11 7   .611
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Miami 12 0   1.000 18 9   .667
Marshall 9 3   .750 17 7   .708
Ohio 7 5   .583 16 8   .667
Bowling Green 6 6   .500 15 8   .652
Toledo 4 8   .333 9 14   .391
Kent State 3 9   .250 9 14   .391
Western Michigan 1 11   .083 5 19   .208
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Cincinnati 13 1   .929 25 3   .893
No. 14 Bradley 12 2   .857 20 7   .741
Saint Louis 9 5   .643 16 10   .615
Wichita Municipal 7 7   .500 14 12   .538
Houston 6 8   .429 9 16   .360
Drake 4 10   .286 13 12   .520
Tulsa 4 10   .286 7 19   .269
North Texas State 1 13   .071 3 18   .143
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wyoming 10 4   .714 13 14   .481
Utah 9 5   .643 20 7   .741
Colorado State 9 5   .643 14 11   .560
BYU 9 5   .643 13 13   .500
Montana 8 6   .571 12 10   .545
Denver 8 6   .571 13 12   .520
Utah State 3 11   .214 4 20   .167
New Mexico 0 14   .000 3 21   .125
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Tennessee Tech 8 2   .800 17 9   .654
Morehead State 6 4   .600 13 10   .565
Western Kentucky State 5 5   .500 14 11   .560
Murray State 4 6   .400 8 16   .333
Middle Tennessee   11 10   .524
Eastern Kentucky State 3 7   .300 8 11   .421
East Tennessee State   7 18   .280
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
California † 12 4   .750 19 9   .679
Oregon State 12 4   .750 20 6   .769
UCLA 10 6   .625 16 10   .615
Idaho 9 7   .563 17 9   .654
USC 8 8   .500 12 13   .480
Stanford 7 9   .438 12 13   .480
Oregon 6 10   .375 13 11   .542
Washington 5 11   .313 8 18   .308
Washington State 3 13   .188 7 19   .269
† Conference playoff game[19][20][21] winner
Rankings from AP Poll[22][23]
1957–58 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 9 Kentucky 12 2   .857 23 6   .793
No. 16 Auburn 11 3   .786 16 6   .727
No. 15 Mississippi State 9 5   .643 20 5   .800
Alabama 9 5   .643 17 9   .654
Tennessee 8 6   .571 16 7   .696
Georgia Tech 8 6   .571 15 11   .577
Vanderbilt 7 7   .500 14 11   .560
Ole Miss 6 8   .429 12 12   .500
Florida 5 9   .357 12 9   .571
Tulane 3 11   .214 8 15   .348
LSU 3 11   .214 7 18   .280
Georgia 3 11   .214 7 19   .269
Rankings from AP Poll[24]
1957–58 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 West Virginia 12 0   1.000 26 2   .929
Virginia Tech 10 5   .667 11 8   .579
George Washington 8 4   .667 12 11   .522
The Citadel 9 6   .600 16 11   .593
Richmond 8 8   .500 14 12   .538
William & Mary 9 9   .500 15 14   .517
Furman 4 8   .333 10 16   .385
Davidson 4 8   .333 9 15   .375
Washington and Lee 4 9   .308 9 16   .360
VMI 1 12   .077 4 17   .190
Southern Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Arkansas 9 5   .643 17 10   .630
SMU 9 5   .643 15 10   .600
TCU 8 6   .571 17 7   .708
Texas Tech 8 6   .571 15 8   .652
Rice 7 7   .500 13 11   .542
Texas A&M 7 7   .500 11 13   .458
Texas 5 9   .357 10 13   .435
Baylor 3 11   .214 5 19   .208
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 San Francisco 12 0   1.000 25 2   .926
Saint Mary's 8 4   .667 11 15   .423
Santa Clara 6 6   .500 13 11   .542
Pepperdine 5 7   .417 15 11   .577
San Jose State 5 7   .417 13 13   .500
Pacific 5 7   .417 9 15   .375
Loyola (Calif.) 1 11   .083 6 18   .250
Rankings from AP Poll[25]
1957–58 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
St. Bonaventure 4 0   1.000 21 5   .808
Niagara 0 2   .000 18 7   .720
Canisius 0 2   .000 2 19   .095
Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Connecticut 9 1   .900 17 10   .630
Vermont 5 5   .500 15 10   .600
Massachusetts 5 5   .500 13 12   .520
New Hampshire 4 6   .400 10 12   .455
Maine 4 6   .400 8 12   .400
Rhode Island 3 7   .300 4 17   .190

University Division independents

A total of 49 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Temple (27–3) finished with both the best winning percentage (.900) and the most wins.[26]

1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Temple   27 3   .900
No. 11 Dayton   25 4   .862
No. 8 Notre Dame   24 5   .828
Saint Francis (Pa.)   20 5   .800
No. 18 Seattle   23 6   .793
Boston University   15 5   .750
Iona   18 6   .750
Providence   18 6   .750
Air Force   17 6   .739
Pittsburgh   18 7   .720
Boston College   15 6   .714
Fresno State   19 8   .704
Montana State   18 8   .692
Memphis State   15 7   .682
Bucknell   16 8   .667
Loyola (Ill.)   16 8   .667
Saint Joseph's   18 9   .667
Holy Cross   16 9   .640
La Salle   16 9   .640
Loyola (La.)   16 9   .640
Miami (Fla.)   14 8   .636
Xavier   19 11   .633
Portland   18 11   .621
Gonzaga   16 10   .615
Lafayette   16 10   .615
Butler   15 10   .600
Kentucky Wesleyan   14 10   .583
Oklahoma City   14 12   .538
Syracuse   11 10   .524
Washington University   11 10   .524
Villanova   12 11   .522
Army   13 12   .520
Detroit   13 12   .520
Louisville   13 12   .520
Marquette   11 11   .500
Muhlenberg   12 12   .500
Navy   10 10   .500
Georgetown   10 11   .476
Duquesne   10 12   .455
Lehigh   8 10   .444
Penn State   8 11   .421
Delaware   8 12   .400
DePaul   8 12   .400
Florida State   9 16   .360
Valparaiso   7 14   .333
Rutgers   7 15   .318
Colgate   6 16   .273
Seton Hall   7 19   .269
Siena   5 15   .250
Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference Regular
season winner
Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5 Temple Guy Rodgers, Temple

Temple finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Points per game
Rebound Percentage
Field goal percentage
Free throw percentage
Player School PPG Player School REB% Player School FG% Player School FT%
Oscar Robertson Cincinnati 35.1 Boo Ellis Niagara .262 Ralph Crosthwaite W. Kentucky State 61.0 Semi Mintz Davidson 88.2
Elgin Baylor Seattle 32.5 Al Inniss St. Francis (NY) .248 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati 57.1 Gerald Myers Texas Tech 87.0
Wilt Chamberlain Kansas 30.1 Elgin Baylor Seattle .235 Pete Brunone Manhattan 56.2 Arlen Clark Oklahoma State 86.5
Bailey Howell Mississippi State 27.8 Wilt Chamberlain Kansas .216 Bob Goodall Tulsa 55.7 Joe Hobbs Florida 86.0
Red Murrell Drake 26.7 Joe Cincebox Syracuse .206 Hal Greer Marshall 54.6 Hub Reed Oklahoma City 85.1

Polls

The final top 20 from the AP and Coaches Polls.[27]

Associated Press
Ranking Team
1 West Virginia
2 Cincinnati
3 Kansas State
4 San Francisco
5 Temple
6 Maryland
7 Kansas
8 Notre Dame
9 Kentucky
10 Duke
11 Dayton
12 Indiana
13 North Carolina
14 Bradley
15 Mississippi State
16 Auburn
17 Michigan State
18 Seattle
19 Oklahoma State
20 NC State
Coaches
Ranking Team
1 West Virginia
2 Cincinnati
3 San Francisco
4 Kansas State
5 Temple
6 Maryland
7 Notre Dame
8 Kansas
9 Dayton
10 Indiana
11 Bradley
12 North Carolina
13 Duke
14 Kentucky
15 Oklahoma State
16 Oregon State
NC State
18 St. Bonaventure
19 Seattle
Michigan State
Wyoming

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats won their fourth National championship by defeating the Seattle Chieftains 84–72 on March 22 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.[27] Seattle's Elgin Baylor led all tournament scorers and was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Final Four

National semifinals National championship game
      
M2 Kentucky 61
W1 Temple 60
2 Seattle 72
1 Kentucky 84
S1 Seattle 73
E3 Kansas State 51 Third place
3 Temple 67
4 Kansas State 57

National Invitation tournament

The Xavier Musketeers entered the National Invitation Tournament with a 15–11 record, but surprised the field, defeating fellow Ohio school Dayton 78–74 to win the NIT.[28] The Musketeers' Hank Stein was named tournament MVP.

NIT Semifinals and Final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Semifinals Final
      
1 St. John’s 56
3 Dayton 80
3 Dayton 74
2 Xavier 78
2 St. Bonaventure 53
2 Xavier 72 Third place
1 St. John's 69
2 St. Bonaventure 84

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Elgin Baylor F Junior Seattle
Bob Boozer F Junior Kansas State
Wilt Chamberlain C Junior Kansas
Don Hennon G Junior Pittsburgh
Oscar Robertson G Sophomore Cincinnati
Guy Rodgers G Senior Temple


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Pete Brennan F Senior North Carolina
Archie Dees F/C Senior Indiana
Mike Farmer F Senior San Francisco
Dave Gambee F Senior Oregon State
Bailey Howell F Junior Mississippi State

Major player of the year awards

Major coach of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.

Team Former
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
Columbia Lou Rossini Archie Oldham
Drake John E. Benington Maury John
Duquesne Dudey Moore Red Manning
Iowa Bucky O'Connor Sharm Scheuerman O'Connor died in an automobile accident on April 22, 1958.[29]
La Salle Jim Pollard Dudey Moore
Loyola (LA) Jim Hading Hank Kuzma
Marquette Jack Nagle Eddie Hickey
Memphis State Eugene Lambert Bob Vanatta
New Mexico Bill Stockton Bob Sweeney
NYU Howard Cann Lou Rossini
Ohio State Floyd Stahl Fred Taylor
Saint Louis Eddie Hickey John E. Benington
Seattle John Castellani Vincent Cazzetta After taking the Chieftains to the NCAA title game, Castellani resigned amid recruiting violations that resulted in a two-year post-season ban for the university.[30]
South Carolina Frank Johnson Walt Hambrick
Vanderbilt Bob Polk Roy Skinner (interim) Assistant coach Skinner served as interim coach for the season after Polk suffered a heart attack in the fall of 1957.[31]
Washington State Jack Friel Marv Harshman
Western Michigan Joe Hoy Don Boven

References

  1. ^ "Coach Wilson Is Named To NCAA Rating Board". Owensboro Messenger and Inquirer. December 18, 1957. p. 8A – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "NCAA Group Opens Talks On Money Aid To Players". Kingsport Times. August 20, 1956. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ '58 The Fiddlin' Five Make Sweet Music
  4. ^ a b "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "Dominick A. (Dom) Flora '58". Washington and Lee University. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  6. ^ Garich, Ed (March 25, 1957). "Cage Rules Group Still in Session". Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. pp. 4, 8. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  8. ^ a b McQuade, Dan (June 9, 2023). "College Basketball Players Can Wear Digits Above '5' Again". defector.com. Defector. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. pp. 5, 8. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  10. ^ 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2009-05-09. Archived 2009-05-13.
  11. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  12. ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
  13. ^ Kansas State Athletic Site – Wildcat Honor Roll, Kansas State University, retrieved 2009-05-17
  14. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  15. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  16. ^ 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
  17. ^ sports-reference.com 1957-58 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
  18. ^ sports-reference.com 1957-58 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
  19. ^ Strite, Dick (March 10, 1958). "Bears, Beavers battle tonight". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 2B.
  20. ^ Strite, Dick (March 11, 1958). "Bears beat OSC, 57–45, in playoff". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 3B.
  21. ^ "Cal tops Beavers; regional play set". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 11, 1958. p. 15.
  22. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  23. ^ "Beavers, Bears battle for PCC title tonight". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 10, 1958. p. 17.
  24. ^ sports-reference.com 1957-58 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  25. ^ sports-reference.com 1957-58 West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary
  26. ^ "1957-58 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  27. ^ a b "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
  28. ^ "National Invitation Tournament - History - Tournament Result (1950s)". Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  29. ^ "Frank "Bucky" O'Connor, Monroe, 1967". DesMoinesRegister.com. July 5, 2005. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  30. ^ Raley, Dan (March 27, 2017). "Where Are They Now? John Castellani, Seattle U basketball coach". SeattlePi.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  31. ^ "Bob Polk: Vandy Coaching Legend". January 3, 2007. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.