1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1955–56 Temple Owls basketball Temple T logo.svg 125 Independent 14 15 27–4 Harry Litwack 4th The Palestra NCAA tournament Third place The 1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Harry Litwack and played their home games at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Playing out of the East region, the Owls made a run to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament – the first in program history. In the National semifinals, Temple lost to Iowa. The Owls bounced back to defeat SMU in the consolation game to finish with a record of 27–4. It would be the second time in three seasons Temple reached the Final Four and took third place. Roster 1955 Temple Owls y yes Guy Rodgers y G 6 0 So Hal Lear y G 5 11 Sr Fred Cohen basketball y 6 6 Sr Hal Reinfeld n 6 2 Sr Jay Norman n 6 3 So Tink Van Patton n 6 8 So Barry Goldstein n 6 0 Dan Fleming n 6 6 So Bill Smith n 6 4 Jr https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/temple/1958.html Harry Litwack https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/temple/1958.html 1957–58 Temple Owls Roster and Stats Sports Reference December 29, 2021 Schedule and results |- !colspan=9 style=Temple Owls| Regular season Dec 1, 1957 yes 1957 men Albright Lions Albright South Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 87–56 1–0 Dec 7, 1957 yes 1957 men Gettysburg Bullets Gettysburg The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 74–53 2–0 Dec 10, 1955 yes yes 1955 men Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky 2 Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky 73–61 3–0 Dec 14, 1957 yes yes 11 Gettysburg Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 74–53 4–0 Dec 17, 1955 yes 11 1955 men Princeton Tigers Princeton The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 83–80 5–0 Dec 20, 1955 yes yes 12 1955 men Penn Quakers Penn The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 93–72 6–0 Jan 4, 1956 yes yes 16 1955 men Lehigh Mountain Hawks Lehigh Taylor Gym Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 81–48 7–0 Jan 6, 1956 yes yes 16 1955 men Scranton Royals Scranton John Long Center Scranton, Pennsylvania 90–60 8–0 Jan 11, 1956 yes yes 10 1955 men Villanova Wildcats Villanova The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 80–73 9–0 Jan 14, 1956 yes 10 1955 men Manhattan Jaspers Manhattan The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 91–79 10–0 Jan 21, 1956 yes 8 Lehigh The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 72–44 11–0 Jan 26, 1956 yes yes 6 1955 men Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Delaware Newark, Delaware 108–81 12–0 Jan 28, 1956 yes yes 6 1955 men Navy Midshipmen Navy Dahlgren Hall Annapolis, Maryland 93–74 13–0 Feb 1, 1956 yes yes 7 1955 men Muhlenberg Mules Muhlenberg Memorial Hall Allentown, Pennsylvania 66–67 13–1 Feb 4, 1956 yes yes 7 1955 men Saint Francis Red Flash Saint Francis (PA) Loretto, Pennsylvania 103–68 14–1 Feb 6, 1956 yes yes 9 1955 men Duquesne Dukes Duquesne Duquesne Gymnasium Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 63–48 15–1 Feb 8, 1956 yes 9 1955 men Bucknell Bison Bucknell The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 88–50 16–1 Feb 10, 1956 yes 9 1955 men Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 77–58 17–1 Feb 15, 1956 yes yes 9 1955 men La Salle Explorers La Salle The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 60–57 18–1 Feb 18, 1956 yes yes 9 1955 men Lafayette Leopards Lafayette Alumni Gym Easton, Pennsylvania 66–65 19–1 Feb 20, 1958 yes 10 1957 men Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen Lebanon Valley South Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 72–68 20–1 Feb 22, 1956 yes yes 10 1955 men Saint Joseph's Hawks Saint Joseph's The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 68–77 20–2 Feb 25, 1956 yes 10 1955 men Duquesne Dukes Duquesne The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 64–66 20–3 Feb 29, 1958 yes yes 14 Albright Reading, Pennsylvania 86–75 21–3 Mar 7, 1956 yes 13 1955 none St. John's Redmen St. John's The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 71–66 22–3 Mar 10, 1956 yes yes 13 Saint Joseph's The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 89–82 23–3 |- !colspan=9 style=Temple Owls| NCAA Tournament Mar 12, 1956 yes yes 15 1955 men Holy Cross Crusaders Holy Cross 14 Madison Square Garden New York, New York First round 74–72 24–3 Mar 16, 1956 yes yes 15 Connecticut The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 65–59 25–3 Mar 17, 1956 yes yes 15 1955 men Canisius Golden Griffins Canisius The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Regional final – Elite Eight 60–58 26–3 Mar 22, 1956 yes yes 15 Iowa 4 McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois National semifinal – Final Four 76–83 26–4 Mar 23, 1956 yes yes 15 Southern Methodist 7 McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois Consolation 90–81 27–4 AP Poll Eastern Standard Time E East 2019-20 Temple Owls Men's Basketball Media Guide https://owlsports.com/documents/2019/11/28//2019_20_MBB_MG.pdf?id=15762 Temple Owls December 29, 2021 Rankings 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball rankings AP 1 15 NR 11 12 17 т 16 10 8 6 7 9 9 10 14 13 15 Coaches 0 14 NR NR 11 16 т NR 19 14 9 7 7 8 9 8 12 14 *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 643–644 2009 978-0-345-51392-2https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/1956-polls.html 1955-56 College Basketball Polls Sports Reference December 29, 2021 Awards and honors Hal Lear – All-American Team players drafted into the NBA 1956 NBA draft Temple Owls Round Pick Player NBA club 1 7 Hal Lear Philadelphia Warriorshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1956.html 1956 NBA Draft basketball-reference.com December 29, 2021 References Category:Temple Owls men's basketball seasons Temple Owls Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Temple Temple Temple Category:1950s in Philadelphia