1954–55 NCAA men's basketball season

Men's university basketball season August 2023 March 2026 1954 None March 8 19, 1955 Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri San Francisco Dons San Francisco Dons Duquesne Dukes Bill Russell, San Francisco Dons The 1954–55 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1954, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1955 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 19, 1955, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The San Francisco Dons won their first NCAA national championship with a 77–63 victory over the La Salle Explorers. Rule changes The "one-and-one" free throw was introduced, allowing a player to attempt a second free throw after a foul if he made the first free throw. Previously, a player shot only one free throw after a foul.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes Games once again are divided into two 20-minute halves, as had been the practice through the 1950–51 season. From the 1951–52 season though the 1953–54 season, games had been divided into four 10-minute quarters. Season headlines Tom Gola of La Salle completed his collegiate career (1952–1955) with a total of 2,462 points and 2,201 rebounds, making him the first player to achieve 2,000 or more points and 2,000 or more rebounds in his career.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 13 Gola was named the 1955 player of the year by United Press (later United Press International), the first player to be recognized as the national player of the year. Head coach Phil Woolpert of San Francisco was named coach of the year by United Press (the future United Press International), becoming the first person to be recognized as national coach of the year.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 12 The Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League disbanded at the end of the season. Its teams, history, and heritage were absorbed into the Ivy League the following season. Season outlook Pre-season polls 1954–55 NCAA men's basketball rankings The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia 978-0-345-51392-2 Random House 2009 836 Associated PressRankingTeam1La Salle2Kentucky3Duquesne4Iowa5Holy Cross6Indiana7Dayton8Niagara9Notre Dame10NC State11Oklahoma A&M12Saint Louis13UCLA14Illinois15Wichita16Utah17(tie)DukeWake Forest19Penn State20Western Kentucky State UP CoachesRankingTeam1La Salle2Iowa3Duquesne4Kentucky5Indiana6Illinois7NC State8Holy Cross9UCLA10Niagara11Notre Dame12Dayton13(tie)Saint LouisUtah15USC16DePaul17(tie)Oklahoma A&MOregon State19Cincinnati20Wichita Arenas Kansas began playing at Allen Fieldhouse late in the season, on March 1, 1955. The arena was named for Kansas's coach at the time, Phog Allen. Allen Fieldhouse would eventually give Kansas one of the top college basketball home-court advantages in the United States.King's Court: Home sweet home http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8848242/nation-best-homecourt-advantages-college-basketball ESPN.com 16 January 2013 Regular season Conference Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular season winnerhttp://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2009/Standings.pdf 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section 2009 NCAA 2009-02-14Conference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference NC State Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192652/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/09mbkguide083112.pdf 2016-03-03 , retrieved 2009-02-14 1955 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) NC StateBig Seven Conference Colorado None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Iowa None selected No TournamentBorder Conference Texas Tech & West Texas A&M No TournamentCalifornia Basketball Association San Francisco Ken Sears, Santa Clara No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Princeton None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference Manhattan No TournamentMid-American Conference Miami (OH) None selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Saint Louis & Tulsa None selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Utah No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky State None selected 1955 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Eastern Kentucky StatePacific Coast Conference Oregon State (North); UCLA (South) No Tournament;Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference playoff seriesSoutheastern Conference Kentucky None selected No TournamentSouthern Conference West Virginia Darrell Floyd, Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section https://web.archive.org/web/20110723151437/http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/honorsandawards.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 July 23, 2011 , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1955 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Arena(Richmond, Virginia) West Virginia2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section https://web.archive.org/web/20110930163611/http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/standingsandresults.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 September 30, 2011 , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference SMU None selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Niagara No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament Conference standings Major independents A total of 44 college teams played as major independents. Among them, 1954 College of the Holy Cross Holy Cross Crusaders Holy Cross (24–3) had the best winning percentage (.889) and La Salle (26–5) finished with the most wins.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1955.html Sports Reference 1954-55 Men's Independent Season Summary August 9, 2024 Post-season tournaments NCAA tournament 1955 NCAA basketball tournament 1955 NCAA Basketball Championship Game Final Four no National semifinals National finals Third place Iowa 73 La Salle 76 Colorado 50 San Francisco 62 La Salle 63 San Francisco 77 Iowa 54 Colorado 75 National Invitation tournament 1955 National Invitation Tournament Semifinals & finals no Semifinals Finals Third place   Duquesne 65   Cincinnati 61   St. Francis (Pa.) 73   Dayton 79   Duquesne 70   Dayton 58   Cincinnati 96   St. Francis (Pa.) 91 Awards Consensus All-American teams 1955 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans + Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Dick Garmaker G Senior Minnesota Tom Gola F Senior La Salle Sihugo Green G Junior Duquesne Dick Ricketts F/C Senior Duquesne Bill Russell C Junior San Francisco + Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Darrell Floyd G Junior Furman Robin Freeman G Junior Ohio State Dickie Hemric C Senior Wake Forest Don Schlundt C Senior Indiana Ronnie Shavlik F/C Junior North Carolina State Major player of the year awards Helms Player of the Year: Bill Russell, San Francisco UP Player of the Year: Tom Gola, La Salle Major coach of the year awards UP Coach of the Year: Phil Woolpert, San Francisco Other major awards NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Ed Conlin, Fordham Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonThe CitadelJim BrowningHank WittCreightonSebastian SalernoTheron ThomsenDavidsonDanny MillerTom ScottHoly CrossBuster ShearyRoy LeenigIndiana StateJohn LongfellowPaul WolfDuane Klueh Longfellow retired after 7 games into the season due to health issues. Paul Wolf stepped in to finish the season.Kent StateClarence HaerrDavid E. McDowellLa SalleKen LoefflerJim Pollard Loeffler left to coach Texas A&M.LafayetteButch van Breda KolffGeorge DavidsonMaineRussell DeVetteHarold WoodburyMarshallCam HendersonJule RivlinMississippi StatePaul GregoryBabe McCarthyMontanaGeorge DahlbergFrosty CoxMontana StateWally LemmDobbie LambertNew MexicoWoody ClementsBill StocktonOklahomaBruce DrakeDoyle Parrack Oklahoma CityDoyle ParrackAbe Lemons PortlandArt McLarneyMike TichyAl NegrattiSaint Joseph'sJohn McMenaminJack RamsaySaint Mary'sThomas FoleyJim WeaverTennessee TechRaymond BrownJohn OldhamTexas A&MJohn FloydKen Loeffler Virginia TechRed LairdChuck NoeVMIChuck NoeJack Null Noe left to coach Virginia Tech. References 2