1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1955–56 San Francisco Dons Basketball 1955–56 San Francisco Dons team photo (1963 NCAA Basketball Championship program).jpg 300 California Basketball Association CBA 1 1 29–0 14–0 Phil Woolpert 6th Ross Giudice Kezar Pavilion NCAA tournament National championsNCAA regular season championsCBA regular season champions National Championship Game W Won 83–71 vs. Iowa The 1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco as a member of the California Basketball Association during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season. The Dons ended the season undefeated, becoming the first NCAA tournament champion to record a perfect season and the first team to go wire-to-wire as No. 1 in the AP and UP polls. San Francisco finished the season with a 29–0 record (14–0 CBA) and had won 55 consecutive games. Season summary San Francisco won two straight NCAA titles behind a punishing defense led by Bill Russell, who turned shot blocking into an art form. He was also a much better scorer than history gives him credit for, averaging more than 20 points in both championship seasons. In 1956, Russell had support from guard K.C. Jones and a balanced lineup; besides Russell, five other players averaged between 7.1 and 9.8 points per game. Roster 1955 San Francisco Dons y Hal Payne 3 K. C. Jones 4 G 6 1 195 Sr San Francisco, California y Bill Russell 6 C 6 9 210 Sr Oakland, California y John Koljian 7 Bill Bush 8 Steve Balchios 10 Warren Baxter 11 Bill Mallen 12 Vince Boyle 14 Gene Brown basketball 15 G 6 3 So San Francisco, California y Tom Nelson 16 Mike Farmer basketball 17 F 6 7 200 So Richmond, California y Mike Preaseau 18 F 6 5 180 So Redding, California y Carl Boldt 19 F 6 4 Jr Tujunga, California y Jack King 21 Hal Perry 23 G 5 10 Sr Ukiah, California y basketball Phil Woolpert (Loyola Marymount) Ross Giudice (San Francisco) "usfdons.com https://web.archive.org/web/20110717180653/http://www.usfdons.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031406aab.html 2011-07-17 ." Retrieved on July 27, 2009. Schedule and results yes |- !colspan=9 style=San Francisco Dons| Regular Season Dec 2, 1955 yes 1 1955 men Chico State Wildcats Cal State-Chico Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 70–39             1–0 Dec 3, 1955 yes 1 1955 men Southern California Trojans Southern California Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 58–42             2–0 Dec 6, 1955 yes 1 1955 men San Francisco State Gators San Francisco State Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 72–47             3–0 Dec 16, 1955 yes yes 1 1955 men Marquette Warriors Marquette University Auditorium Chicago, Illinois DePaul Tournament 65–58             4–0 Dec 17, 1955 yes yes 1 1955 men DePaul Blue Demons DePaul University Auditorium Chicago, Illinois DePaul Tournament 82–59             5–0 Dec 20, 1955 yes yes 1 1955 men Wichita State Shockers Wichita State University of Wichita Field House Wichita, Kansas 75–65             6–0 Dec 23, 1955 yes yes 1 1955 men Loyola Wolf Pack Loyola (LA) Loyola Field House New Orleans, Louisiana 61–43             7–0 Dec 26, 1955 yes yes 1 1955 men La Salle Explorers La Salle Madison Square Garden New York, New York ECAC Holiday Festival 79–62             8–0 Dec 28, 1955 yes yes 1 1955 men Holy Cross Crusaders Holy Cross 14 Madison Square Garden New York, New York ECAC Holiday Festival 67–51             9–0 Dec 30, 1955 yes yes 1 UCLA Madison Square Garden New York, New York ECAC Holiday Festival 70–53             10–0 Jan 6, 1956 1 1955 men Pepperdine Waves Pepperdine Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 62–51             11–0 1–0 Jan 10, 1956 1 1955 men Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 74–56             12–0 2–0 Jan 13, 1956 yes 1 1955 men Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno State College Gym Fresno, California 69–50             13–0 3–0 Jan 28, 1956 yes yes 1 1955 men California Golden Bears California Cow Palace Daly City, California 33–24             14–0 Jan 31, 1956 1 1955 men San Jose State Spartans San Jose State Cow Palace Daly City, California 67–40             15–0 4–0 Feb 3, 1956 1 1955 men Loyola Marymount Lions Loyola (Los Angeles) Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 68–46             16–0 5–0 Feb 7, 1956 yes 1 1955 men Pacific Tigers Pacific Pacific Pavilion Stockton, California 77–60             17–0 6–0 Feb 10, 1956 1 Fresno State Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 79–46             18–0 7–0 Feb 14, 1956 yes 1 San Jose State Spartan Gym San Jose, California 76–52             19–0 8–0 Feb 17, 1956 yes 1 1955 men Saint Mary's Gaels Saint Mary's Madigan Gymnasium Moraga, California 74–63 Russell 28         20–0 9–0 Feb 24, 1956 yes 1 Santa Clara San Jose Civic Auditorium San Jose, California 80–44 Russell 29         21–0 10–0 Feb 28, 1956 1 Pacific Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California 87–49 Russell 28         22–0 11–0 Mar 2, 1956 yes 1 Pepperdine LBCC Main Gym Long Beach, California 68–40             23–0 12–0 Mar 3, 1956 yes 1 Loyola (Los Angeles) LBCC Main Gym Long Beach, California 65–48             24–0 13–0 Mar 6, 1956 1 Saint Mary's Cow Palace Daly City, California 82–49             25–0 14–0 |- !colspan=9 style=San Francisco Dons| NCAA Tournament Mar 16, 1956 yes yes 1 UCLA 8 Oregon State Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon Far West Regional semifinal 72–61 Brown 23 Russell 23     26–0 Mar 17, 1956 yes yes 1 1955 men Utah Utes Utah 18 Oregon State Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon Far West Regional Final 92–77 Russell 27 Russell 22     27–0 Mar 22, 1956 yes yes 1 SMU 7 McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois National semifinal – Final Four 86–6854TH IN ROW WON BY SAN FRANCISCO; Dons Beat S.M.U., 86 to 68 https://www.nytimes.com/1956/03/23/archives/54th-in-row-won-by-san-francisco-dons-beat-smu-86-to-68-to-gain.html The New York Times March 23, 1956 December 30, 2021 Farmer 26 Russell 23     28–0 Mar 23, 1956 yes yes 1 Iowa 4 McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois National Championship Game 83–71The Southern Illinoisan via newspapers.com San Francisco Wins 55th Straight, Second NCAA Championship, 83-71 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/79536246/ March 25, 1956 June 20, 2020 Russell 26 Russell 27     29–0 1 AP Poll Pacific Time FW Far West Men's Basketball Yearly Results (1950-60) - University of San Francisco Athletics https://usfdons.com/sports/2014/8/7/MBB_0807145833.aspx#1955-56 University of San Francisco Athletics June 20, 2020 Rankings 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball rankings AP 1 15 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Coaches 0 14 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 *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 June 20, 2020 Awards and honors Bill Russell – Consensus First Team All-America selection, Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (2x), UPI College Basketball Player of the Year, California Basketball Association Player of the Year K. C. Jones – Consensus Second Team All-America selection Phil Woolpert – UPI College Basketball Coach of the Year Team players drafted into the NBA 1956 NBA draft San Francisco Dons Round Pick Player NBA club 1 2 Bill Russell Boston Celtics 2 1 KC Jones Boston Celtics 7 50 Carl Boldt Detroit Pistons https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1956.html 1956 NBA Draft basketball-reference.com June 20, 2020 References San Francisco Category:San Francisco Dons men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons San Francisco San Francisco Dons San Francisco Dons Category:1955 in San Francisco Category:1950s in San Francisco