1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season

Men's university basketball season August 2023 March 2026 1955 NoneSan Francisco Dons (UP) March 12, 1956 March 24, 1956 McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois San Francisco Dons San Francisco Dons Louisville Cardinals Bill Russell, San Francisco Dons The 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1955, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1956 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 24, 1956, at McGaw Hall in Evanston, Illinois. The San Francisco Dons won their second NCAA national championship with an 83–71 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Season headlines The Ivy League, which had been formally established as an athletic conference in 1954, played its first basketball season under that name. Previously, Ivy League schools had competed in the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League; today's Ivy League considers the EIBL part of its history. The Philadelphia Big 5, an informal association of colleges and universities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focused on college basketball, began play. The Big 5 teams played a regular-season round robin schedule with one another each year through the 1990–91 season with the results determining an informal Big 5 championship, and revived the round-robin schedule during the 1999–2000 season. The NCAA tournament expanded from 24 to 25 teams. For the first time, the four regional competitions of the NCAA Tournament received names. In 1956, they were named the East, Midwest, West, and Far West Regions. For the last time, the NCAA held only a single championship tournament. The following season, it divided teams into a University Division and a College Division and began holding a separate tournament for each division. San Francisco won its second consecutive NCAA championship. With a record of 29–0, it became the first undefeated team to win the NCAA championship.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 11 Bill Russell of San Francisco completed his career (1954–1956) averaging 20.7 points and 20.3 rebounds per game. He was the first player to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game during his career.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 13 Major rule changes Beginning in 1955–56, the following rules changes were implemented: The free-throw lane was increased in width from 6 ft m to 12 ft m. The two-shot penalty in the last three minutes of the game was eliminated. The "one-and-one" free throw, in which a player shoots a second free throw only if he makes his first, went into effect for the entire game.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2011-04-10 Season outlook Pre-season polls 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball rankings The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.*ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 Associated PressRankingTeam1 San Francisco2 Kentucky3 Utah4 NC State5 Iowa6 Dayton7 Illinois UCLA9 Duquesne10 George Washington11 Holy Cross12 Marquette13 Fordham14 Washington15 Alabama16 Indiana Saint Louis18 Oregon State SMU20 Kansas Conference membership changes SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Bradley Bradley Braves Independent Missouri Valley Conference Brown Brown Bears Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Columbia Columbia Lions Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Cornell Cornell Big Red Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Dartmouth Dartmouth Big Green Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Fresno State Fresno Bulldogs Non-major independent California Basketball Association Harvard Harvard Crimson Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Loyola Loyola (Calif.) Lions Independent California Basketball Association Penn Penn Quakers Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Pepperdine Pepperdine Waves Non-major independent California Basketball Association Princeton Princeton Tigers Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Western Reserve Western Reserve Red Cats Mid-American Conference Presidents' Athletic Conference (non-major) Yale Yale Bulldogs Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Regular season Conference Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular season winnerhttps://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 North Carolina & NC State Ronnie Shavlik, NC State2008–09 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 2011-04-10 1956 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) NC StateBig Seven Conference Kansas State None Selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Iowa None Selected No TournamentBorder Conference Texas Tech None Selected No TournamentCalifornia Basketball Association San Francisco Bill Russell, San Francisco2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide https://web.archive.org/web/20110523143240/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/west/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2008-09mbbrecordbook.pdf 2011-05-23 , West Coast Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10 No TournamentIvy League Dartmouth None Selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference St. Francis (NY) None Selected No TournamentMid-American Conference Marshall None Selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Houston None Selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Utah None Selected No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Morehead State, Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky State None Selected No TournamentPacific Coast Conference UCLA None Selected No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Alabama None Selected No TournamentSouthern Conference George Washington & 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 2010-08-14 1956 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 2011-04-10Southwest Conference SMU None Selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Canisius No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut No Tournament Conference standings Major independents A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. Among them, 1955 University of Louisville Louisville Cardinals Louisville (26–3) had the best winning percentage (.897) and Temple (27–4) finished with the most wins.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1956.html Sports Reference 1955-56 Men's Independent Season Summary August 9, 2024 Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 St. Joseph's Guy Rodgers, Temple Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5. Statistical leaders Points per game Rebounds percentage Field goal percentage Free throw percentage Player*Inside Sports College Basketball Gale Research 1998 1-57859-009-4 registration https://archive.org/details/insidesportscoll0000douc School PPG Player School REB% Player School FG% Player School FT% Darrell Floyd Furman 33.8 Joe Holup G. Washington .256 Joe Holup G. Washington 64.7 Bill Von Weyhe Rhode Island 86.5 Robin Freeman Ohio State 32.9 Charlie Tyra Louisville .235 Hal Greer Marshall 60.1 Jackie Murdock Wake Forest 85.7 Dan Swartz Morehead St. 28.6 Jerry Harper Alabama .232 Odell Johnson St. Mary's (CA) 56.3 Vic Molodet NC State 85.2 Tom Heinsohn Holy Cross 27.4 Bill Russell San Francisco .231 Raymond Downs Texas 54.0 Dick Miani Miami (FL) 83.7 Julius McCoy Michigan St. 27.3 Charlie Slack Marshall .215 Angelo Lombardo Manhattan 53.4 Bob McCarty Virginia 83.2 Post-season tournaments NCAA tournament 1956 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Coach Phil Woolpert and his star Bill Russell successfully guided San Francisco to its second consecutive championship, capping an undefeated season. The Dons became the first team in college basketball history to go undefeated and win the NCAA tournament. Temple's Hal Lear was named tournament Most Outstanding Player. Final Four Played at McGaw Hall in Evanston, Illinois National Semifinals National Championship Game National Third-Place Game E Temple 76 ME Iowa 83 MW SMU 68 W San Francisco 86 ME Iowa 71 W San Francisco 83 E Temple 90 MW SMU 81 National Invitation tournament 1956 National Invitation Tournament Louisville won its first NIT title, defeating Dayton 83–80. Louisville's Charlie Tyra won MVP honors NIT Semifinals and Final Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City no Semifinals Final Third place Louisville 89 St. Joseph's 79 St. Francis (N.Y.) 58 Dayton 89 Louisville 90 Dayton 83 St. Joseph's 93 St. Francis (N.Y.) 82 Award winners Consensus All-American teams 1956 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans + Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Robin Freeman G Senior Ohio State Sihugo Green G Senior Duquesne Tom Heinsohn F Senior Holy Cross Bill Russell C Senior San Francisco Ronnie Shavlik F/C Senior North Carolina State + Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Bob Burrow F Senior Kentucky Darrell Floyd G Senior Furman Rod Hundley G/F Junior West Virginia K.C. Jones G Senior San Francisco Willie Naulls F Senior UCLA Bill Uhl C Senior Dayton Major player of the year awards Helms Foundation Player of the Year: Bill Russell, San Francisco UPI Player of the Year: Bill Russell, San Francisco Major coach of the year awards UPI Coach of the Year: Phil Woolpert, San Francisco Other major awards Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Guy Rodgers, Temple NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC area): Bill Thieben, Hofstra Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonAlabamaJohn DeeEugene LambertBradleyBob VanattaChuck OrsbornBuffaloMalcolm EikenLen SerfustiniThe CitadelHank WittNorm SloanClemsonBanks McFaddenPress MaravichColoradoBebe LeeSox WalsethDrakeJack McClellandJohn BenningtonGeorgetownBuddy JeannetteTom NolanAfter four seasons, Jeannette resigned.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/coaches/bb-coach.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches 2013-12-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20170527235527/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/coaches/bb-coach.htm 2017-05-27 dead HoustonAlden PascheGuy LewisKansasPhog AllenDick HarpAllen retired following the season and was replaced by assistant Harp.Memphis StateEugene LambertBob Vanatta Lambert left to coach Alabama.Middle TennesseeCharles GreerEd Diddle Jr.New HampshireBob KerrBill OlsenOregonBill BorcherSteve BelkoPennsylvaniaRay StanleyJack McCloskeyRutgersDonald WhiteWarren HarrisSeattleAl BrightmanJohn CastellaniSt. John'sDusty DeStefanoJoe LapchickTexasSlue HullMarshall HughesYaleHoward HobsonJoe Vancisin References 2