Men's university basketball season
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 .
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.[ 1] 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.[ 1] 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.[ 2] 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.[ 2] 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.[ 3] 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 . The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[ 4] [ 5]
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 .[ 6] Conference winners and tournaments [ edit ] Conference standings [ edit ] 1954–55 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W L PCT W L PCT No. 15 Colorado 11 – 1 .917 19 – 6 .760 Missouri 9 – 3 .750 16 – 5 .762 Kansas State 6 – 6 .500 11 – 10 .524 Nebraska 6 – 6 .500 9 – 12 .429 Kansas 5 – 7 .417 11 – 10 .524 Iowa State 4 – 8 .333 11 – 10 .524 Oklahoma 1 – 11 .083 3 – 18 .143 Rankings from AP Poll [ 11]
1954–55 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings Conf Overall Team W L PCT W L PCT Princeton † 10 – 4 .714 13 – 12 .520 Pennsylvania 10 – 4 .714 19 – 6 .760 Columbia 12 – 5 .706 17 – 8 .680 Dartmouth 9 – 5 .643 18 – 7 .720 Cornell 8 – 6 .571 10 – 13 .435 Brown 3 – 11 .214 7 – 18 .280 Harvard 3 – 11 .214 6 – 17 .261 Yale 3 – 11 .214 3 – 21 .125 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll
1954–55 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W L PCT W L PCT No. 16 Tulsa 8 – 2 .800 21 – 7 .750 No. 20 Saint Louis 8 – 2 .800 20 – 8 .714 Oklahoma A&M 5 – 5 .500 12 – 13 .480 Wichita Municipal 4 – 6 .400 17 – 9 .654 Houston 3 – 7 .300 15 – 10 .600 Detroit 2 – 8 .200 15 – 11 .577 Rankings from AP Poll
1954–55 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W L PCT W L PCT No. 7 Utah 13 – 1 .929 24 – 4 .857 BYU 10 – 4 .714 13 – 13 .500 Utah State 9 – 5 .643 15 – 7 .682 Wyoming 9 – 5 .643 17 – 9 .654 Colorado A&M 5 – 9 .357 11 – 12 .478 Montana 4 – 10 .286 12 – 14 .462 Denver 4 – 10 .286 9 – 14 .391 New Mexico 2 – 12 .143 7 – 17 .292 Rankings from AP Poll
1954–55 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W L PCT W L PCT No. 10 Oregon State † 15 – 1 .938 22 – 8 .733 Oregon 8 – 8 .500 13 – 13 .500 Washington 7 – 9 .438 13 – 12 .520 Washington State 5 – 11 .313 11 – 15 .423 Idaho 5 – 11 .313 8 – 18 .308 No. 13 UCLA 11 – 1 .917 21 – 5 .808 Stanford 7 – 5 .583 17 – 8 .680 USC 5 – 7 .417 14 – 11 .560 California 1 – 11 .083 9 – 16 .360 † Conference playoff series winner Rankings from AP Poll [ 13]
1954–55 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W L PCT W L PCT SMU 9 – 3 .750 15 – 10 .600 TCU 8 – 4 .667 17 – 7 .708 Arkansas 8 – 4 .667 14 – 9 .609 Baylor 7 – 5 .583 13 – 11 .542 Rice 6 – 6 .500 10 – 12 .455 Texas 3 – 9 .250 4 – 20 .167 Texas A&M 1 – 11 .083 4 – 20 .167 Rankings from AP Poll
1954–55 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W L PCT W L PCT Niagara 3 – 1 .750 20 – 6 .769 Canisius 2 – 2 .500 18 – 7 .720 St. Bonaventure 1 – 3 .250 13 – 10 .565 Rankings from AP Poll
A total of 44 college teams played as major independents . Among them, Holy Cross (24–3) had the best winning percentage (.889) and La Salle (26–5) finished with the most wins.[ 15]
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(April 2021 )
Post-season tournaments [ edit ] Third Place – Colorado 75, Iowa 54 National Invitation tournament [ edit ] Semifinals & finals[ edit ] Third Place – Cincinnati 96, St. Francis (Pa.) 91 Consensus All-American teams [ edit ]
Major player of the year awards [ edit ] Major coach of the year awards [ edit ] This section
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A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
^ a b orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes ^ a b "Playing Rules History" (PDF) . ncaa.org . NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 25, 2024 . ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF) . ncaa.org . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024 . ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . Random House . 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2 . ^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll" . College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020 . ^ "King's Court: Home sweet home" . ESPN.com . January 16, 2013. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF) . NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009 . ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine , retrieved 2009-02-14 ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference , retrieved 2009-02-09 ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference , retrieved 2009-02-09 ^ sports-reference.com 1954-55 Big Seven Conference Season Summary ^ sports-reference.com 1954-55 California Basketball Association Season Summary ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide" . Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018 . ^ sports-reference.com 1954-55 Southeastern Conference Season Summary ^ "1954-55 Men's Independent Season Summary" . Sports Reference . Retrieved August 9, 2024 .