1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season

1955–56 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1None
San Francisco (UP)
NCAA Tournament1956
Tournament datesMarch 12, 1956 –
March 24, 1956
National ChampionshipMcGaw Hall
Evanston, Illinois
NCAA ChampionsSan Francisco
Helms National ChampionsSan Francisco
Other championsLouisville (NIT)
Player of the Year
(Helms)		Bill Russell, San Francisco

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

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  • 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 as 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.[1]
  • 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.[2]

Major rule changes

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Beginning in 1955–56, the following rules changes were implemented:

  • The free-throw lane was increased in width from 6 feet (1.8 m) to 12 feet (3.7 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.[3][4]

Season outlook

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Pre-season polls

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Main article: 1955–56 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[5]

Associated Press
Ranking Team
1 San Francisco
2 Kentucky
3 Utah
4 NC State
5 Iowa
6 Dayton
7 Illinois
UCLA
9 Duquesne
10 George Washington
11 Holy Cross
12 Marquette
13 Fordham
14 Washington
15 Alabama
16 Indiana
Saint Louis
18 Oregon State
SMU
20 Kansas

Conference membership changes

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School Former conference New conference
Bradley Braves Independent Missouri Valley Conference
Brown Bears Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Columbia Lions Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Cornell Big Red Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Dartmouth Big Green Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Fresno Bulldogs Non-major independent California Basketball Association
Harvard Crimson Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Loyola (Calif.) Lions Independent California Basketball Association
Penn Quakers Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Pepperdine Waves Non-major independent California Basketball Association
Princeton Tigers Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Western Reserve Red Cats Mid-American Conference Presidents' Athletic Conference
Yale Bulldogs Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League

Regular season

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Conference

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Conference winners and tournaments

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Conference Regular
season winner[6] 		Conference
player of the year 		Conference
tournament 		Tournament
venue (City) 		Tournament
winner
Atlantic Coast Conference North Carolina & NC State Ronnie Shavlik, NC State[7] 1956 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum
(Raleigh, North Carolina)		 NC State
Big Seven Conference Kansas State None Selected No Tournament
Big Ten Conference Iowa None Selected No Tournament
Border Conference Texas Tech None Selected No Tournament
California Basketball Association San Francisco Bill Russell, San Francisco[8] No Tournament
Ivy League Dartmouth None Selected No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference St. Francis (NY) None Selected No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Marshall None Selected No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Houston None Selected No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference Utah None Selected No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference Morehead State, Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky State None Selected No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference Oregon State None Selected No Tournament
Southeastern Conference Alabama None Selected No Tournament
Southern Conference George Washington & West Virginia Darrell Floyd, Furman[9] 1956 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Arena
(Richmond, Virginia)		 West Virginia[10]
Southwest Conference SMU None Selected No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference Canisius No Tournament
Yankee Conference Connecticut No Tournament

Conference standings

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1955–56 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 NC State † 11 – 3   .786 24 – 4   .857
No. 13 North Carolina 11 – 3   .786 18 – 5   .783
No. 16 Wake Forest 10 – 4   .714 19 – 9   .679
No. 17 Duke 10 – 4   .714 19 – 7   .731
Maryland 7 – 7   .500 14 – 10   .583
South Carolina 3 – 11   .214 9 – 14   .391
Virginia 3 – 11   .214 10 – 17   .370
Clemson 1 – 13   .071 9 – 17   .346
† 1956 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[11]
1955–56 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Kansas State 9 – 3   .750 17 – 8   .680
Iowa State 8 – 4   .667 18 – 5   .783
Missouri 8 – 4   .667 15 – 7   .682
Colorado 7 – 5   .583 11 – 10   .524
Kansas 6 – 6   .500 14 – 9   .609
Nebraska 3 – 9   .250 7 – 16   .304
Oklahoma 1 – 11   .083 4 – 19   .174
Rankings from AP Poll[12]
1955–56 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Iowa 13 – 1   .929 20 – 6   .769
No. 10 Illinois 11 – 3   .786 18 – 4   .818
Ohio State 9 – 5   .643 16 – 6   .727
Purdue 9 – 5   .643 16 – 6   .727
Michigan State 7 – 7   .500 13 – 9   .591
Indiana 6 – 8   .429 13 – 9   .591
Minnesota 6 – 8   .429 11 – 11   .500
Michigan 4 – 10   .286 9 – 13   .409
Wisconsin 4 – 10   .286 6 – 16   .273
Northwestern 1 – 13   .071 2 – 20   .091
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Border Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Texas Tech 8 – 4   .667 13 – 12   .520
New Mexico A&M 7 – 5   .583 16 – 7   .696
Texas Western 7 – 5   .583 12 – 10   .545
West Texas State 6 – 6   .500 12 – 10   .545
Arizona 6 – 6   .500 11 – 15   .423
Arizona State–Tempe 5 – 7   .417 11 – 15   .423
Hardin–Simmons 3 – 9   .250 7 – 18   .280
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 California Basketball Association men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 San Francisco 14 – 0   1.000 29 – 0   1.000
Pacific 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577
Loyola (Calif.) 9 – 5   .643 13 – 12   .520
Saint Mary's 8 – 6   .571 16 – 10   .615
San Jose State 8 – 6   .571 15 – 10   .600
Santa Clara 6 – 8   .429 8 – 16   .333
Fresno State 2 – 12   .143 9 – 17   .346
Pepperdine 0 – 14   .000 2 – 23   .080
Rankings from AP Poll[13]
1955–56 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Dartmouth 10 – 4   .714 18 – 11   .621
Columbia 9 – 5   .643 15 – 9   .625
Pennsylvania 9 – 5   .643 12 – 13   .480
Cornell 8 – 6   .571 11 – 13   .458
Yale 7 – 7   .500 15 – 11   .577
Princeton 7 – 7   .500 11 – 13   .458
Harvard 3 – 11   .214 8 – 16   .333
Brown 3 – 11   .214 7 – 18   .280
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
St. Francis (NY) 4 – 0   1.000 21 – 4   .840
Manhattan 4 – 1   .800 16 – 8   .667
Brooklyn 2 – 2   .500 11 – 7   .611
NYU 2 – 2   .500 10 – 8   .556
St. John's 3 – 3   .500 12 – 12   .500
Fordham 2 – 2   .500 11 – 12   .478
CCNY 0 – 7   .000 4 – 14   .222
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Marshall 10 – 2   .833 18 – 5   .783
Miami (OH) 8 – 4   .667 12 – 8   .600
Western Michigan 7 – 5   .583 11 – 9   .550
Toledo 6 – 6   .500 9 – 13   .409
Ohio 5 – 7   .417 13 – 11   .542
Kent State 5 – 7   .417 10 – 11   .476
Bowling Green 1 – 11   .083 4 – 19   .174
Rankings from AP Poll[14]
1955–56 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Houston 9 – 3   .750 19 – 7   .731
Saint Louis 8 – 4   .667 18 – 7   .720
No. 19 Oklahoma A&M 8 – 4   .667 18 – 9   .667
Wichita 7 – 5   .583 14 – 12   .538
Tulsa 4 – 8   .333 16 – 10   .615
Detroit 3 – 9   .250 13 – 12   .520
Bradley 3 – 9   .250 13 – 13   .500
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 Utah 12 – 2   .857 22 – 6   .786
BYU 10 – 4   .714 18 – 8   .692
Utah State 7 – 7   .500 13 – 13   .500
Colorado A&M 7 – 7   .500 12 – 13   .480
Denver 6 – 8   .429 13 – 12   .520
New Mexico 5 – 9   .357 6 – 16   .273
Wyoming 5 – 9   .357 7 – 19   .269
Montana 4 – 10   .286 14 – 12   .538
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Tennessee Tech 7 – 3   .700 14 – 7   .667
Morehead State 7 – 3   .700 19 – 10   .655
Western Kentucky State 7 – 3   .700 16 – 12   .571
Murray State 6 – 4   .600 15 – 10   .600
Eastern Kentucky State 3 – 7   .300 9 – 16   .360
Middle Tennessee –   – 6 – 15   .286
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 UCLA 16 – 0   1.000 22 – 6   .786
Washington 11 – 5   .688 15 – 11   .577
Stanford 10 – 6   .625 18 – 6   .750
California 10 – 6   .625 17 – 8   .680
USC 9 – 7   .563 14 – 12   .538
Oregon 5 – 11   .313 11 – 15   .423
Oregon State 5 – 11   .313 8 – 18   .308
Idaho 4 – 12   .250 6 – 19   .240
Washington State 2 – 14   .125 4 – 22   .154
Rankings from AP Poll[15]
1955–56 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Alabama 14 – 0   1.000 21 – 3   .875
No. 9 Kentucky 12 – 2   .857 20 – 6   .769
No. 12 Vanderbilt 11 – 3   .786 19 – 4   .826
Auburn 8 – 6   .571 11 – 10   .524
Tulane 7 – 7   .500 12 – 12   .500
Georgia Tech 6 – 8   .429 12 – 11   .522
Mississippi State 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500
Tennessee 6 – 8   .429 10 – 14   .417
LSU 5 – 9   .357 7 – 17   .292
Florida 4 – 10   .286 11 – 12   .478
Ole Miss 4 – 10   .286 10 – 13   .435
Georgia 1 – 13   .071 3 – 21   .125
Rankings from AP Poll[16]
1955–56 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
George Washington 10 – 2   .833 19 – 7   .731
No. 20 West Virginia † 10 – 2   .833 21 – 9   .700
Virginia Tech 10 – 7   .588 14 – 11   .560
Richmond 8 – 6   .571 16 – 13   .552
William & Mary 9 – 7   .563 12 – 14   .462
Furman 7 – 7   .500 12 – 16   .429
Davidson 5 – 7   .417 10 – 15   .400
Washington and Lee 5 – 8   .385 12 – 16   .429
VMI 3 – 11   .214 4 – 19   .174
The Citadel 0 – 10   .000 2 – 19   .095
† Southern Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 SMU 12 – 0   1.000 25 – 4   .862
Arkansas 9 – 3   .750 11 – 12   .478
Rice 8 – 4   .667 19 – 5   .792
Texas 5 – 7   .417 12 – 10   .545
Baylor 3 – 9   .250 6 – 17   .261
Texas A&M 3 – 9   .250 6 – 18   .250
TCU 2 – 10   .167 4 – 20   .167
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Canisius 4 – 0   1.000 19 – 7   .731
Niagara 2 – 2   .500 20 – 7   .741
St. Bonaventure 0 – 4   .000 11 – 12   .478
Rankings from AP Poll
1955–56 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Connecticut 6 – 1   .857 17 – 11   .607
Massachusetts 5 – 1   .833 17 – 6   .739
Rhode Island 6 – 2   .750 11 – 14   .440
Vermont 2 – 3   .400 6 – 12   .333
Maine 3 – 5   .375 6 – 12   .333
New Hampshire 0 – 10   .000 2 – 15   .118

Major independents

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A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. Among them, Louisville (26–3) had the best winning percentage (.897) and Temple (27–4) finished with the most wins.[17]

1955–56 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Louisville –   – 26 – 3   .897
No. 15 Temple –   – 27 – 4   .871
No. 3 Dayton –   – 25 – 4   .862
No. 14 Holy Cross –   – 22 – 5   .815
Seton Hall –   – 20 – 5   .800
Saint Joseph's –   – 23 – 6   .793
Washington University –   – 17 – 5   .773
Lafayette –   – 20 – 7   .741
Memphis State –   – 20 – 7   .741
No. 11 Oklahoma City –   – 20 – 7   .741
Portland –   – 20 – 8   .714
Cincinnati –   – 17 – 7   .708
DePaul –   – 16 – 8   .667
Colgate –   – 17 – 9   .654
Syracuse –   – 14 – 8   .636
Duquesne –   – 17 – 10   .630
Seattle –   – 18 – 11   .621
Butler –   – 14 – 9   .609
Xavier –   – 17 – 11   .607
La Salle –   – 15 – 10   .600
Muhlenberg –   – 15 – 10   .600
Pittsburgh –   – 15 – 10   .600
Georgetown –   – 13 – 11   .542
Marquette –   – 13 – 11   .542
Miami (Fla.) –   – 14 – 12   .538
Villanova –   – 14 – 12   .538
Navy –   – 10 – 9   .526
Creighton –   – 11 – 12   .478
Gonzaga –   – 13 – 15   .464
Penn State –   – 12 – 14   .462
Valparaiso –   – 12 – 14   .462
Army –   – 10 – 13   .435
Bucknell –   – 10 – 14   .417
Drake –   – 10 – 14   .417
Loyola (Ill.) –   – 10 – 14   .417
Saint Francis (Pa.) –   – 10 – 14   .417
Loyola (La.) –   – 10 – 15   .400
Lehigh –   – 7 – 11   .389
Notre Dame –   – 9 – 15   .375
Iona –   – 8 – 14   .364
Siena –   – 7 – 13   .350
Boston College –   – 6 – 17   .261
Rutgers –   – 3 – 15   .167
Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

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Conference Regular
season winner 		Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia 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

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Points per game
Rebounds percentage
Field goal percentage
Free throw percentage
Player[18] 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

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NCAA tournament

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Main article: 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

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Played at McGaw Hall in Evanston, Illinois

National Semifinals National Championship Game
      
E Temple 76
ME Iowa 83
ME Iowa 71
W San Francisco 83
MW SMU 68
W San Francisco 86 National Third-Place Game
E Temple 90
MW SMU 81

National Invitation tournament

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Main article: 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

[edit]

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Semifinals Final
    
Louisville 89
St. Joseph's 79
Louisville 90
Dayton 83
St. Francis (N.Y.) 58
Dayton 89 Third place
St. Joseph's 93
St. Francis (N.Y.) 82

Award winners

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Consensus All-American teams

[edit]
Main article: 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

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Major coach of the year awards

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Other major awards

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Coaching changes

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A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team Former
Coach 		Interim
Coach 		New
Coach 		Reason
Georgetown Buddy Jeannette Tom Nolan After four seasons, Jeannette resigned.[19]
Houston Alden Pasche Guy Lewis
Kansas Phog Allen Dick Harp Allen retired following the season and was replaced by assistant Harp.
Yale Howard Hobson Joe Vancisin

References

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  1. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  3. ^ orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
  4. ^ 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2011-04-10
  5. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  7. ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2011-04-10
  8. ^ 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10
  9. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14
  10. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10
  11. ^ sports-reference.com 1955-56 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
  12. ^ sports-reference.com 1955-56 Big Seven Conference Season Summary
  13. ^ sports-reference.com 1955-56 California Basketball Association Season Summary
  14. ^ "1955-56 Mid-American Conference Season Summary". college-basketball-reference. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  15. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  16. ^ sports-reference.com 1955-56 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  17. ^ "1955-56 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  18. ^ *Inside Sports College Basketball. Gale Research. 1998. ISBN 1-57859-009-4.
  19. ^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
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