1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Indiana Hoosiers
NCAA Tournament	1976
Tournament dates	March 13 – 29, 1976
National Championship	Spectrum; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA Champions	Indiana Hoosiers
Helms National Champions	Indiana Hoosiers
Other champions	Kentucky Wildcats (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Scott May, Indiana
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Kent Benson, Indiana, & Scott May, Indiana
	← 1974–75 1976–77 →

The 1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1975, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 29, 1976, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Indiana Hoosiers won their third NCAA national championship with a 86–68 victory over the Michigan Wolverines.

Season headlines

The Metro Conference began play, with six original members.
The last basketball season for the Yankee Conference, which dropped all sports except football at the end of the season.
Indiana went undefeated (32–0) during the season.
In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 10th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
The National Invitation Tournament contracted from 16 to 12 teams.
Two African-American head coaches met in an NCAA tournament game for the first time, when Fred Snowden’s Arizona Wildcats faced John Thompson’s Georgetown Hoyas in a first-round game on March 13, 1976.^[3]
Two teams from the same conference played in the NCAA championship game for the first time, when Big Ten Conference members Indiana and Michigan met on March 29, 1976.^[3]
Bob Knight of Indiana became the first head coach to win the NCAA championship after playing for an NCAA championship team. He had played for the 1960 champion Ohio State team.^[4]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.^[5]^[6]

'Associated Press'
Ranking	Team
1	Indiana (30)
2	UCLA (13)
3	Maryland
4	Marquette
5	North Carolina
6	Kentucky (2)
7	Notre Dame
8	Louisville
9	Tennessee (1)
10	Cincinnati
11	Arizona
12	Alabama
13	NC State
14	Kansas State
15	San Francisco
16	Michigan
17	Providence
18	Arizona State
19 (tie)	Memphis State
19 (tie)	Auburn
20	Syracuse

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Indiana
2	Marquette
3	Maryland
4	North Carolina
5	UCLA
6	Tennessee
7	Louisville
8	Notre Dame
9	Arizona
10	Alabama
11	Cincinnati
12	UNLV
13	Washington
14	San Francisco
15	USC
16	Kentucky
17	Rutgers
18	NC State
19	Michigan
20	Kansas State

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Ball State Cardinals	Division I independent	Mid-American Conference
Cincinnati Bearcats	Division I independent	Metro Conference
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Division I independent	Metro Conference
Louisville Cardinals	Missouri Valley Conference	Metro Conference
Memphis State Tigers	Division I independent	Metro Conference
UNLV Runnin' Rebels	West Coast Athletic Conference	Division I independent
North Texas State Mean Green	Missouri Valley Conference	NCAA Division I independent
Northern Illinois Huskies	Division I independent	Mid-American Conference
Saint Louis Billikens	Division I independent	Metro Conference
Southern Illinois Salukis	Division I independent	Missouri Valley Conference
Tulane Green Wave	Division I independent	Metro Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[7]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Mitch Kupchak, North Carolina^[8]	1976 ACC men's basketball tournament	Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)	Virginia
Big Eight Conference	Missouri	Willie Smith, Missouri^[9]	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Boise State, Idaho State, & Weber State	None selected	1976 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament	Swenson Gym (Ogden, Utah)	Boise State
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None Selected	No Tournament
East Coast Conference	Saint Joseph's (East) Lafayette (West)	Todd Tripucka, Lafayette	1976 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament	The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)	Hofstra
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)	Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season (see note)		1976 ECAC Metro Region tournament	Jadwin Gymnasium (Princeton, New Jersey)	Rutgers
			1976 ECAC New England Region tournament	Springfield Civic Center (Springfield, Massachusetts)	Connecticut
			1976 ECAC Southern Region tournament	WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, West Virginia)	Georgetown
			1976 ECAC Upstate Region tournament	Manley Field House (Syracuse, New York)	Syracuse
Ivy League	Princeton	Armond Hill, Princeton^[10]	No Tournament
Metro Conference	Tulane	Gary Yoder, Cincinnati	1976 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament	Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky)	Cincinnati
Mid-American Conference	Western Michigan	Jeff Tyson, Western Michigan^[11]	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Wichita State	Mike Glenn, Southern Illinois	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky	Johnny Britt, Western Kentucky, & Tom Sisneros, Middle Tennessee	1976 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	E.A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, Kentucky) (Semifinals and Finals)	Western Kentucky
Pacific-8 Conference	UCLA	Ron Lee, Oregon	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Long Beach State & Cal State Fullerton	Steve Copp, San Diego State, & Greg Bunch, Cal State Fullerton	1976 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament	Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium (Stockton, California)	San Diego State
Southeastern Conference	Alabama	Bernard King, Tennessee^[12]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	VMI	Rodney McKeever, The Citadel^[13]	1976 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, South Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	VMI^[14]
Southland Conference	Louisiana Tech	Mike McConathy, Louisiana Tech^[15]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	Texas A&M	Ira Terrell, SMU^[16]	1976 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament	Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas)	Texas Tech
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pepperdine	Marcos Leite, Pepperdine	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	Arizona	None Selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts	None Selected	No Tournament

NOTE: From 1975 to 1981, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1976 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.^[17]

Conference standings

1975–76 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 8 North Carolina	11	–	1	.917	25	–	4	.862
No. 11 Maryland	7	–	5	.583	22	–	6	.786
NC State	7	–	5	.583	21	–	9	.700
Clemson	5	–	7	.417	18	–	10	.643
Wake Forest	5	–	7	.417	17	–	10	.630
No. 18 Virginia †	4	–	8	.333	18	–	12	.600
Duke	3	–	9	.250	13	–	14	.481

† 1976 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 14 Missouri	12	–	2	.857	26	–	5	.839
Kansas State	11	–	3	.786	20	–	8	.714
Nebraska	10	–	4	.714	19	–	8	.704
Kansas	6	–	8	.429	13	–	13	.500
Oklahoma	6	–	8	.429	9	–	17	.346
Oklahoma State	4	–	10	.286	10	–	16	.385
Colorado	4	–	10	.286	7	–	19	.269
Iowa State	3	–	11	.214	3	–	24	.111

Rankings from AP poll^[18]

1975–76 Big Sky men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Weber State	9	–	5	.643	21	–	11	.656
Boise State †	9	–	5	.643	18	–	11	.621
Idaho State	9	–	5	.643	16	–	11	.593
Northern Arizona	8	–	6	.571	15	–	12	.556
Montana	7	–	7	.500	13	–	12	.520
Montana State	6	–	8	.429	9	–	16	.360
Gonzaga	5	–	9	.357	13	–	13	.500
Idaho	3	–	11	.214	7	–	19	.269

† Big Sky Conference tournament winner

1975–76 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Indiana	18	–	0	1.000	32	–	0	1.000
No. 9 Michigan	14	–	4	.778	25	–	7	.781
Purdue	11	–	7	.611	16	–	11	.593
Michigan State	10	–	8	.556	14	–	13	.519
Iowa	9	–	9	.500	19	–	10	.655
Minnesota	8	–	10	.444	16	–	10	.615
Illinois	7	–	11	.389	14	–	13	.519
Northwestern	7	–	11	.389	12	–	15	.444
Wisconsin	4	–	14	.222	10	–	16	.385
Ohio State	2	–	16	.111	6	–	20	.231

Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 ECC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
Saint Joseph's	4	–	1	.800	10	–	16	.385
Hofstra †	3	–	2	.600	18	–	12	.600
Temple	3	–	2	.600	9	–	18	.333
Drexel	3	–	2	.600	17	–	6	.739
American	1	–	4	.200	9	–	16	.360
La Salle	1	–	4	.200	11	–	15	.423
West
Lafayette	9	–	1	.900	19	–	7	.731
Rider	6	–	4	.600	14	–	13	.519
Bucknell	5	–	5	.500	13	–	13	.500
Delaware	4	–	6	.400	10	–	15	.400
West Chester	4	–	6	.400	8	–	17	.320
Lehigh	2	–	8	.200	9	–	15	.375

† 1976 ECC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 Ivy League men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Princeton	14	–	0	1.000	22	–	5	.815
Penn	11	–	3	.786	17	–	9	.654
Dartmouth	7	–	7	.500	16	–	10	.615
Columbia	6	–	8	.429	8	–	17	.320
Brown	6	–	8	.429	7	–	19	.269
Yale	5	–	9	.357	7	–	21	.250
Cornell	4	–	10	.286	8	–	18	.308
Harvard	3	–	11	.214	8	–	18	.308

Rankings from AP Poll^[19]

1975–76 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Tulane	1	–	0	1.000	18	–	9	.667
No. 12 Cincinnati †	2	–	1	.667	25	–	6	.806
Louisville	2	–	1	.667	20	–	8	.714
Memphis State	1	–	1	.500	21	–	9	.700
Georgia Tech	0	–	1	.000	13	–	14	.481
Saint Louis	0	–	2	.000	13	–	14	.481

† 1976 Metro Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[20]

1975–76 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 10 Western Michigan	15	–	1	.938	25	–	3	.893
Miami (Ohio)	14	–	2	.875	18	–	8	.692
Toledo	13	–	3	.813	18	–	7	.720
Central Michigan	8	–	8	.500	12	–	14	.462
Bowling Green State	8	–	8	.500	12	–	15	.444
Kent State	7	–	9	.438	12	–	14	.462
Ohio	7	–	9	.438	11	–	15	.423
Ball State	5	–	11	.313	11	–	14	.440
Northern Illinois	2	–	14	.125	5	–	21	.192
Eastern Michigan	1	–	15	.063	7	–	20	.259

Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Wichita State	10	–	2	.833	18	–	10	.643
Southern Illinois	9	–	3	.750	16	–	10	.615
West Texas State	8	–	4	.667	19	–	7	.731
New Mexico State	4	–	8	.333	15	–	12	.556
Bradley	4	–	8	.333	13	–	13	.500
Tulsa	4	–	8	.333	9	–	18	.333
Drake	3	–	9	.250	8	–	19	.296

Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Western Kentucky †	11	–	3	.786	20	–	9	.690
Austin Peay State	10	–	4	.714	20	–	7	.741
Morehead State	7	–	7	.500	13	–	14	.481
Tennessee Tech	7	–	7	.500	14	–	10	.583
Middle Tennessee	6	–	8	.429	16	–	12	.571
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	8	.429	10	–	15	.400
Murray State	5	–	9	.357	9	–	17	.346
East Tennessee State	4	–	10	.286	6	–	20	.231

† 1976 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 5 UCLA	12	–	2	.857	27	–	5	.844
Oregon State	10	–	4	.714	18	–	9	.667
Oregon	10	–	4	.714	19	–	11	.633
Washington	9	–	5	.643	22	–	6	.786
Washington State	8	–	6	.571	18	–	8	.692
California	4	–	10	.286	12	–	14	.462
Stanford	3	–	11	.214	9	–	18	.333
USC	0	–	14	.000	11	–	16	.407

Rankings from AP Poll^[21]

1975–76 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Cal State Fullerton	6	–	4	.600	15	–	10	.600
Long Beach State	6	–	4	.600	14	–	12	.538
San Jose State	5	–	5	.500	17	–	10	.630
San Diego State†	5	–	5	.500	16	–	13	.552
Pacific	4	–	6	.400	14	–	14	.500
Fresno State	4	–	6	.400	12	–	14	.462

† 1976 PCAA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[22]

1975–76 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 6 Alabama	15	–	3	.833	23	–	5	.821
No. 13 Tennessee	14	–	4	.778	21	–	6	.778
Vanderbilt	12	–	6	.667	16	–	11	.593
Kentucky	11	–	7	.611	20	–	10	.667
Auburn	11	–	7	.611	16	–	10	.615
Florida	7	–	11	.389	12	–	14	.462
Georgia	7	–	11	.389	12	–	15	.444
Mississippi State	6	–	12	.333	13	–	13	.500
LSU	5	–	13	.278	12	–	14	.462
Ole Miss	2	–	16	.111	6	–	21	.222

Rankings from AP Poll^[23]

1975–76 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
VMI†	9	–	3	.750	22	–	10	.688
William & Mary	8	–	3	.727	15	–	13	.536
Richmond	7	–	7	.500	14	–	14	.500
East Carolina	7	–	7	.500	11	–	15	.423
Appalachian State	6	–	6	.500	13	–	14	.481
The Citadel	6	–	7	.462	10	–	17	.370
Furman	5	–	7	.417	9	–	18	.333
Davidson	1	–	9	.100	5	–	21	.192

† Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 Southland Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Louisiana Tech	9	–	1	.900	15	–	11	.577
McNeese State	7	–	3	.700	16	–	11	.593
Lamar	6	–	4	.600	10	–	14	.417
Southwestern Louisiana	4	–	6	.400	7	–	19	.269
Arkansas State	3	–	7	.300	10	–	15	.400
Texas-Arlington	1	–	9	.100	6	–	21	.222

Rankings from AP Poll^[24]

1975–76 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Texas A&M	14	–	2	.875	21	–	6	.778
No. 16 Texas Tech†	13	–	3	.813	25	–	6	.806
SMU	10	–	6	.625	16	–	12	.571
Arkansas	9	–	7	.563	19	–	9	.679
Baylor	8	–	8	.500	12	–	15	.444
Houston	7	–	9	.438	17	–	11	.607
TCU	6	–	10	.375	11	–	16	.407
Texas	4	–	12	.250	9	–	17	.346
Rice	1	–	15	.063	3	–	24	.111

† 1976 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1975-76 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 20 Pepperdine	10	–	2	.833	22	–	6	.786
San Francisco	9	–	3	.750	22	–	8	.733
Nevada	7	–	5	.583	12	–	14	.462
Seattle*	6	–	6	.500	11	–	16	.407
Santa Clara	4	–	8	.333	10	–	16	.385
Loyola Marymount	4	–	8	.333	7	–	19	.269
Saint Mary's	2	–	10	.167	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll^[25]

1975-76 WAC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 15 Arizona	11	–	3	.786	24	–	9	.727
UTEP	9	–	5	.643	19	–	7	.731
Utah	9	–	5	.643	19	–	8	.704
New Mexico	8	–	6	.571	16	–	11	.593
BYU	6	–	8	.429	12	–	14	.462
Colorado State	6	–	8	.429	10	–	14	.417
Arizona State	5	–	9	.357	16	–	11	.593
Wyoming	2	–	12	.143	10	–	17	.370

Rankings from AP Poll

1975–76 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Massachusetts	11	–	1	.917	21	–	6	.778
Connecticut	7	–	5	.583	19	–	10	.655
Rhode Island	7	–	5	.583	14	–	12	.538
Vermont	6	–	6	.500	15	–	10	.600
Maine	5	–	7	.417	14	–	11	.560
New Hampshire	3	–	9	.250	8	–	18	.308
Boston University	3	–	9	.250	7	–	19	.269

Division I independents

A total of 77 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, Rutgers (31–2) had both the best winning percentage (.939) and the most wins.^[26]

1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Rutgers		–		–	31	–	2	.939
No. 3 UNLV		–		–	29	–	2	.935
No. 2 Marquette		–		–	27	–	2	.931
North Texas State		–		–	22	–	4	.846
No. 19 Centenary		–		–	22	–	5	.815
UNC Charlotte		–		–	24	–	6	.800
Pan American		–		–	20	–	5	.800
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–	23	–	6	.793
St. John's		–		–	23	–	6	.793
Florida State		–		–	21	–	6	.778
Oral Roberts		–		–	20	–	6	.769
Georgetown		–		–	21	–	7	.750
Virginia Tech		–		–	21	–	7	.750
George Washington		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Illinois State		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Creighton		–		–	19	–	7	.731
Northeast Louisiana		–		–	18	–	7	.720
Detroit		–		–	19	–	8	.704
South Florida		–		–	19	–	8	.704
New Orleans		–		–	18	–	8	.692
No. 17 DePaul		–		–	20	–	9	.690
Syracuse		–		–	20	–	9	.690
Holy Cross		–		–	22	–	10	.688
Seton Hall		–		–	18	–	9	.667
South Alabama		–		–	18	–	9	.667
South Carolina		–		–	18	–	9	.667
Providence		–		–	21	–	11	.656
Stetson		–		–	17	–	9	.654
UC Santa Barbara		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Air Force		–		–	16	–	9	.640
VCU		–		–	16	–	9	.640
St. Peter's		–		–	19	–	11	.633
Portland State		–		–	17	–	10	.630
St. Bonaventure		–		–	17	–	10	.630
Mercer		–		–	15	–	10	.600
Villanova		–		–	16	–	11	.593
Niagara		–		–	17	–	12	.586
Long Island		–		–	15	–	12	.556
Colgate		–		–	13	–	11	.542
Xavier		–		–	14	–	12	.538
West Virginia		–		–	15	–	13	.536
Georgia State		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Indiana State		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Dayton		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Hardin–Simmons		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Jacksonville		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Manhattan		–		–	14	–	14	.500
St. Francis (PA)		–		–	14	–	14	.500
St. Francis (NY)		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Marshall		–		–	13	–	14	.481
Duquesne		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Northeastern		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Fairfield		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Utah State		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Butler		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Denver		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Pittsburgh		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Army		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Iona		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Milwaukee		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Southern Miss		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Navy		–		–	10	–	14	.417
Fairleigh Dickinson		–		–	9	–	13	.409
Georgia Southern		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Hawaii		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Penn State		–		–	10	–	15	.400
Buffalo		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Loyola (IL)		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Canisius		–		–	10	–	17	.370
Boston College		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Oklahoma City		–		–	9	–	18	.333
Portland		–		–	9	–	18	.333
Fordham		–		–	7	–	19	.269
Cleveland State		–		–	6	–	19	.240
Houston Baptist		–		–	5	–	21	.192
Baptist		–		–	3	–	23	.115
Samford		–		–	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Saint Joseph's & Villanova	Charlie Wise, La Salle

Saint Joseph's and Villanova both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National semifinals			National finals

E	Rutgers	70

MW	Michigan	86
			MW	Michigan	68

			ME	Indiana	86
ME	Indiana	65

W	UCLA	51	Third place


			E	Rutgers	92

			W	UCLA	106

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals		Finals

UNC Charlotte	80

NC State	79
		UNC Charlotte	67

		Kentucky	71
Kentucky	79

Providence	78	Third place


		NC State	74

		Providence	69

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Kent Benson	C	Junior	Indiana
Adrian Dantley	F	Junior	Notre Dame
John Lucas	G	Senior	Maryland
Scott May	F	Senior	Indiana
Richard Washington	F/C	Junior	UCLA

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Phil Ford	G	Sophomore	North Carolina
Bernard King	F	Sophomore	Tennessee
Mitch Kupchak	F/C	Senior	North Carolina
Phil Sellers	G	Senior	Rutgers
Earl Tatum	G/F	Senior	Marquette

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	New Coach
Michigan State	Gus Ganakas	Jud Heathcote
Montana	Jud Heathcote	Jim Brandenburg
Ohio State	Fred Taylor	Eldon Miller
Syracuse	Roy Danforth	Jim Boeheim
Texas	Leon Black	Abe Lemons
Texas–Pan American	Abe Lemons	Bill White
Tulane	Charles Moir	Roy Danforth
Virginia Tech	Don DeVoe	Charles Moir
Wyoming	Moe Radovich	Don DeVoe

References

^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 13. 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.
^ "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 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
^ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01
^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
^ 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
^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
^ "SWC honors told". The Port Arthur News. March 7, 1976. p. 26. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
^ sports-reference.com 1975-76 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
^ sports-reference.com 1975-76 Ivy Group Season Summary
^ sports-reference.com 1975-76 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary
^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ "1975-76 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
^ sports-reference.com 1975-76 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^ "1975-76 Men's Southland Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
^ 1975-76 Men's West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary Sports Reference Accessed August 20, 2024|special-note = * – Overall record adjusted to 12–15.
^ "1975-76 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[ncaaruleshistoryp12-3] "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.

[4] "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 25, 2024.

[ESPN-5] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[6] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[7] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[8] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14

[9] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[10] Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01

[11] 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14

[12] 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06

[13] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[14] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[15] 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

[16] "SWC honors told". The Port Arthur News. March 7, 1976. p. 26. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

[varsitypride-17] Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments

[18] sports-reference.com 1975-76 Big Eight Conference Season Summary

[19] sports-reference.com 1975-76 Ivy Group Season Summary

[20] sports-reference.com 1975-76 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary

[21] "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

[22] "1975-76 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

[23] sports-reference.com 1975-76 Southeastern Conference Season Summary

[24] "1975-76 Men's Southland Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

[25] 1975-76 Men's West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary Sports Reference Accessed August 20, 2024|special-note = * – Overall record adjusted to 12–15.

[26] "1975-76 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

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v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Preseason AP No. 1	Indiana Hoosiers^[1]^[2]
NCAA Tournament	1976
Tournament dates	March 13 – 29, 1976
National Championship	Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA Champions	Indiana Hoosiers
Helms National Champions	Indiana Hoosiers
Other champions	Kentucky Wildcats (NIT)
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)	Scott May, Indiana
Player of the Year (Helms)	Kent Benson, Indiana, & Scott May, Indiana
← 1974–75 1976–77 →