1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season

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.

1955–56 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None San Francisco (UP)
NCAA Tournament	1956
Tournament dates	March 12, 1956 – March 24, 1956
National Championship	McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois
NCAA Champions	San Francisco
Helms National Champions	San Francisco
Other champions	Louisville (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Bill Russell, San Francisco
← 1954–55 1956–57 →

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 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

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

Pre-season polls

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

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

Conference

Conference winners and tournaments

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

1955–56 ACC men's basketball standings v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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

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 v t e 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

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

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

NCAA tournament

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

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

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

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

Consensus All-American teams

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

• 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.

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

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.