1954–55 NCAA men's 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.

1954–55 NCAA men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1955
Tournament dates	March 8 – 19, 1955
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	San Francisco Dons
Helms National Champions	San Francisco Dons
Other champions	Duquesne Dukes (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Bill Russell, San Francisco Dons
← 1953–54 1955–56 →

Rule changes

• 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]

Season headlines

• 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.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1954–55 NCAA men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[4][5]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 La Salle 2 Kentucky 3 Duquesne 4 Iowa 5 Holy Cross 6 Indiana 7 Dayton 8 Niagara 9 Notre Dame 10 NC State 11 Oklahoma A&M 12 Saint Louis 13 UCLA 14 Illinois 15 Wichita 16 Utah 17 (tie) Duke Wake Forest 19 Penn State 20 Western Kentucky State

UP Coaches Ranking Team 1 La Salle 2 Iowa 3 Duquesne 4 Kentucky 5 Indiana 6 Illinois 7 NC State 8 Holy Cross 9 UCLA 10 Niagara 11 Notre Dame 12 Dayton 13 (tie) Saint Louis Utah 15 USC 16 DePaul 17 (tie) Oklahoma A&M Oregon State 19 Cincinnati 20 Wichita

Arenas

• 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]

Regular season

Conference

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[7]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	NC State	Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest[8]	1955 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Seven Conference	Colorado	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Iowa	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Texas Tech & West Texas A&M		No Tournament
California Basketball Association	San Francisco	Ken Sears, Santa Clara	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Manhattan		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Miami (OH)	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Saint Louis & Tulsa	None selected	No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Utah		No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected	1955 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Eastern Kentucky State
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State (North); UCLA (South)		No Tournament; Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference playoff series
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Darrell Floyd, Furman[9]	1955 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	Niagara		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1954–55 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 NC State † 12 – 2   .857 28 – 4   .875 Duke 11 – 3   .786 20 – 8   .714 Maryland 10 – 4   .714 17 – 7   .708 Wake Forest 8 – 6   .571 17 – 10   .630 North Carolina 8 – 6   .571 10 – 11   .476 Virginia 5 – 9   .357 14 – 15   .483 South Carolina 2 – 12   .143 10 – 17   .370 Clemson 0 – 14   .000 2 – 21   .087 † 1955 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1954–55 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings v t e 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 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Iowa 11 – 3   .786 19 – 7   .731 No. 18 Illinois 10 – 4   .714 17 – 5   .773 No. 11 Minnesota 10 – 4   .714 15 – 7   .682 Michigan State 8 – 6   .571 13 – 9   .591 Northwestern 7 – 7   .500 12 – 10   .545 Purdue 5 – 9   .357 12 – 10   .545 Michigan 5 – 9   .357 11 – 11   .500 Wisconsin 5 – 9   .357 10 – 12   .455 Indiana 5 – 9   .357 8 – 14   .364 Ohio State 4 – 10   .286 10 – 12   .455 Rankings from AP Poll
1954–55 Border Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT West Texas State 9 – 3   .750 15 – 7   .682 Texas Tech 9 – 3   .750 18 – 7   .720 Texas Western 8 – 4   .667 13 – 8   .619 Arizona State–Tempe 8 – 4   .667 10 – 14   .417 Hardin–Simmons 4 – 8   .333 9 – 15   .375 Arizona 3 – 9   .250 8 – 17   .320 New Mexico A&M 1 – 11   .083 6 – 13   .316 Rankings from AP Poll	1954–55 California Basketball Association men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 San Francisco 12 – 0   1.000 28 – 1   .966 San Jose State 7 – 5   .583 16 – 9   .640 Santa Clara 6 – 6   .500 13 – 11   .542 Pacific 4 – 8   .333 11 – 15   .423 Saint Mary's 1 – 11   .083 6 – 19   .240 Rankings from AP Poll[12]	1954–55 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings v t e 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 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Manhattan 6 – 0   1.000 18 – 5   .783 St. John's 5 – 11   .313 9 – 0   1.000 Fordham 3 – 2   .600 18 – 9   .667 St. Francis (NY) 3 – 3   .500 18 – 8   .692 Brooklyn 1 – 3   .250 7 – 11   .389 NYU 1 – 3   .250 7 – 13   .350 CCNY 0 – 6   .000 8 – 10   .444 Rankings from AP Poll	1954–55 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Miami (Ohio) 11 – 3   .786 14 – 9   .609 Marshall 10 – 4   .714 17 – 4   .810 Ohio 9 – 5   .643 16 – 5   .762 Western Michigan 9 – 5   .643 12 – 10   .545 Kent State 5 – 9   .357 8 – 14   .364 Bowling Green 5 – 9   .357 6 – 16   .273 Toledo 4 – 10   .286 5 – 17   .227 Western Reserve 3 – 11   .214 8 – 14   .364 Rankings from AP Poll	1954–55 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e 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 v t e 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 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Western Kentucky State 8 – 2   .800 18 – 10   .643 Eastern Kentucky State† 6 – 4   .600 15 – 8   .652 Murray State 6 – 4   .600 11 – 15   .423 Morehead State –   – 14 – 10   .583 Tennessee Tech –   – 9 – 11   .450 Middle Tennessee –   – 11 – 16   .407 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1954–55 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North 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 South 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 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Kentucky 12 – 2   .857 23 – 3   .885 No. 12 Alabama 11 – 3   .786 19 – 5   .792 No. 17 Vanderbilt 9 – 5   .643 16 – 6   .727 Tulane 9 – 5   .643 14 – 6   .700 Tennessee 8 – 6   .571 15 – 7   .682 Georgia Tech 7 – 7   .500 12 – 13   .480 Georgia 7 – 7   .500 9 – 16   .360 Auburn 6 – 8   .429 11 – 9   .550 Florida 5 – 9   .357 12 – 10   .545 Ole Miss 5 – 9   .357 8 – 15   .348 LSU 3 – 11   .214 6 – 18   .250 Mississippi State 2 – 12   .143 6 – 17   .261 Rankings from AP Poll[14]	1954–55 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 19 West Virginia † 9 – 1   .900 19 – 11   .633 No. 14 George Washington 8 – 2   .800 24 – 6   .800 Richmond 10 – 4   .714 19 – 9   .679 Washington and Lee 8 – 5   .615 16 – 13   .552 Furman 6 – 4   .600 17 – 10   .630 William & Mary 7 – 5   .583 11 – 14   .440 Davidson 4 – 6   .400 8 – 13   .381 VMI 4 – 9   .308 8 – 15   .348 Virginia Tech 4 – 14   .222 7 – 20   .259 The Citadel 0 – 10   .000 0 – 17   .000 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1954–55 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e 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 v t e 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	1954–55 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 7 – 0   1.000 20 – 5   .800 Vermont 4 – 1   .800 6 – 15   .286 Massachusetts 4 – 2   .667 10 – 14   .417 Rhode Island 5 – 3   .625 17 – 10   .630 Maine 1 – 7   .125 4 – 13   .235 New Hampshire 1 – 9   .100 4 – 14   .222

Major independents

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]

1954–55 NCAA men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Marquette –   – 24 – 3   .889 Lafayette –   – 23 – 3   .885 No. 9 Dayton –   – 25 – 4   .862 No. 6 Duquesne –   – 22 – 4   .846 No. 3 La Salle –   – 26 – 5   .839 Seattle –   – 22 – 7   .759 Holy Cross –   – 19 – 7   .731 DePaul –   – 16 – 6   .727 Cincinnati –   – 21 – 8   .724 Louisville –   – 19 – 8   .704 Seton Hall –   – 17 – 9   .654 Penn State –   – 18 – 10   .643 Villanova –   – 18 – 10   .643 Loyola (Calif.) –   – 16 – 9   .640 John Carroll –   – 14 – 9   .609 Loyola (La.) –   – 14 – 9   .609 Notre Dame –   – 14 – 10   .583 Gonzaga –   – 15 – 11   .577 Muhlenberg –   – 14 – 11   .560 Colgate –   – 11 – 9   .550 Navy –   – 11 – 9   .550 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 13 – 11   .542 Valparaiso –   – 13 – 11   .542 Temple –   – 11 – 10   .524 Army –   – 9 – 9   .500 Xavier –   – 13 – 13   .500 Georgetown –   – 12 – 13   .480 Iona –   – 10 – 11   .476 Lehigh –   – 10 – 11   .476 Syracuse –   – 10 – 11   .476 Saint Joseph's –   – 12 – 14   .462 Miami (Fla.) –   – 9 – 11   .450 Drake –   – 9 – 12   .429 Butler –   – 10 – 14   .417 Portland –   – 9 – 13   .409 Pittsburgh –   – 10 – 16   .385 Washington University –   – 8 – 14   .364 Oklahoma City –   – 9 – 18   .333 Bradley –   – 9 – 20   .310 Boston College –   – 8 – 18   .308 Creighton –   – 5 – 14   .263 Siena –   – 3 – 13   .188 Bucknell –   – 3 – 18   .143 Rutgers –   – 2 – 22   .083 Rankings from AP Poll

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1955 NCAA basketball tournament and 1955 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals				National finals
	Iowa	73
	La Salle	76
					La Salle	63
					San Francisco	77
	Colorado	50
	San Francisco	62			Third place
					Iowa	54
					Colorado	75

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1955 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Duquesne	65
	Cincinnati	61
					Duquesne	70
					Dayton	58
	St. Francis (Pa.)	73
	Dayton	79			Third place
					Cincinnati	96
					St. Francis (Pa.)	91

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1955 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Dick Garmaker	G	Senior	Minnesota
Tom Gola	F	Senior	La Salle
Sihugo Green	G	Junior	Duquesne
Dick Ricketts	F/C	Senior	Duquesne
Bill Russell	C	Junior	San Francisco

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Darrell Floyd	G	Junior	Furman
Robin Freeman	G	Junior	Ohio State
Dickie Hemric	C	Senior	Wake Forest
Don Schlundt	C	Senior	Indiana
Ronnie Shavlik	F/C	Junior	North Carolina State

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Bill Russell, San Francisco
• UP Player of the Year: Tom Gola, La Salle

Major coach of the year awards

• UP Coach of the Year: Phil Woolpert, San Francisco

Other major awards

• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Ed Conlin, Fordham

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
La Salle	Ken Loeffler		Jim Pollard
Oklahoma	Bruce Drake		Doyle Parrack
Oklahoma City	Doyle Parrack		Abe Lemons
Texas A&M	John Floyd		Ken Loeffler