1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1957, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 22, 1958, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Wildcats won their fourth NCAA national championship with an 84–72 victory over the Seattle Chieftains.

1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1958
Tournament dates	March 11, 1958 – March 22, 1958
National Championship	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	Kentucky Wildcats
Helms National Champions	Kentucky Wildcats
Other champions	Xavier Musketeers (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Elgin Baylor, Seattle Chieftains
← 1956–57 1958–59 →

Season headlines

• The NCAA University Division grew to 179 teams,^[1] an increase from 156 the previous season.^[2]
• Adolph Rupp won his fourth championship as he led the Kentucky Wildcats to an 84–72 win over the Seattle Chieftains and their star, Elgin Baylor. The starting unit was nicknamed the "Fiddlin' Five," after a quip by Rupp that his team were fiddlers when he really needed violinists. The Wildcats fought back from two 11-point deficits to gain the victory.^[3]
• Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson became the first player to lead the nation is scoring in his first varsity season. The sophomore (freshmen were ineligible) averaged 35.1 points per game for the Bearcats. He also became the first player to score 50 or more points in an NCAA tournament game when he scored 56 against Arkansas in a regional third-place game on March 15, 1958.^[4]
• Dom Flora, a senior point guard at Washington and Lee University, finished his college career with 2,310 points and 696 free throws made, both of which were ranked fifth in their respective categories in college basketball history at the end of the 1957–58 season.^[5]
• Future Hall of Fame coach Howard Cann of NYU retired at the conclusion of the season, after 35 years at the helm.
• The NCAA championship game saw the first use of an orange basketball. Previously, the NCAA had used brown basketballs.^[4]
• The Western New York Little Three Conference disbanded at the end of the season.

Major rule changes

Beginning in 1957–58, the following rules changes were implemented:

• Offensive goaltending was banned so that no player from either team could touch the ball or basket when the ball was on the basket's rim or above the cylinder. The only exception was the shooter in the original act of shooting.
• One free throw for each common foul was taken for the first six personal fouls by one team in each half, and the one-and-one was used thereafter.
• On uniforms, the single-digit numbers "1" and "2" and any digit greater than "5" in player numbers were prohibited as a means of simplifying referees' hand signals to the scorer's table when calling a foul. A failure to comply resulted in the assessment of a technical foul against the offending team.^[6][7][8] The single-digit numbers "1" and "2" were not permitted again until the 1999–2000 season^[9] and digits greater than 5 were not permitted again until the 2023–24 season.^[8]
• A ball that passes over the backboard – either front-to-back or back-to-front — was considered out of bounds.^[10]

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Cincinnati Bearcats	NCAA University Division independent	Missouri Valley Conference
Detroit Titans	Missouri Valley Conference	NCAA University Division independent
East Tennessee State Buccaneers	non-NCAA University Division	Ohio Valley Conference
Fresno State Bulldogs	West Coast Athletic Conference	NCAA University Division independent
North Texas State Mean Green	non-NCAA University Division	Missouri Valley Conference
Texas Tech Red Raiders	NCAA University Division independent	Southwest Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[11]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke	Pete Brennan, North Carolina[12]	1958 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Maryland
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Bob Boozer, Kansas State[13]	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None Selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona State	None Selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Dartmouth	None Selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. John's	None Selected	No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Toledo	None Selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Cincinnati	None Selected	No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Idaho State	None Selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Tennessee Tech	None Selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	California & Oregon State	None Selected	No Tournament California defeated Oregon State in a single-game conference playoff
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None Selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Dom Flora, Washington and Lee[14]	1958 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia[15]
Southwest Conference	Arkansas & SMU	Rick Herrscher, SMU (awarded by Coach magazine)	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	San Francisco	Mike Farmer, San Francisco, & Leroy Wright, Pacific[16]	No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference	St. Bonaventure		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1957–58 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Duke 11 – 3   .786 18 – 7   .720 No. 20 NC State 10 – 4   .714 18 – 6   .750 No. 13 North Carolina 10 – 4   .714 19 – 7   .731 No. 6 Maryland † 9 – 5   .643 22 – 7   .759 Virginia 6 – 8   .429 10 – 13   .435 Clemson 4 – 10   .286 8 – 16   .333 South Carolina 3 – 11   .214 5 – 19   .208 Wake Forest 3 – 11   .214 6 – 17   .261 † 1958 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[17]	1957–58 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Kansas State 10 – 2   .833 22 – 5   .815 No. 7 Kansas 8 – 4   .667 18 – 5   .783 Iowa State 8 – 4   .667 15 – 8   .652 Oklahoma 5 – 7   .417 13 – 10   .565 Nebraska 5 – 7   .417 10 – 13   .435 Missouri 3 – 9   .250 9 – 13   .409 Colorado 3 – 9   .250 8 – 15   .348 No. 19 Oklahoma State 0 – 0   – 21 – 8   .724 Rankings from AP Poll[18]	1957–58 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 12 Indiana 10 – 4   .714 13 – 11   .542 No. 17 Michigan State 9 – 5   .643 16 – 6   .727 Purdue 9 – 5   .643 14 – 8   .636 Northwestern 8 – 6   .571 13 – 9   .591 Ohio State 8 – 6   .571 9 – 13   .409 Iowa 7 – 7   .500 13 – 9   .591 Michigan 6 – 8   .429 11 – 11   .500 Illinois 5 – 9   .357 11 – 11   .500 Minnesota 5 – 9   .357 9 – 12   .429 Wisconsin 3 – 11   .214 8 – 14   .364 Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Border Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Arizona State–Tempe 8 – 2   .800 13 – 13   .500 New Mexico A&M 7 – 3   .700 14 – 9   .609 Texas Western 5 – 5   .500 14 – 9   .609 Hardin–Simmons 4 – 6   .400 11 – 14   .440 Arizona 4 – 6   .400 10 – 15   .400 West Texas State 2 – 8   .200 3 – 15   .167 Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Dartmouth 11 – 3   .786 22 – 5   .815 Princeton 9 – 5   .643 15 – 8   .652 Yale 9 – 5   .643 14 – 10   .583 Pennsylvania 8 – 6   .571 13 – 12   .520 Harvard 7 – 7   .500 16 – 9   .640 Cornell 5 – 9   .357 11 – 11   .500 Brown 5 – 9   .357 10 – 15   .400 Columbia 2 – 12   .143 6 – 18   .250 Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. John's 6 – 0   1.000 18 – 8   .692 Manhattan 3 – 1   .750 16 – 10   .615 St. Francis (NY) 2 – 1   .667 14 – 9   .609 NYU 2 – 2   .500 10 – 11   .476 CCNY 2 – 5   .286 9 – 8   .529 Fordham 1 – 3   .250 15 – 9   .625 Brooklyn 0 – 4   .000 11 – 7   .611 Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Miami 12 – 0   1.000 18 – 9   .667 Marshall 9 – 3   .750 17 – 7   .708 Ohio 7 – 5   .583 16 – 8   .667 Bowling Green 6 – 6   .500 15 – 8   .652 Toledo 4 – 8   .333 9 – 14   .391 Kent State 3 – 9   .250 9 – 14   .391 Western Michigan 1 – 11   .083 5 – 19   .208 Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Cincinnati 13 – 1   .929 25 – 3   .893 No. 14 Bradley 12 – 2   .857 20 – 7   .741 Saint Louis 9 – 5   .643 16 – 10   .615 Wichita Municipal 7 – 7   .500 14 – 12   .538 Houston 6 – 8   .429 9 – 16   .360 Drake 4 – 10   .286 13 – 12   .520 Tulsa 4 – 10   .286 7 – 19   .269 North Texas State 1 – 13   .071 3 – 18   .143 Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Wyoming 10 – 4   .714 13 – 14   .481 Utah 9 – 5   .643 20 – 7   .741 Colorado State 9 – 5   .643 14 – 11   .560 BYU 9 – 5   .643 13 – 13   .500 Montana 8 – 6   .571 12 – 10   .545 Denver 8 – 6   .571 13 – 12   .520 Utah State 3 – 11   .214 4 – 20   .167 New Mexico 0 – 14   .000 3 – 21   .125 Rankings from AP Poll
1957–58 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Tennessee Tech 8 – 2   .800 17 – 9   .654 Morehead State 6 – 4   .600 13 – 10   .565 Western Kentucky State 5 – 5   .500 14 – 11   .560 Murray State 4 – 6   .400 8 – 16   .333 Middle Tennessee –   – 11 – 10   .524 Eastern Kentucky State 3 – 7   .300 8 – 11   .421 East Tennessee State –   – 7 – 18   .280 Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT California † 12 – 4   .750 19 – 9   .679 Oregon State 12 – 4   .750 20 – 6   .769 UCLA 10 – 6   .625 16 – 10   .615 Idaho 9 – 7   .563 17 – 9   .654 USC 8 – 8   .500 12 – 13   .480 Stanford 7 – 9   .438 12 – 13   .480 Oregon 6 – 10   .375 13 – 11   .542 Washington 5 – 11   .313 8 – 18   .308 Washington State 3 – 13   .188 7 – 19   .269 † Conference playoff game[19][20][21] winner Rankings from AP Poll[22][23]	1957–58 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 Kentucky 12 – 2   .857 23 – 6   .793 No. 16 Auburn 11 – 3   .786 16 – 6   .727 No. 15 Mississippi State 9 – 5   .643 20 – 5   .800 Alabama 9 – 5   .643 17 – 9   .654 Tennessee 8 – 6   .571 16 – 7   .696 Georgia Tech 8 – 6   .571 15 – 11   .577 Vanderbilt 7 – 7   .500 14 – 11   .560 Ole Miss 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 Florida 5 – 9   .357 12 – 9   .571 Tulane 3 – 11   .214 8 – 15   .348 LSU 3 – 11   .214 7 – 18   .280 Georgia 3 – 11   .214 7 – 19   .269 Rankings from AP Poll[24]
1957–58 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 West Virginia † 12 – 0   1.000 26 – 2   .929 Virginia Tech 10 – 5   .667 11 – 8   .579 George Washington 8 – 4   .667 12 – 11   .522 The Citadel 9 – 6   .600 16 – 11   .593 Richmond 8 – 8   .500 14 – 12   .538 William & Mary 9 – 9   .500 15 – 14   .517 Furman 4 – 8   .333 10 – 16   .385 Davidson 4 – 8   .333 9 – 15   .375 Washington and Lee 4 – 9   .308 9 – 16   .360 VMI 1 – 12   .077 4 – 17   .190 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Arkansas 9 – 5   .643 17 – 10   .630 SMU 9 – 5   .643 15 – 10   .600 TCU 8 – 6   .571 17 – 7   .708 Texas Tech 8 – 6   .571 15 – 8   .652 Rice 7 – 7   .500 13 – 11   .542 Texas A&M 7 – 7   .500 11 – 13   .458 Texas 5 – 9   .357 10 – 13   .435 Baylor 3 – 11   .214 5 – 19   .208 Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 San Francisco 12 – 0   1.000 25 – 2   .926 Saint Mary's 8 – 4   .667 11 – 15   .423 Santa Clara 6 – 6   .500 13 – 11   .542 Pepperdine 5 – 7   .417 15 – 11   .577 San Jose State 5 – 7   .417 13 – 13   .500 Pacific 5 – 7   .417 9 – 15   .375 Loyola (Calif.) 1 – 11   .083 6 – 18   .250 Rankings from AP Poll[25]
1957–58 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. Bonaventure 4 – 0   1.000 21 – 5   .808 Niagara 0 – 2   .000 18 – 7   .720 Canisius 0 – 2   .000 2 – 19   .095 Rankings from AP Poll	1957–58 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 9 – 1   .900 17 – 10   .630 Vermont 5 – 5   .500 15 – 10   .600 Massachusetts 5 – 5   .500 13 – 12   .520 New Hampshire 4 – 6   .400 10 – 12   .455 Maine 4 – 6   .400 8 – 12   .400 Rhode Island 3 – 7   .300 4 – 17   .190

University Division independents

A total of 49 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Temple (27–3) finished with both the best winning percentage (.900) and the most wins.^[26]

1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Temple –   – 27 – 3   .900 No. 11 Dayton –   – 25 – 4   .862 No. 8 Notre Dame –   – 24 – 5   .828 Saint Francis (Pa.) –   – 20 – 5   .800 No. 18 Seattle –   – 23 – 6   .793 Boston University –   – 15 – 5   .750 Iona –   – 18 – 6   .750 Providence –   – 18 – 6   .750 Air Force –   – 17 – 6   .739 Pittsburgh –   – 18 – 7   .720 Boston College –   – 15 – 6   .714 Fresno State –   – 19 – 8   .704 Montana State –   – 18 – 8   .692 Memphis State –   – 15 – 7   .682 Bucknell –   – 16 – 8   .667 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 16 – 8   .667 Saint Joseph's –   – 18 – 9   .667 Holy Cross –   – 16 – 9   .640 La Salle –   – 16 – 9   .640 Loyola (La.) –   – 16 – 9   .640 Miami (Fla.) –   – 14 – 8   .636 Xavier –   – 19 – 11   .633 Portland –   – 18 – 11   .621 Gonzaga –   – 16 – 10   .615 Lafayette –   – 16 – 10   .615 Butler –   – 15 – 10   .600 Kentucky Wesleyan –   – 14 – 10   .583 Oklahoma City –   – 14 – 12   .538 Syracuse –   – 11 – 10   .524 Washington University –   – 11 – 10   .524 Villanova –   – 12 – 11   .522 Army –   – 13 – 12   .520 Detroit –   – 13 – 12   .520 Louisville –   – 13 – 12   .520 Marquette –   – 11 – 11   .500 Muhlenberg –   – 12 – 12   .500 Navy –   – 10 – 10   .500 Georgetown –   – 10 – 11   .476 Duquesne –   – 10 – 12   .455 Lehigh –   – 8 – 10   .444 Penn State –   – 8 – 11   .421 Delaware –   – 8 – 12   .400 DePaul –   – 8 – 12   .400 Florida State –   – 9 – 16   .360 Valparaiso –   – 7 – 14   .333 Rutgers –   – 7 – 15   .318 Colgate –   – 6 – 16   .273 Seton Hall –   – 7 – 19   .269 Siena –   – 5 – 15   .250 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Temple	Guy Rodgers, Temple

Temple finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Points per game				Rebound Percentage				Field goal percentage				Free throw percentage
Player	School	PPG		Player	School	REB%		Player	School	FG%		Player	School	FT%
Oscar Robertson	Cincinnati	35.1		Boo Ellis	Niagara	.262		Ralph Crosthwaite	W. Kentucky State	61.0		Semi Mintz	Davidson	88.2
Elgin Baylor	Seattle	32.5		Al Inniss	St. Francis (NY)	.248		Oscar Robertson	Cincinnati	57.1		Gerald Myers	Texas Tech	87.0
Wilt Chamberlain	Kansas	30.1		Elgin Baylor	Seattle	.235		Pete Brunone	Manhattan	56.2		Arlen Clark	Oklahoma State	86.5
Bailey Howell	Mississippi State	27.8		Wilt Chamberlain	Kansas	.216		Bob Goodall	Tulsa	55.7		Joe Hobbs	Florida	86.0
Red Murrell	Drake	26.7		Joe Cincebox	Syracuse	.206		Hal Greer	Marshall	54.6		Hub Reed	Oklahoma City	85.1

Polls

Main article: 1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The final top 20 from the AP and Coaches Polls.^[27]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 West Virginia 2 Cincinnati 3 Kansas State 4 San Francisco 5 Temple 6 Maryland 7 Kansas 8 Notre Dame 9 Kentucky 10 Duke 11 Dayton 12 Indiana 13 North Carolina 14 Bradley 15 Mississippi State 16 Auburn 17 Michigan State 18 Seattle 19 Oklahoma State 20 NC State

Coaches Ranking Team 1 West Virginia 2 Cincinnati 3 San Francisco 4 Kansas State 5 Temple 6 Maryland 7 Notre Dame 8 Kansas 9 Dayton 10 Indiana 11 Bradley 12 North Carolina 13 Duke 14 Kentucky 15 Oklahoma State 16 Oregon State NC State 18 St. Bonaventure 19 Seattle Michigan State Wyoming

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main article: 1958 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats won their fourth National championship by defeating the Seattle Chieftains 84–72 on March 22 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.^[27] Seattle's Elgin Baylor led all tournament scorers and was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Final Four

	National semifinals					National championship game
	M2	Kentucky	61
	W1	Temple	60
						2	Seattle	72
						1	Kentucky	84
	S1	Seattle	73
	E3	Kansas State	51			Third place
						3	Temple	67
						4	Kansas State	57

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1958 National Invitation Tournament

The Xavier Musketeers entered the National Invitation Tournament with a 15–11 record, but surprised the field, defeating fellow Ohio school Dayton 78–74 to win the NIT.^[28] The Musketeers' Hank Stein was named tournament MVP.

NIT Semifinals and Final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

	Semifinals					Final
	1	St. John’s	56
	3	Dayton	80
						3	Dayton	74
						2	Xavier	78
	2	St. Bonaventure	53
	2	Xavier	72			Third place
						1	St. John's	69
						2	St. Bonaventure	84

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1958 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Elgin Baylor	F	Junior	Seattle
Bob Boozer	F	Junior	Kansas State
Wilt Chamberlain	C	Junior	Kansas
Don Hennon	G	Junior	Pittsburgh
Oscar Robertson	G	Sophomore	Cincinnati
Guy Rodgers	G	Senior	Temple

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Pete Brennan	F	Senior	North Carolina
Archie Dees	F/C	Senior	Indiana
Mike Farmer	F	Senior	San Francisco
Dave Gambee	F	Senior	Oregon State
Bailey Howell	F	Junior	Mississippi State

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Foundation Player of the Year: Elgin Baylor, Seattle
• UPI Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

Major coach of the year awards

• UPI Coach of the Year: Tex Winter, Kansas State

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Guy Rodgers, Temple
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC): Jim Cunningham, Fordham

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Columbia	Lou Rossini		Archie Oldham
Drake	John E. Benington		Maury John
Duquesne	Dudey Moore		Red Manning
Iowa	Bucky O'Connor		Sharm Scheuerman	O'Connor died in an automobile accident on April 22, 1958.[29]
La Salle	Jim Pollard		Dudey Moore
Loyola (LA)	Jim Hading		Hank Kuzma
Marquette	Jack Nagle		Eddie Hickey
Memphis State	Eugene Lambert		Bob Vanatta
New Mexico	Bill Stockton		Bob Sweeney
NYU	Howard Cann		Lou Rossini
Ohio State	Floyd Stahl		Fred Taylor
Saint Louis	Eddie Hickey		John E. Benington
Seattle	John Castellani		Vincent Cazzetta	After taking the Chieftains to the NCAA title game, Castellani resigned amid recruiting violations that resulted in a two-year post-season ban for the university.[30]
South Carolina	Frank Johnson		Walt Hambrick
Vanderbilt	Bob Polk		Roy Skinner (interim)	Assistant coach Skinner served as interim coach for the season after Polk suffered a heart attack in the fall of 1957.[31]
Washington State	Jack Friel		Marv Harshman
Western Michigan	Joe Hoy		Don Boven