1960–61 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 1960–61 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University. The team's head coach was Fred Taylor. The team finished with an overall record of 27–1 and were undefeated in Big Ten conference play. In the 1961 NCAA Tournament Ohio State made it all the way to the championship game but lost to Cincinnati 70–65 in overtime.

1960–61 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
Big Ten Champions NCAA Tournament, runner-up
National Championship Game, L 65-70 OT vs. Cincinnati
Conference	Big Ten
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	27–1 (14–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Fred Taylor
Home arena	St. John Arena
Seasons ← 1959–60 1961–62 →

1960–61 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Ohio State	14	–	0		1.000			27	–	1		.964
No. 8 Iowa	10	–	4		.714			18	–	6		.750
Purdue	10	–	4		.714			16	–	7		.696
Indiana	8	–	6		.571			15	–	9		.625
Minnesota	8	–	6		.571			10	–	13		.435
Northwestern	6	–	8		.429			10	–	12		.455
Illinois	5	–	9		.357			9	–	15		.375
Wisconsin	4	–	10		.286			7	–	17		.292
Michigan State	3	–	11		.214			7	–	17		.292
Michigan	2	–	12		.143			6	–	18		.250
Rankings from https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-ten/1961.html

Roster

1960–61 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 3 Mel Nowell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr East Columbus, Ohio G 5 John Havlicek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Bridgeport Bridgeport, Ohio F/C 11 Jerry Lucas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Middletown Middletown, Ohio G 21 Larry Siegfried 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Shelby Shelby, Ohio F 24 Bob Knight 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr Orrville Orrville, Ohio	Head coach Fred Taylor Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

NCAA basketball tournament

• Mideast
  • Ohio State 56, Louisville 55
  • Ohio State 87, Kentucky 74
• Final Four
  • Ohio State 95, St. Joseph’s, Pennsylvania 69
  • Cincinnati 70, Ohio State 65 OT^[1][2]

Rankings

Main article: 1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	Not released	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

^[3][4]

Awards and honors

• John Havlicek, First-Team All Big Ten
• Jerry Lucas, All-America selection
• Jerry Lucas, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[5]
• Jerry Lucas, Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball
• Jerry Lucas, First-Team All Big Ten
• Jerry Lucas, USBWA College Player of the Year^[6]
• Larry Siegfried, First-Team All Big Ten

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	3	Larry Siegfried	Cincinnati Royals

^[7]