1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1965, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 19, 1966, at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. The Texas Western Miners won their first NCAA national championship with a 72–65 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.

1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA Bruins[1][2]
NCAA Tournament	1966
Tournament dates	March 7–19, 1966 –
National Championship	Cole Field House College Park, Maryland
NCAA Champions	Texas Western Miners
Helms National Champions	Texas Western Miners
Other champions	BYU Cougars (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Cazzie Russell, Michigan Wolverines
← 1964–65 1966–67 →

Season headlines

• After introducing a preseason Top 20 the previous season, the Associated Press (AP) Poll contracted its preseason poll to a Top 10, aligning with the Top 10 format for in-season polls it had used since the 1961–62 season.^[3]
• The NCAA tournament contracted from 23 to 22 teams.
• On March 19, 1966, Texas Western became both the first team to begin an NCAA tournament final game with an all-African American starting lineup and the first team with an all-African American starting line-up to win the NCAA championship. The players were Orsten Artis, Harry Flournoy, Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin, and Willie Worsley.^[4]
• The Metropolitan Collegiate Conference, consisting of schools in the New York City-New Jersey area, began play.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[5][6]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 Michigan 3 Duke 4 Saint Joseph's 5 Vanderbilt 6 Providence 7 Minnesota 8 Kansas 9 Bradley 10 Kansas State

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 Michigan 3 Minnesota 4 Saint Joseph's 5 Duke 6 Vanderbilt 7 Providence 8 Kansas 9 Bradley 10 BYU 11 San Francisco 12 Kansas State 13 NC State 14 Dayton 15 (tie) Boston College St. John's 17 (tie) Louisville Tennessee West Virginia 20 (tie) Iowa New Mexico Princeton

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
East Carolina Pirates	non-NCAA University Division	Southern Conference
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights	non-NCAA University Division	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
Hofstra Flying Dutchmen	non-NCAA University Division	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
Iona Gaels	University Division independent	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
Long Island Blackbirds	non-NCAA University Division	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
Manhattan Jaspers	University Division independent	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
NYU Violets	University Division independent	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
Saint Peter's Peacocks	University Division independent	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
St. Francis Terriers	University Division independent	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
Seton Hall Pirates	University Division independent	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference
Virginia Tech Hokies	Southern Conference	University Division independent
Wagner Seahawks	non-NCAA University Division	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference

NOTES:

• East Carolina did not begin University Division play until the 1966–1967 season.
• Fairleigh Dickinson did not begin University Division play until the 1967–1968 season.
• Hofstra did not begin University Division play until the 1966–1967 season.
• Long Island did not begin University Division play until the 1968–1969 season.

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[7]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	Oregon State	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke	Steve Vacendak, Duke[8]	1966 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke
Big Eight Conference	Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Gonzaga & Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Michigan	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Penn	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	Manhattan		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Miami (OH)	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Saint Joseph's		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	Clem Haskins, Western Kentucky State	1966 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Western Kentucky State
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Clyde Lee, Vanderbilt (UPI selection), & Pat Riley, Kentucky (AP selection)[9]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Dick Snyder, Davidson[10]	1966 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	Davidson[11]
Southwest Conference	SMU	John Beasley, Texas A&M	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific	Keith Swagerty, Pacific	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	Utah	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut & Rhode Island	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1965–66 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Oregon State 12 – 2   .857 21 – 7   .750 UCLA 10 – 4   .714 18 – 8   .692 Stanford 8 – 6   .571 13 – 12   .520 Washington State 6 – 8   .429 15 – 11   .577 Oregon 6 – 8   .429 13 – 13   .500 USC 6 – 8   .429 13 – 13   .500 Washington 4 – 10   .286 10 – 15   .400 California 4 – 10   .286 9 – 16   .360 Rankings from AP Poll[12]	1965–66 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Duke † 12 – 2   .857 26 – 4   .867 NC State 9 – 5   .643 18 – 9   .667 Clemson 8 – 6   .571 15 – 10   .600 North Carolina 8 – 6   .571 16 – 11   .593 Maryland 7 – 7   .500 14 – 11   .560 South Carolina 4 – 10   .286 11 – 13   .458 Virginia 4 – 10   .286 7 – 15   .318 Wake Forest 4 – 10   .286 8 – 18   .308 † 1966 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1965–66 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Kansas 13 – 1   .929 23 – 4   .852 Nebraska 12 – 2   .857 20 – 5   .800 Kansas State 9 – 5   .643 14 – 11   .560 Oklahoma 7 – 7   .500 11 – 14   .440 Colorado 6 – 8   .429 12 – 13   .480 Iowa State 6 – 8   .429 11 – 14   .440 Oklahoma State 2 – 12   .143 4 – 21   .160 Missouri 1 – 13   .071 3 – 21   .125 Rankings from AP Poll[13]
1965–66 Big Sky men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Weber State 8 – 2   .800 20 – 5   .800 Gonzaga 8 – 2   .800 19 – 7   .731 Montana 6 – 5   .545 14 – 10   .583 Montana State 5 – 5   .500 7 – 15   .318 Idaho 2 – 8   .200 12 – 14   .462 Idaho State 1 – 9   .100 7 – 19   .269	1965–66 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 Michigan 11 – 3   .786 18 – 8   .692 Michigan State 10 – 4   .714 15 – 7   .682 Iowa 8 – 6   .571 17 – 7   .708 Illinois 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Minnesota 7 – 7   .500 14 – 10   .583 Northwestern 7 – 7   .500 12 – 12   .500 Wisconsin 6 – 8   .429 11 – 13   .458 Ohio State 5 – 9   .357 11 – 13   .458 Indiana 4 – 10   .286 8 – 16   .333 Purdue 4 – 10   .286 8 – 16   .333 Rankings from AP Poll	1965–66 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Pennsylvania 12 – 2   .857 19 – 6   .760 Columbia 10 – 4   .714 18 – 6   .750 Cornell 10 – 4   .714 15 – 9   .625 Princeton 9 – 5   .643 16 – 7   .696 Yale 6 – 8   .429 9 – 12   .429 Harvard 6 – 8   .429 10 – 14   .417 Brown 3 – 11   .214 9 – 17   .346 Dartmouth 0 – 14   .000 3 – 21   .125 Rankings from AP Poll
1965–66 Metropolitan Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Manhattan 8 – 1   .889 13 – 9   .591 LIU 7 – 2   .778 22 – 4   .846 NYU 7 – 2   .778 18 – 10   .643 Hofstra 6 – 3   .667 16 – 10   .615 Fairleigh Dickinson 5 – 4   .556 15 – 10   .600 Saint Peter's 5 – 4   .556 11 – 12   .478 Seton Hall 3 – 6   .333 6 – 18   .250 Iona 3 – 6   .333 5 – 16   .238 Wagner 1 – 8   .111 14 – 12   .538 St. Francis (NY) 0 – 9   .000 5 – 17   .227 Rankings from AP Poll	1965–66 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Miami (Ohio) 11 – 1   .917 18 – 7   .720 Toledo 8 – 4   .667 13 – 11   .542 Ohio 6 – 6   .500 13 – 10   .565 Bowling Green State 6 – 6   .500 9 – 15   .375 Marshall 4 – 8   .333 12 – 12   .500 Western Michigan 4 – 8   .333 8 – 14   .364 Kent State 3 – 9   .250 8 – 16   .333 Rankings from AP Poll	1965–66 MAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Saint Joseph's† 4 – 0   1.000 24 – 5   .828 Bucknell 7 – 2   .778 15 – 10   .600 Lafayette 7 – 4   .636 9 – 11   .450 Temple 5 – 3   .625 21 – 7   .750 La Salle 3 – 3   .500 10 – 15   .400 Delaware 4 – 5   .444 9 – 15   .375 Gettysburg 3 – 7   .300 9 – 15   .375 Lehigh 0 – 9   .000 4 – 17   .190 West Chester (Pa.)* –   – 6 – 17   .261 † Regular-season championship winner * – Played as non-major program Rankings from AP Poll
1965–66 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 Cincinnati 10 – 4   .714 21 – 7   .750 Bradley 9 – 5   .643 20 – 6   .769 Wichita State 9 – 5   .643 17 – 10   .630 Louisville 8 – 6   .571 16 – 10   .615 Saint Louis 8 – 6   .571 15 – 10   .600 Tulsa 6 – 8   .429 16 – 13   .552 Drake 6 – 8   .429 13 – 12   .520 North Texas State 0 – 14   .000 5 – 20   .200 Rankings from AP Poll[14]	1965–66 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Western Kentucky State 14 – 0   1.000 25 – 3   .893 Eastern Kentucky State 9 – 5   .643 16 – 9   .640 Tennessee Tech 8 – 6   .571 17 – 8   .680 Murray State 8 – 6   .571 13 – 12   .520 Morehead State 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Austin Peay State 3 – 11   .214 7 – 14   .333 East Tennessee State 3 – 11   .214 7 – 14   .333 Middle Tennessee 3 – 11   .214 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll	1965–66 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Kentucky 15 – 1   .938 27 – 2   .931 No. 8 Vanderbilt 13 – 3   .813 22 – 4   .846 Tennessee 10 – 6   .625 18 – 8   .692 Mississippi State 10 – 6   .625 14 – 11   .560 Alabama 9 – 7   .563 16 – 10   .615 Florida 9 – 7   .563 16 – 10   .615 Auburn 8 – 8   .500 16 – 10   .615 Georgia 5 – 11   .313 10 – 15   .400 Tulane 5 – 11   .313 9 – 16   .360 LSU 2 – 14   .125 6 – 20   .231 Ole Miss 2 – 14   .125 5 – 18   .217 Rankings from AP Poll[15]
1965–66 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Davidson † 11 – 1   .917 21 – 7   .750 West Virginia 8 – 2   .800 19 – 9   .679 William & Mary 8 – 3   .727 13 – 12   .520 Richmond 9 – 7   .563 12 – 13   .480 East Carolina 5 – 7   .417 11 – 15   .423 Furman 4 – 8   .333 9 – 17   .346 VMI 5 – 11   .313 5 – 18   .217 The Citadel 4 – 9   .308 7 – 16   .304 George Washington 3 – 9   .250 3 – 18   .143 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1965–66 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT SMU 11 – 3   .786 17 – 9   .654 Texas A&M 10 – 4   .714 15 – 9   .625 Texas Tech 8 – 6   .571 13 – 11   .542 Arkansas 7 – 7   .500 13 – 10   .565 Texas 7 – 7   .500 12 – 12   .500 Baylor 6 – 8   .429 8 – 16   .333 TCU 6 – 8   .429 8 – 16   .333 Rice 1 – 13   .071 1 – 22   .043 Rankings from AP Poll	1965–66 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Pacific 13 – 1   .929 22 – 6   .786 San Francisco 11 – 3   .786 22 – 6   .786 Santa Clara 8 – 6   .571 16 – 11   .593 Loyola (Calif.) 7 – 7   .500 11 – 15   .423 San Jose State –   – 11 – 13   .458 UC Santa Barbara 5 – 9   .357 10 – 16   .385 Saint Mary's 4 – 10   .286 8 – 17   .320 Pepperdine 1 – 13   .071 2 – 24   .077 Rankings from AP Poll[16]
1965–66 WAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Utah 7 – 3   .700 23 – 8   .742 BYU 6 – 4   .600 20 – 5   .800 Wyoming 5 – 5   .500 17 – 9   .654 Arizona 5 – 5   .500 15 – 11   .577 New Mexico 4 – 6   .400 16 – 8   .667 Arizona State 3 – 7   .300 12 – 14   .462 Rankings from AP Poll[17]	1965–66 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island 9 – 1   .900 20 – 8   .714 Connecticut 9 – 1   .900 16 – 8   .667 Massachusetts 5 – 5   .500 11 – 13   .458 Maine 4 – 6   .400 9 – 13   .409 Vermont 3 – 7   .300 12 – 8   .600 New Hampshire 0 – 10   .000 3 – 21   .125

University Division independents

A total of 49 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Texas Western (28–1) had both the best winning percentage (.966) and the most wins.^[18]

1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Texas Western –   – 28 – 1   .966 No. 6 Loyola Chicago –   – 22 – 3   .880 Oklahoma City –   – 24 – 5   .828 Providence –   – 22 – 5   .815 Boston College –   – 21 – 5   .808 Dayton –   – 23 – 6   .793 Houston –   – 23 – 6   .793 Fairfield –   – 19 – 5   .792 VPI –   – 19 – 5   .792 Syracuse –   – 22 – 6   .786 Hardin–Simmons –   – 20 – 6   .769 Penn State –   – 18 – 6   .750 Rutgers –   – 17 – 7   .708 St. Bonaventure –   – 16 – 7   .696 Army –   – 18 – 8   .692 DePaul –   – 18 – 8   .692 St. John's –   – 18 – 8   .692 Detroit –   – 17 – 8   .680 Georgetown –   – 16 – 8   .667 Colorado State –   – 14 – 8   .636 Villanova –   – 18 – 11   .621 Butler –   – 16 – 10   .615 Seattle –   – 16 – 10   .615 Duquesne –   – 14 – 9   .609 Miami (FL) –   – 15 – 11   .577 Denver –   – 14 – 11   .560 Florida State –   – 14 – 11   .560 Air Force –   – 14 – 12   .538 Creighton –   – 14 – 12   .538 Marquette –   – 14 – 12   .538 Georgia Tech –   – 13 – 13   .500 Xavier –   – 13 – 13   .500 Loyola (LA) –   – 12 – 12   .500 Centenary –   – 12 – 14   .462 Utah State –   – 12 – 14   .462 Niagara –   – 11 – 13   .458 Holy Cross –   – 10 – 13   .435 Fordham –   – 10 – 15   .400 Memphis State –   – 10 – 15   .400 Navy –   – 7 – 12   .368 Colgate –   – 8 – 14   .364 Canisius –   – 7 – 15   .318 Saint Francis (PA) –   – 8 – 18   .308 West Texas State –   – 6 – 17   .261 Portland –   – 6 – 19   .240 Pittsburgh –   – 5 – 17   .227 Notre Dame –   – 5 – 21   .192 Boston University –   – 4 – 19   .174 New Mexico State –   – 4 – 22   .154 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Saint Joseph's	Bill Melchionni, Villanova

Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National Semi-finals					National finals
	E	Duke	79
	ME	Kentucky	83
						ME	Kentucky	65
						MW	Texas Western	72
	MW	Texas Western	85
	W	Utah	78			Third place
						E	Duke	79
						W	Utah	77

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1966 National Invitation Tournament

Semi-finals and Finals

	Semi-finals				Finals
	BYU	66
	Army	60
					BYU	97
					NYU	84
	NYU	69
	Villanova	63			Third place
					Army	65
					Villanova	76

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1966 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Dave Bing	G	Senior	Syracuse
Clyde Lee	F	Senior	Vanderbilt
Cazzie Russell	F	Senior	Michigan
Dave Schellhase	G/F	Senior	Purdue
Jimmy Walker	G	Junior	Providence

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Louie Dampier	G	Junior	Kentucky
Matt Guokas	G	Junior	St. Joseph's
Jack Marin	F	Senior	Duke
Dick Snyder	F	Senior	Davidson
Bob Verga	G	Senior	Duke
Walt Wesley	C	Senior	Kansas

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Cazzie Russell, Michigan
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Cazzie Russell, Michigan
• UPI Player of the Year: Cazzie Russell, Michigan
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Cazzie Russell, Michigan
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Cazzie Russell, Michigan

Major coach of the year awards

• Henry Iba Award: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky
• NABC Coach of the Year: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky
• UPI Coach of the Year: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Bill Melchionni, Villanova
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Albie Grant, LIU Brooklyn

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Georgetown	Tommy O'Keefe		Jack Magee	Able to sustain himself financially only by working outside of basketball to supplement the low salary of Georgetown's head coaching position, and lacking the time to recruit players properly while coaching only part-time, O'Keefe — Georgetown's head coach for six seasons — resigned after the season to devote himself full-time to his business concerns. His resignation prompted Georgetown to commit to hiring a full-time coach beginning with the following season.[19][20]
Hardin–Simmons	Lou Henson		Paul Lambert
Loyola (LA)	Bill Gardiner		Ron Greene
New Mexico State	Lou Henson		Jim McGregor