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.
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 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. 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.
Major rule changes Beginning in 1955–56, the following rules changes were implemented: The free-throw lane was increased in width from to . 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.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2011-04-10
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.*
Associated PressRankingTeam1 San Francisco2 Kentucky3 Utah4 NC State5 Iowa6 Dayton7 Illinois UCLA9 Duquesne10 George Washington11 Holy Cross12 Marquette13 Fordham14 Washington15 Alabama16 Indiana Saint Louis18 Oregon State SMU20 Kansas
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Independent Missouri Valley Conference Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Non-major independent California Basketball Association Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Independent California Basketball Association Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Non-major independent California Basketball Association Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League Mid-American Conference Presidents' Athletic Conference (non-major) Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Ivy League
Regular season Conference Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference North Carolina & NC State Ronnie Shavlik, 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2011-04-10 1956 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) NC StateBig Seven Conference Kansas State None Selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Iowa None Selected No TournamentBorder Conference Texas Tech None Selected No TournamentCalifornia Basketball Association San Francisco Bill Russell, No TournamentIvy League Dartmouth None Selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference St. Francis (NY) None Selected No TournamentMid-American Conference Marshall None Selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Houston None Selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Utah None Selected No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Morehead State, & None Selected No TournamentPacific Coast Conference UCLA None Selected No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Alabama None Selected No TournamentSouthern Conference George Washington & Darrell Floyd, Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14 1956 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Arena(Richmond, Virginia) West Virginia2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10Southwest Conference SMU None Selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Canisius No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut No Tournament
Conference standings
Major independents A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. Among them, (26–3) had the best winning percentage (.897) and finished with the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia 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 Player* 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
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 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
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams
+ 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. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonAlabamaJohn DeeEugene LambertBradleyBob VanattaChuck OrsbornBuffaloMalcolm EikenLen SerfustiniThe CitadelHank WittNorm SloanClemsonBanks McFaddenPress MaravichColoradoBebe LeeSox WalsethDrakeJack McClellandJohn BenningtonGeorgetownBuddy JeannetteTom NolanAfter four seasons, Jeannette resigned.HoustonAlden PascheGuy LewisKansasPhog AllenDick HarpAllen retired following the season and was replaced by assistant Harp.Memphis StateEugene LambertBob Vanatta Lambert left to coach Alabama.Middle TennesseeCharles GreerEd Diddle Jr.New HampshireBob KerrBill OlsenOregonBill BorcherSteve BelkoPennsylvaniaRay StanleyJack McCloskeyRutgersDonald WhiteWarren HarrisSeattleAl BrightmanJohn CastellaniSt. John'sDusty DeStefanoJoe LapchickTexasSlue HullMarshall HughesYaleHoward HobsonJoe Vancisin
References