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.
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.orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes 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.
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. 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. 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. 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
The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1La Salle2Kentucky3Duquesne4Iowa5Holy Cross6Indiana7Dayton8Niagara9Notre Dame10NC State11Oklahoma A&M12Saint Louis13UCLA14Illinois15Wichita16Utah17(tie)DukeWake Forest19Penn State20Western Kentucky State UP CoachesRankingTeam1La Salle2Iowa3Duquesne4Kentucky5Indiana6Illinois7NC State8Holy Cross9UCLA10Niagara11Notre Dame12Dayton13(tie)Saint LouisUtah15USC16DePaul17(tie)Oklahoma A&MOregon State19Cincinnati20Wichita
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.
Regular season Conference Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference NC State Dickie Hemric, 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1955 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) NC StateBig Seven Conference Colorado None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Iowa None selected No TournamentBorder Conference & No TournamentCalifornia Basketball Association San Francisco Ken Sears, No TournamentEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Princeton None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference Manhattan No TournamentMid-American Conference Miami (OH) None selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference & Tulsa None selected No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Utah No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky State None selected 1955 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) Eastern Kentucky StatePacific Coast Conference ; No Tournament;Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference playoff seriesSoutheastern Conference Kentucky None selected No TournamentSouthern Conference West Virginia Darrell Floyd, Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1955 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Arena(Richmond, Virginia) West Virginia2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference SMU None selected No TournamentWestern New York Little Three Conference Niagara No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament Conference standings
Major independents A total of 44 college teams played as major independents. Among them, (24–3) had the best winning percentage (.889) and La Salle (26–5) finished with the most wins.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ 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. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonThe CitadelJim BrowningHank WittCreightonSebastian SalernoTheron ThomsenDavidsonDanny MillerTom ScottHoly CrossBuster ShearyRoy LeenigIndiana StateJohn LongfellowPaul WolfDuane Klueh Longfellow retired after 7 games into the season due to health issues. Paul Wolf stepped in to finish the season.Kent StateClarence HaerrDavid E. McDowellLa SalleKen LoefflerJim Pollard Loeffler left to coach Texas A&M.LafayetteButch van Breda KolffGeorge DavidsonMaineRussell DeVetteHarold WoodburyMarshallCam HendersonJule RivlinMississippi StatePaul GregoryBabe McCarthyMontanaGeorge DahlbergFrosty CoxMontana StateWally LemmDobbie LambertNew MexicoWoody ClementsBill StocktonOklahomaBruce DrakeDoyle Parrack Oklahoma CityDoyle ParrackAbe Lemons PortlandArt McLarneyMike TichyAl NegrattiSaint Joseph'sJohn McMenaminJack RamsaySaint Mary'sThomas FoleyJim WeaverTennessee TechRaymond BrownJohn OldhamTexas A&MJohn FloydKen Loeffler Virginia TechRed LairdChuck NoeVMIChuck NoeJack Null Noe left to coach Virginia Tech.
References