1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season

1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season
Preseason AP #1	San Francisco
NCAA Tournament	1956
Tournament dates	March 12, 1956 – ; March 24, 1956
National Championship	McGaw Hall; Evanston, Illinois
NCAA Champions	San Francisco
Helms National Champions	San Francisco
Other champions	Louisville (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Bill Russell, San Francisco

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 schools had competed in the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League; today's Ivy League considers the EIBL as part of its history.

Major rule changes

Beginning in 1955–56, the following rules changes were implemented:

The free-throw lane was increased from 6 feet to 12 feet.
The two-shot penalty in the last three minutes of the game was eliminated. The one-and-one became in effect the entire game.[1]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[2]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	San Francisco
2	Kentucky
3	Utah
4	NC State
5	Iowa
6	Dayton
7	Illinois
7	UCLA
9	Duquesne
10	George Washington
11	Holy Cross
12	Marquette
13	Fordham
14	Washington
15	Alabama
16	Indiana
16	Saint Louis
18	Oregon State
18	Southern Methodist
20	Kansas

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular Season Winner[3]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina & NC State	Ronnie Shavlik, NC State[4]	1956 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Seven Conference	Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Iowa	None Selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Texas Tech	None Selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Dartmouth	None Selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. Francis (NY)	None Selected	No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Marshall	None Selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Houston	None Selected	No Tournament
Mountain States Conference	Utah	None Selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Morehead State, Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky	None Selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State	None Selected	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Alabama	None Selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	George Washington & West Virginia	Darrell Floyd, Furman[5]	1956 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia[6]
Southwest Conference	Southern Methodist	None Selected	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	San Francisco	Bill Russell, San Francisco[7]	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Player[8]	School	PPG	Player	School	REB%	Player	School	FG%	Player	School	FT%
Points Per Game			Rebounds Percentage			Field Goal Percentage			Free Throw Percentage
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 Semifinals			National Championship Game


E	Temple	76

ME	Iowa	83
			ME	Iowa	71

			W	San Francisco	83
MW	SMU	68

W	San Francisco	86

Third Place – Temple 90, SMU 81

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

Semifinals		Final


Louisville	89

St. Joseph's	79
		Louisville	90

		Dayton	83
St. Francis (NY)	58

Dayton	89

Third Place – St. Joseph's 93, St. Francis (NY) 82

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

References

2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2011-04-10
- ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
"2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2011-04-10
2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14
2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10
2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10
- Inside Sports College Basketball. Gale Research. 1998. ISBN 1-57859-009-4.

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[1] 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2011-04-10

[2] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

[3] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

[3] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.

[4] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2011-04-10

[5] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14

[6] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10

[7] 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2011-04-10

[8] Inside Sports College Basketball. Gale Research. 1998. ISBN 1-57859-009-4.

[10] Inside Sports College Basketball. Gale Research. 1998. ISBN 1-57859-009-4.

NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21