1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season

1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season
1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Indiana
NCAA Tournament	1954
Tournament dates	March 8 – 20, 1954
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium; Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	La Salle
Helms National Champions	Kentucky
Other champions	Holy Cross (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Tom Gola, La Salle
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1952–53	1954–55»

The 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1953, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1954 NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 20, 1954, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The La Salle Explorers won their first NCAA national championship with a 92–76 victory over the Bradley Braves.

Season headlines[]

The Atlantic Coast Conference began play, with eight original members.
The NCAA Tournament expanded from 22 to 24 teams.
Kentucky went undefeated, finishing with a 25–0 record. The Helms Athletic Foundation awarded its national championship to Kentucky rather than to the 1954 NCAA Basketball Tournament champion, La Salle. It was the fourth and final time that the NCAA champion and the Helms champion differed.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[2]^[3]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Indiana
2	Kentucky
3	Duquesne
4	Oklahoma A&M
5	Kansas
6	La Salle
7	NC State
8	Kansas State
9	Illinois
10	LSU
11	Western Kentucky State
12	Minnesota
13	Oregon State
14	Wyoming
15	Dayton
16	Santa Clara
17	California
18	Saint Louis
19 (tie)	Holy Cross
19 (tie)	Oklahoma City

UP Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Indiana
2	Kentucky
3	Duquesne
4	Kansas
5	Oklahoma A&M
6	La Salle
7	LSU
8	NC State
9	Minnesota
10	California
11	Illinois
12	Kansas State
13	Saint Louis
14	Holy Cross
15	Oregon State
16	Dayton
17	Wyoming
18	Santa Clara
19	Notre Dame
20	UCLA

Conference membership changes[]

School	Former Conference	New Conference
Brown Bears	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
CCNY Beavers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Non-major basketball program
Cincinnati Bearcats	Mid-American Conference	Independent
Clemson Tigers	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Duke Blue Devils	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Maryland Terrapins	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina Tar Heels	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina State Wolfpack	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
South Carolina Gamecocks	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Virginia Cavaliers	Independent	Atlantic Coast Conference

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[4]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke	Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest^[5]	1954 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Seven Conference	Colorado & Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Texas Tech		No Tournament
California Basketball Association	Santa Clara	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Cornell	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. Francis (NY)		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Toledo	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected		Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Western Kentucky State
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; USC defeated Oregon State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Skyline Conference	Colorado A&M		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky & LSU	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	George Washington	Frank Selvy, Furman^[6]	1954 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	WVU Fieldhouse (Morgantown, West Virginia)	George Washington^[7]
Southwest Conference	Rice & Texas	None selected	No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference	Niagara		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Post-Season Tournaments[]

NCAA Tournament[]

Final Four[]

National Semifinals		National Finals

Penn State	54

La Salle	69
		La Salle	92

		Bradley	76
Bradley	74

USC	72

Third Place – Penn State 70, USC 61

National Invitation Tournament[]

Semifinals & Finals[]

Semifinals			Finals

	Western Kentucky State	69

	Holy Cross	75
				Holy Cross	71

				Duquesne	62
	Duquesne	66

	Niagara	51

Third Place – Niagara 71, Western Kentucky State 66

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Tom Gola	F	Junior	La Salle
Cliff Hagan	F	Senior	Kentucky
Bob Pettit	C	Senior	Louisiana State
Don Schlundt	C	Junior	Indiana
Frank Selvy	G	Senior	Furman

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Bobby Leonard	G	Senior	Indiana
Tom Marshall	F	Senior	Western Kentucky State
Bob Mattick	C	Senior	Oklahoma A&M
Frank Ramsey	G/F	Senior	Kentucky
Dick Ricketts	F/C	Junior	Duquesne

Major player of the year awards[]

Helms Player of the Year: Tom Gola, La Salle

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.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
John Carroll			^[8]

References[]

^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 625. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ "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 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ "2021 John Carroll Blue Streaks men's basketball history & records guide, page 28" (PDF). John Carroll Blue Streaks. Retrieved May 9, 2021.

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 625. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[ESPN-2] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[3] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[4] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.

[5] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14

[6] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[7] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[8] "2021 John Carroll Blue Streaks men's basketball history & records guide, page 28" (PDF). John Carroll Blue Streaks. Retrieved May 9, 2021.

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