1955–56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team

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1955–56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball
Southwest Conference champion
NCAA Tournament, Final Four
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 7
1955–56 record25–4 (12–0 SWC)
Head coach
Assistant coachBob Prewitt (7th season)
Home arenaPerkins Gymnasium
Seasons
← 1954–55
1956–57 →
1955–56 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 SMU 12 – 0   1.000 25 – 4   .862
Arkansas 9 – 3   .750 11 – 12   .478
Rice 8 – 4   .667 19 – 5   .792
Texas 5 – 7   .417 12 – 10   .545
Baylor 3 – 9   .250 6 – 17   .261
Texas A&M 3 – 9   .250 6 – 18   .250
TCU 2 – 10   .167 4 – 20   .167
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1955–56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represented Southern Methodist University as a member of the Southwest Conference during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Doc Hayes and played their home games at Perkins Gymnasium in Dallas, Texas for the final season (SMU Coliseum opened in December 1956). Playing out of the Midwest region, the Mustangs made a run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament – the first, and only, in program history. In the National semifinals, SMU lost to the eventual National champions, San Francisco, 86–68, in what was the Dons 54th consecutive victory.[1] The Mustangs closed out the season with a loss to Temple in the consolation game to finish with a record of 25–4 (12–0). Three of the team’s four losses came to Final Four participants.

Roster[]

1955–56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 32 Jim Krebs 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Webster Groves HS Webster Groves, Missouri
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Bob Prewitt

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[2]

Schedule and results[]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Dec 1, 1955*
 North Texas State W 82–67  1–0
 Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Dec 3, 1955*
 Austin College W 94–56  2–0
 Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Dec 6, 1955*
 Texas Wesleyan W 65–42  3–0
 Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Dec 9, 1955*
 at No. 4 Iowa L 62–80  3–1
 Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, Iowa
Dec 10, 1955*
 at No. 20 Minnesota W 82–81 OT 4–1
 Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 12, 1955*
 at Wisconsin W 75–62  5–1
 Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, Wisconsin
Dec 17, 1955*
 No. 18 Kansas W 81–61  6–1
 Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Dec 21, 1955*
 at Kansas L 58–62  6–2
 Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
Dec 22, 1955*
 at Wichita W 85–67  7–2
 University of Wichita Field House 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 28, 1955*
 vs. Arkansas
SWC Christmas Tournament 		W 67–62  8–2
 Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
Dec 29, 1955*
 vs. Southern California
SWC Christmas Tournament 		W 70–64  9–2
 Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
Dec 30, 1955*
 at No. 17 Rice
SWC Christmas Tournament 		W 76–73 OT 10–2
 Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
Jan 4, 1956
 No. 18 Rice W 87–65  11–2
(1–0) 		Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Jan 7, 1956
 at Texas W 66–63  12–2
(2–0) 		Gregory Gym 
Austin, Texas
Jan 10, 1956
 Texas A&M W 97–68  13–2
(3–0) 		Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Jan 28, 1956
 No. 18 Texas Christian W 105–64  14–2
(4–0) 		Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Jan 31, 1956
 No. 17 at Baylor W 92–72  15–2
(5–0) 		Heart O' Texas Fair Complex 
Waco, Texas
Feb 4, 1956
 No. 17 at Arkansas W 58–53  16–2
(6–0) 		Barnhill Arena 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Feb 7, 1956
 No. 15 Texas W 109–96  17–2
(7–0) 		Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
Feb 28, 1956
 No. 9 Rice W 89–75  22–2
(12–0) 		Perkins Gym 
Dallas, Texas
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1956*
 No. 7 vs. Texas Tech
First round 		W 68–67  23–2
 University of Wichita Field House 
Wichita, Kansas
Mar 16, 1956*
 No. 7 vs. Houston
Midwest Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 		W 89–74  24–2
 Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 17, 1956*
 No. 7 vs. No. 11 Oklahoma City
Midwest Regional Final – Elite Eight 		W 84–63  25–2
 Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 22, 1956*
 No. 7 vs. No. 1 San Francisco
National Semifinal – Final Four 		L 68–86[1]  25–3
 McGaw Hall 
Evanston, Illinois
Mar 23, 1956*
 No. 7 vs. No. 15 Temple
Consolation 		L 81–90  25–4
 McGaw Hall 
Evanston, Illinois
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

[3]

Rankings[]

Main article: 1955–56 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. т = Tied with team above or below.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APNot released——————191817151212987
Coaches18 т——1219 т10 т78 т91098776Not released

[4][5]

Awards and honors[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "54TH IN ROW WON BY SAN FRANCISCO; Dons Beat S.M.U., 86 to 68". The New York Times. March 23, 1956. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "1957–58 SMU Mustangs Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021-22 SMU Mustangs Men's Basketball Almanac – Results" (PDF). Southern Methodist University Athletics. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  4. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 643–644. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  5. ^ "1955-56 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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