1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season | |
---|---|
Preseason AP No. 1 | None |
NCAA Tournament | 1957 |
Tournament dates | March 11, 1957 – March 23, 1957 |
National Championship | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
NCAA Champions | North Carolina Tar Heels |
Helms National Champions | North Carolina Tar Heels |
Other champions | Bradley Braves (NIT) |
Player of the Year (Helms) | Lennie Rosenbluth, North Carolina |
The 1956–57 NCAA men's University Division basketball season began in December 1956, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 23, 1957, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The North Carolina Tar Heels won their first NCAA national championship with a 54–53 triple-overtime victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.
Rule changes[]
- The width of the free throw lane (also known as the "key"), increased from 6 to 12 feet (1.8 to 3.7 m).[1]
- When teams lined up along the key for a free throw, it became mandatory that the two spaces adjacent to the end line be occupied by opponents of the player shooting the free throw. Previously, one player from each team occupied the spaces adjacent to the end line, with a player from the home team occupying a space marked "H" and a player from the visiting team occupying a space marked "V."[1]
- Grasping the rim of the basket was deemed a form of unsportsmanlike conduct.[1]
Season headlines[]
- This was the first season in which NCAA basketball was split into two levels of play – the University Division for schools competing at the highest level of play and the College Division for teams playing at lower levels with limited or no scholarships. It also was the first season in which the NCAA held more than one chamapionship tournament — one for the University Division and one for the College Division. In 1973, the University Division would be replaced by Division I and the College Division by Division II and Division III.[2]
- The California Basketball Association was renamed the West Coast Athletic Conference. It would be renamed the West Coast Conference in 1989.
- In 1957, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected its national champions for the seasons from 1900–01 through 1918–19.[3]
Season outlook[]
Pre-season polls[]
The top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[4]
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Conference membership changes[]
School | Former Conference | New Conference |
---|---|---|
Drake Bulldogs | Independent | Missouri Valley Conference |
Texas Tech Red Raiders | Border Conference | NCAA University Division independent |
Regular season[]
Conference winners and tournaments[]
Conference | Regular Season Winner[5] |
Conference Player of the Year |
Conference Tournament |
Tournament Venue (City) |
Tournament Winner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic Coast Conference | North Carolina | Lennie Rosenbluth, North Carolina[6] | 1957 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament | Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina) |
North Carolina |
Big Seven Conference | Kansas | Gary Thompson, Iowa State [7] | No Tournament | ||
Big Ten Conference | Indiana & Michigan State | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Border Conference | Texas Western | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Ivy League | Yale | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Metropolitan New York Conference | NYU | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Mid-American Conference | Miami (OH) | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Missouri Valley Conference | Saint Louis | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Ohio Valley Conference | Morehead State & Western Kentucky State | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Pacific Coast Conference | California | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Skyline Conference | BYU | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
Southern Conference | West Virginia | Rod Hundley, West Virginia[8] | 1957 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia) |
West Virginia[9] |
Southwest Conference | SMU | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
West Coast Athletic Conference | San Francisco | Mike Farmer, San Francisco[10] | No Tournament | ||
Western New York Little Three Conference | Canisius & St. Bonaventure | No Tournament | |||
Yankee Conference | Connecticut | None selected | No Tournament |
Informal championships[]
Conference | Regular Season Winner |
Conference Tournament |
Tournament Venue (City) |
Tournament Winner |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Big 5 | La Salle, St. Joseph's, & Temple | No Tournament |
Statistical leaders[]
Points Per Game |
Rebound Percentage |
Field Goal Percentage |
Free Throw Percentage
| |||||||||||
Player | School | PPG | Player | School | REB% | Player | School | FG% | Player | School | FT% | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grady Wallace | South Carolina | 31.2 | Elgin Baylor | Seattle | .235 | Bailey Howell | Mississippi St. | 56.8 | Wake Forest | 87.7 | ||||
Joe Gibbon | Mississippi | 30.0 | Boo Ellis | Niagara | .234 | St. Francis (NY) | 56.1 | Jackie Murdock | Wake Forest | 87.5 | ||||
Elgin Baylor | Seattle | 29.7 | Charlie Tyra | Louisville | .229 | Muhlenberg | 54.4 | NC State | 87.2 | |||||
Wilt Chamberlain | Kansas | 29.6 | Wilt Chamberlain | Kansas | .227 | William & Mary | 54.2 | Dave Ricketts | Duquesne | 86.2 | ||||
Chet Forte | Columbia | 28.9 | Gene Guarilia | George Washington | .218 | Boo Ellis | Niagara | 53.7 | Bobby Plump | Butler | 86.0 |
Post-Season Tournaments[]
NCAA Tournament[]
Frank McGuire brought the ACC its first National Championship as his undefeated North Carolina Tar Heels defeated Wilt Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks in what is considered one of the best games in NCAA history – a 54–53 triple–overtime thriller. Chamberlain was named tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Final Four[]
Played at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri
National Semifinals | National Championship Game | ||||||||
E | North Carolina | 74(3OT) | |||||||
ME | Michigan St. | 70 | |||||||
E | North Carolina | 54(3OT) | |||||||
MW | Kansas | 53 | |||||||
MW | Kansas | 80 | |||||||
W | San Francisco | 56 |
- Third Place – San Francisco 67, Michigan State 60
National Invitation Tournament[]
Bradley won its first NIT title, defeating Memphis State in a one-point contest. Memphis State's Win Wilfong won the MVP in a losing cause as he poured in 89 points in the Tigers' four games, including 31 in the final.[11]
NIT Semifinals and Final[]
Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City
Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
St. Bonaventure | 78 | ||||||||
Memphis State | 80 | ||||||||
Memphis State | 83 | ||||||||
Bradley | 84 | ||||||||
Bradley | 94 | ||||||||
Temple | 66 |
- Third Place – Temple 67, St. Bonaventure 50
Award winners[]
Consensus All-American teams[]
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Wilt Chamberlain | C | Sophomore | Kansas |
Chet Forte | G | Senior | Columbia |
Rod Hundley | G/F | Senior | West Virginia |
Jim Krebs | F/C | Senior | SMU |
Lennie Rosenbluth | F | Senior | North Carolina |
Charlie Tyra | C | Senior | Louisville |
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Elgin Baylor | F | Sophomore | Seattle |
Frank Howard | F | Junior | Ohio State |
Guy Rodgers | G | Junior | Temple |
Gary Thompson | G | Senior | Iowa State |
Grady Wallace | F | Senior | South Carolina |
Major player of the year awards[]
- Helms Foundation Player of the Year: Lennie Rosenbluth, North Carolina
- UPI Player of the Year: Chet Forte, Columbia
Major coach of the year awards[]
- UPI Coach of the Year: Frank McGuire, North Carolina
Other major awards[]
- Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Guy Rodgers, Temple
- NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC): Chet Forte, Columbia
Coaching changes[]
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A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
Team | Former Coach |
Interim Coach |
New Coach |
Reason |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona State | Bill Kajikawa | Ned Wulk | ||
Loyola (LA) | Jim McCafferty | |||
Virginia | Evan Male | Billy McCann | ||
Washington & Lee | Billy McCann | Weenie Miller | ||
West Texas A&M | Gus Miller | |||
Xavier | Ned Wulk | Jim McCafferty |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
- ^ "History of the NCAA". NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ Scott, Jon (Nov 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved 2015-12-14.
- ^ *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 2010-08-14
- ^ Iowa State Athletic Site – Cyclone Tradition Archived 2010-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, Iowa State University, retrieved 2010-08-14
- ^ 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 2010-08-14
- ^ 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14
- ^ The National Invitation Tournament. Arcadia Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-7385-3904-X.
- 1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season