1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1960
Tournament dates	March 7 – 19, 1960
National Championship	Cow Palace; Daly City, California
NCAA Champions	Ohio State
Helms National Champions	Ohio State
Other champions	Bradley (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1958–59	1960–61»

The 1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1959, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1960 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 19, 1960, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The Ohio State Buckeyes won their first NCAA national championship with a 75–55 victory over the California Golden Bears.

Season headlines[]

The Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) began play. It was renamed the Pacific-8 Conference in 1968, the Pacific-10 Conference in 1978, and the Pac-12 Conference in 2011.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[1]^[2]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Cincinnati
2	West Virginia
3	Ohio State
4	California
5	Bradley
6	Utah
7	Saint Louis
8	Georgia Tech
9	Indiana
10	Illinois
11	Michigan State
12	NYU
13	Kentucky
14	La Salle
15	Villanova
16	Duke
17	Detroit
18	Texas A&M
19	Iowa
20	USC

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Cincinnati
2	California
3	West Virginia
4	Ohio State
5	North Carolina
6	Kentucky
7	Saint Louis
8	Indiana
9	Kansas
10	Utah
11	Saint Joseph's
12	Bradley
13	Louisville
14	Kansas State
15 (tie)	USC
15 (tie)	Georgia Tech
17	Wake Forest
18 (tie)	St. John's
18 (tie)	Villanova
20 (tie)	NC State
20 (tie)	UCLA

Conference membership changes[]

School	Former Conference	New Conference
California Golden Bears	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
UCLA Bruins	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Idaho Vandals	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Oregon Ducks	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Oregon State Beavers	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent
USC Trojans	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Stanford Cardinal	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Washington Huskies	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Washington and Lee Generals	NCAA University Division independent	non-University Division
Washington State Cougars	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[3]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	California	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Lee Shaffer, North Carolina^[4]	1960 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke
Big Eight Conference	Kansas & Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	New Mexico State		No Tournament
Ivy League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	NYU		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Saint Joseph's		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Skyline Conference	Utah		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Auburn	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Virginia Tech	Jerry West, West Virginia^[5]	1960 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia^[6]
Southwest Conference	Texas	Carroll Broussard, Texas A&M	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Santa Clara	Jerry Grote, Loyola (Calif.)	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	St. Joseph's & Villanova	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Post-Season Tournaments[]

NCAA Tournament[]

Final Four[]

National Semifinals			National Finals

E	NYU	54

ME	Ohio State	76
			ME	Ohio State	75

			W	California	55
MW	Cincinnati	69

W	California	77

Third Place – Cincinnati 95, NYU 71

National Invitation Tournament[]

Semifinals & Finals[]

Semifinals			Finals

	Utah State	62

	Providence	68
				Providence	72

				Bradley	88
	Bradley	82

	St. Bonaventure	71

Third Place – Utah State 99, St. Bonaventure 83

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Darrall Imhoff	C	Senior	California
Jerry Lucas	F/C	Sophomore	Ohio State
Oscar Robertson	G	Senior	Cincinnati
Tom Stith	G/F	Junior	St. Bonaventure
Jerry West	G	Senior	West Virginia

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Terry Dischinger	F	Sophomore	Purdue
Tony Jackson	G	Junior	St. John's
Roger Kaiser	G	Junior	Georgia Tech
Lee Shaffer	F	Senior	North Carolina
Len Wilkens	G	Senior	Providence

Major player of the year awards[]

Helms Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
UPI Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
Sporting News Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

Major coach of the year awards[]

Henry Iba Award: Pete Newell, California
NABC Coach of the Year: Pete Newell, California
UPI Coach of the Year: Pete Newell, California

Other major awards[]

Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Bill Kennedy, Temple
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Satch Sanders, NYU

Coaching changes[]

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Davidson	Tom Scott		Lefty Driesell
Georgetown			Tommy O'Keefe	After four seasons, Nolan resigned to focus on his role as head coach of Georgetown's baseball team, a position he had assumed in 1959 and held until 1978. His assistant O'Keefe succeeded him.^[7]

References[]

^ 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
^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on 2017-05-27. Retrieved 2013-12-28.

[ESPN-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[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 2009-02-14

[5] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

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

[7] "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on 2017-05-27. Retrieved 2013-12-28.

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