1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Ohio State
NCAA Tournament	1962
Tournament dates	March 12 – 24, 1962
National Championship	Freedom Hall; Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	Cincinnati
Helms National Champions	Cincinnati
Other champions	Dayton (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Paul Hogue, Cincinnati
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1960–61	1962–63»

The 1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1961, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1962 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 24, 1962, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cincinnati Bearcats won their second NCAA national championship with a 71–59 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Season headlines[]

The Associated Press (AP) Poll changed format, abandoning the Top 20 format it had used since its inception in the 1948–49 season and becoming a Top 10 poll.^[3]
Cincinnati's national championship was its second in a row as well as second overall, and the national championship game was a rematch from the year before between Cincinnati and Ohio State.
The 1962 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament set a new attendance record for an NCAA Tournament, with a combined 177,469 fans attending its 29 games.^[4]
The Border Conference and Skyline Conference both disbanded at the end of the season.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[5]^[6]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Cincinnati
3	Wake Forest
4	USC
5	Providence
6	Purdue
7	Duke
8	Kansas State
9	St. John's
10	Seattle

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Cincinnati
3	Kansas State
4	Providence
5	Duke
6	Purdue
7	USC
8	Arizona State
9	West Virginia
10	Wake Forest

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[7]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	Wake Forest	Len Chappell, Wake Forest^[8]	1962 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Wake Forest
Big Eight Conference	Colorado	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona State		No Tournament
Ivy League	Yale	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. John's		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green State	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Saint Joseph's		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Bradley & Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Skyline Conference	Utah		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky & Mississippi State	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Rod Thorn, West Virginia^[9]	1962 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia^[10]
Southwest Conference	SMU & Texas Tech	Carroll Broussard, Texas A&M	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pepperdine	Harry Dinnel, Pepperdine, & Steve Gray, Saint Mary's	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts	None selected	No Tournament

Informal championships[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Philadelphia Big 5	Villanova	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Post-Season Tournaments[]

NCAA Tournament[]

Final Four[]

National Semifinals			National Finals

E	Wake Forest	68

ME	Ohio State	84
			ME	Ohio State	59

			MW	Cincinnati	71
MW	Cincinnati	72

W	UCLA	70

Third Place – Wake Forest 82, UCLA 80

National Invitation Tournament[]

Semifinals & Finals[]

Semifinals			Finals

	Dayton	98

	Loyola-Chicago	82
				Dayton	73

				St. John's	67
	Duquesne	65

	St. John's	75

Third Place – Loyola-Chicago 95, Duquesne 84

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Len Chappell	C/F	Senior	Wake Forest
Terry Dischinger	F	Senior	Purdue
Jerry Lucas	F/C	Senior	Ohio State
Billy McGill	C	Senior	Utah
Chet Walker	F	Senior	Bradley

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Jack Foley	G/F	Senior	Holy Cross
John Havlicek	F	Senior	Ohio State
Art Heyman	F	Junior	Duke
Cotton Nash	F	Sophomore	Kentucky
John Rudometkin	F	Senior	USC
Rod Thorn	G/F	Junior	West Virginia

Major player of the year awards[]

Helms Player of the Year: Paul Hogue, Cincinnati
Associated Press Player of the Year:Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
UPI Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA):Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
Sporting News Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State

Major coach of the year awards[]

Henry Iba Award: Fred Taylor, Ohio State
NABC Coach of the Year: Fred Taylor, Ohio State
UPI Coach of the Year: Fred Taylor, Ohio State

Other major awards[]

Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Hubie White, Villanova
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): LeRoy Ellis, St. John's

Coaching changes[]

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Hardin–Simmons	Bill Scott		Lou Henson

References[]

^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ sports-reference.com Matchup Finder
^ Smith Barrier, "Unusual West Coast Watch Factory -- They Don't Make Any, Just Win Them", 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, Published by College Athletics Publishing Service
^ 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

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[3] sports-reference.com Matchup Finder

[4] Smith Barrier, "Unusual West Coast Watch Factory -- They Don't Make Any, Just Win Them", 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, Published by College Athletics Publishing Service

[ESPN-5] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[6] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[7] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.

[8] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14

[9] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[10] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

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