# 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1955, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1956 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 24, 1956, at McGaw Hall in Evanston, Illinois. The San Francisco Dons won their second NCAA national championship with an 83–71 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

## Season headlines

* The Ivy League, which had been formally established as an athletic conference in 1954, played its first basketball season under that name. Previously, Ivy League schools had competed in the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League; today's Ivy League considers the EIBL as part of its history.
* The Philadelphia Big 5, an informal association of colleges and universities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focused on college basketball, began play. The Big 5 teams played a regular-season round robin schedule with one another each year through the 1990–91 season with the results determining an informal Big 5 championship, and revived the round-robin schedule during the 1999–2000 season.
* The NCAA tournament expanded from 24 to 25 teams.
* For the first time, the four regional competitions of the NCAA Tournament received names. In 1956, they were named the East, Midwest, West, and Far West Regions.
* For the last time, the NCAA held only a single championship tournament. The following season, it divided teams into a University Division and a College Division and began holding a separate tournament for each division.
* San Francisco won its second consecutive NCAA championship. With a record of 29–0, it became the first undefeated team to win the NCAA championship.
* Bill Russell of San Francisco completed his career (1954–1956) averaging 20.7 points and 20.3 rebounds per game. He was the first player to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game during his career.

## Major rule changes

Beginning in 1955–56, the following rules changes were implemented:
* The free-throw lane was increased in width from 6 feet (1.8 m) to 12 feet (3.7 m).
* The two-shot penalty in the last three minutes of the game was eliminated. The "one-and-one" free throw, in which a player shoots a second free throw only if he makes his first, went into effect for the entire game.

## Season outlook
### Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.
Associated Press :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | San Francisco |
| 2 | Kentucky |
| 3 | Utah |
| 4 | NC State |
| 5 | Iowa |
| 6 | Dayton |
| 7 | Illinois |
| 7 | UCLA |
| 9 | Duquesne |
| 10 | George Washington |
| 11 | Holy Cross |
| 12 | Marquette |
| 13 | Fordham |
| 14 | Washington |
| 15 | Alabama |
| 16 | Indiana |
| 16 | Saint Louis |
| 18 | Oregon State |
| 18 | SMU |
| 20 | Kansas |

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Bradley Braves | Independent | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Brown Bears | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |
| Columbia Lions | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |
| Cornell Big Red | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |
| Dartmouth Big Green | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |
| Fresno Bulldogs | Non-major independent | California Basketball Association |
| Harvard Crimson | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |
| Loyola (Calif.) Lions | Independent | California Basketball Association |
| Penn Quakers | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |
| Pepperdine Waves | Non-major independent | California Basketball Association |
| Princeton Tigers | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |
| Western Reserve Red Cats | Mid-American Conference | Presidents' Athletic Conference |
| Yale Bulldogs | Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League |

## Regular season
### Conference
#### Conference winners and tournaments

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | North Carolina & NC State | Ronnie Shavlik, NC State | 1956 ACC men's basketball tournament | Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina) | NC State |
| Big Seven Conference | Kansas State | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Iowa | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | Texas Tech | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| California Basketball Association | San Francisco | Bill Russell, San Francisco | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ivy League | Dartmouth | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | St. Francis (NY) | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Marshall | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Houston | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | Utah | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Morehead State, Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky State | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Oregon State | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | Alabama | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Southern Conference | George Washington & West Virginia | Darrell Floyd, Furman | 1956 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia) | West Virginia |
| Southwest Conference | SMU | None Selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western New York Little Three Conference | Canisius | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Connecticut | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1955–56 ACC men's basketball standings :
| 1955–56 ACC men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 NC State †11–3 .78624–4  .857 No. 13 North Carolina11–3 .78618–5  .783 No. 16 Wake Forest10–4 .71419–9  .679 No. 17 Duke10–4 .71419–7  .731 Maryland7–7 .50014–10  .583 South Carolina3–11 .2149–14  .391 Virginia3–11 .21410–17  .370 Clemson1–13 .0719–17  .346 † 1956 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kansas State9–3 .75017–8  .680 Iowa State8–4 .66718–5  .783 Missouri8–4 .66715–7  .682 Colorado7–5 .58311–10  .524 Kansas6–6 .50014–9  .609 Nebraska3–9 .2507–16  .304 Oklahoma1–11 .0834–19  .174 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 Iowa13–1 .92920–6  .769 No. 10 Illinois11–3 .78618–4  .818 Ohio State9–5 .64316–6  .727 Purdue9–5 .64316–6  .727 Michigan State7–7 .50013–9  .591 Indiana6–8 .42913–9  .591 Minnesota6–8 .42911–11  .500 Michigan4–10 .2869–13  .409 Wisconsin4–10 .2866–16  .273 Northwestern1–13 .0712–20  .091 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1955–56 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Texas Tech8–4 .66713–12  .520 New Mexico A&M7–5 .58316–7  .696 Texas Western7–5 .58312–10  .545 West Texas State6–6 .50012–10  .545 Arizona6–6 .50011–15  .423 Arizona State–Tempe5–7 .41711–15  .423 Hardin–Simmons3–9 .2507–18  .280 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 California Basketball Association men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 1 San Francisco14–0 1.00029–0  1.000 Pacific9–5 .64315–11  .577 Loyola (Calif.)9–5 .64313–12  .520 Saint Mary's8–6 .57116–10  .615 San Jose State8–6 .57115–10  .600 Santa Clara6–8 .4298–16  .333 Fresno State2–12 .1439–17  .346 Pepperdine0–14 .0002–23  .080 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Ivy League men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Dartmouth10–4 .71418–11  .621 Columbia9–5 .64315–9  .625 Pennsylvania9–5 .64312–13  .480 Cornell8–6 .57111–13  .458 Yale7–7 .50015–11  .577 Princeton7–7 .50011–13  .458 Harvard3–11 .2148–16  .333 Brown3–11 .2147–18  .280 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1955–56 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT St. Francis (NY)4–0 1.00021–4  .840 Manhattan4–1 .80016–8  .667 Brooklyn2–2 .50011–7  .611 NYU2–2 .50010–8  .556 St. John's3–3 .50012–12  .500 Fordham2–2 .50011–12  .478 CCNY0–7 .0004–14  .222 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Marshall10–2 .83318–5  .783 Miami (OH)8–4 .66712–8  .600 Western Michigan7–5 .58311–9  .550 Toledo6–6 .5009–13  .409 Ohio5–7 .41713–11  .542 Kent State5–7 .41710–11  .476 Bowling Green1–11 .0834–19  .174 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Houston9–3 .75019–7  .731 Saint Louis8–4 .66718–7  .720 No. 19 Oklahoma A&M8–4 .66718–9  .667 Wichita7–5 .58314–12  .538 Tulsa4–8 .33316–10  .615 Detroit3–9 .25013–12  .520 Bradley3–9 .25013–13  .500 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1955–56 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 18 Utah12–2 .85722–6  .786 BYU10–4 .71418–8  .692 Utah State7–7 .50013–13  .500 Colorado A&M7–7 .50012–13  .480 Denver6–8 .42913–12  .520 New Mexico5–9 .3576–16  .273 Wyoming5–9 .3577–19  .269 Montana4–10 .28614–12  .538 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Tennessee Tech7–3 .70014–7  .667 Morehead State7–3 .70019–10  .655 Western Kentucky State7–3 .70016–12  .571 Murray State6–4 .60015–10  .600 Eastern Kentucky State3–7 .3009–16  .360 Middle Tennessee– –6–15  .286 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 8 UCLA16–0 1.00022–6  .786 Washington11–5 .68815–11  .577 Stanford10–6 .62518–6  .750 California10–6 .62517–8  .680 USC9–7 .56314–12  .538 Oregon5–11 .31311–15  .423 Oregon State5–11 .3138–18  .308 Idaho4–12 .2506–19  .240 Washington State2–14 .1254–22  .154 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1955–56 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 5 Alabama14–0 1.00021–3  .875 No. 9 Kentucky12–2 .85720–6  .769 No. 12 Vanderbilt11–3 .78619–4  .826 Auburn8–6 .57111–10  .524 Tulane7–7 .50012–12  .500 Georgia Tech6–8 .42912–11  .522 Mississippi State6–8 .42912–12  .500 Tennessee6–8 .42910–14  .417 LSU5–9 .3577–17  .292 Florida4–10 .28611–12  .478 Ole Miss4–10 .28610–13  .435 Georgia1–13 .0713–21  .125 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT George Washington10–2 .83319–7  .731 No. 20 West Virginia †10–2 .83321–9  .700 Virginia Tech10–7 .58814–11  .560 Richmond8–6 .57116–13  .552 William & Mary9–7 .56312–14  .462 Furman7–7 .50012–16  .429 Davidson5–7 .41710–15  .400 Washington and Lee5–8 .38512–16  .429 VMI3–11 .2144–19  .174 The Citadel0–10 .0002–19  .095 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 7 SMU12–0 1.00025–4  .862 Arkansas9–3 .75011–12  .478 Rice8–4 .66719–5  .792 Texas5–7 .41712–10  .545 Baylor3–9 .2506–17  .261 Texas A&M3–9 .2506–18  .250 TCU2–10 .1674–20  .167 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1955–56 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Canisius4–0 1.00019–7  .731 Niagara2–2 .50020–7  .741 St. Bonaventure0–4 .00011–12  .478 Rankings from AP Poll | 1955–56 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Connecticut 6–1 .85717–11  .607 Massachusetts 5–1 .83317–6  .739 Rhode Island 6–2 .75011–14  .440 Vermont 2–3 .4006–12  .333 Maine 3–5 .3756–12  .333 New Hampshire 0–10 .0002–15  .118 |

### Major independents

A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. Among them, Louisville (26–3) had the best winning percentage (.897) and Temple (27–4) finished with the most wins.
1955–56 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* No. 6 Louisville– –26–3
* .897
* No. 15 Temple– –27–4
* .871
* No. 3 Dayton– –25–4
* .862
* No. 14 Holy Cross– –22–5
* .815
* Seton Hall– –20–5
* .800
* Saint Joseph's– –23–6
* .793
* Washington University– –17–5
* .773
* Lafayette– –20–7
* .741
* Memphis State– –20–7
* .741
* No. 11 Oklahoma City– –20–7
* .741
* Portland– –20–8
* .714
* Cincinnati– –17–7
* .708
* DePaul– –16–8
* .667
* Colgate– –17–9
* .654
* Syracuse– –14–8
* .636
* Duquesne– –17–10
* .630
* Seattle– –18–11
* .621
* Butler– –14–9
* .609
* Xavier– –17–11
* .607
* La Salle– –15–10
* .600
* Muhlenberg– –15–10
* .600
* Pittsburgh– –15–10
* .600
* Georgetown– –13–11
* .542
* Marquette– –13–11
* .542
* Miami (Fla.)– –14–12
* .538
* Villanova– –14–12
* .538
* Navy– –10–9
* .526
* Creighton– –11–12
* .478
* Gonzaga– –13–15
* .464
* Penn State– –12–14
* .462
* Valparaiso– –12–14
* .462
* Army– –10–13
* .435
* Bucknell– –10–14
* .417
* Drake– –10–14
* .417
* Loyola (Ill.)– –10–14
* .417
* Saint Francis (Pa.)– –10–14
* .417
* Loyola (La.)– –10–15
* .400
* Lehigh– –7–11
* .389
* Notre Dame– –9–15
* .375
* Iona– –8–14
* .364
* Siena– –7–13
* .350
* Boston College– –6–17
* .261
* Rutgers– –3–15
* .167
* Rankings from AP Poll

### Informal championships

| Conference | Regular season winner | Most Valuable Player |
| Philadelphia Big 5 | St. Joseph's | Guy Rodgers, Temple |
Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

### Statistical leaders

| Points per game | Points per game | Points per game | Rebounds percentage | Rebounds percentage | Rebounds percentage | Field goal percentage | Field goal percentage | Field goal percentage | Free throw percentage | Free throw percentage | Free throw percentage |
| Player | School | PPG | Player | School | REB% | Player | School | FG% | Player | School | FT% |
| Darrell Floyd | Furman | 33.8 | Joe Holup | G. Washington | .256 | Joe Holup | G. Washington | 64.7 | Bill Von Weyhe | Rhode Island | 86.5 |
| Robin Freeman | Ohio State | 32.9 | Charlie Tyra | Louisville | .235 | Hal Greer | Marshall | 60.1 | Jackie Murdock | Wake Forest | 85.7 |
| Dan Swartz | Morehead St. | 28.6 | Jerry Harper | Alabama | .232 | Odell Johnson | St. Mary's (CA) | 56.3 | Vic Molodet | NC State | 85.2 |
| Tom Heinsohn | Holy Cross | 27.4 | Bill Russell | San Francisco | .231 | Raymond Downs | Texas | 54.0 | Dick Miani | Miami (FL) | 83.7 |
| Julius McCoy | Michigan St. | 27.3 | Charlie Slack | Marshall | .215 | Angelo Lombardo | Manhattan | 53.4 | Bob McCarty | Virginia | 83.2 |

## Post-season tournaments
### NCAA tournament

Coach Phil Woolpert and his star Bill Russell successfully guided San Francisco to its second consecutive championship, capping an undefeated season. The Dons became the first team in college basketball history to go undefeated and win the NCAA tournament. Temple's Hal Lear was named tournament Most Outstanding Player.

#### Final Four

Played at McGaw Hall in Evanston, Illinois
| National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Championship Game | National Championship Game | National Championship Game |
| E | Temple | 76 | | | |
| ME | Iowa | 83 | | | |
| ME | Iowa | 83 | ME | Iowa | 71 |
| | | | W | San Francisco | 83 |
| MW | SMU | 68 | W | San Francisco | 83 |
| W | San Francisco | 86 | National Third-Place Game | National Third-Place Game | National Third-Place Game |
| | | | E | Temple | 90 |
| | | | MW | SMU | 81 |

### National Invitation tournament

Louisville won its first NIT title, defeating Dayton 83–80. Louisville's Charlie Tyra won MVP honors

#### NIT Semifinals and Final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Louisville | 89 | | |
| St. Joseph's | 79 | | |
| St. Joseph's | 79 | Louisville | 90 |
| | | Dayton | 83 |
| St. Francis (N.Y.) | 58 | Dayton | 83 |
| Dayton | 89 | Third place | Third place |
| | | St. Joseph's | 93 |
| | | St. Francis (N.Y.) | 82 |

## Award winners
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Robin Freeman | G | Senior | Ohio State |
| Sihugo Green | G | Senior | Duquesne |
| Tom Heinsohn | F | Senior | Holy Cross |
| Bill Russell | C | Senior | San Francisco |
| Ronnie Shavlik | F/C | Senior | North Carolina State |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Bob Burrow | F | Senior | Kentucky |
| Darrell Floyd | G | Senior | Furman |
| Rod Hundley | G/F | Junior | West Virginia |
| K.C. Jones | G | Senior | San Francisco |
| Willie Naulls | F | Senior | UCLA |
| Bill Uhl | C | Senior | Dayton |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Foundation Player of the Year: Bill Russell, San Francisco
* UPI Player of the Year: Bill Russell, San Francisco

### Major coach of the year awards

* UPI Coach of the Year: Phil Woolpert, San Francisco

### Other major awards

* Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Guy Rodgers, Temple
* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC area): Bill Thieben, Hofstra

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach | Reason |
| Georgetown | Buddy Jeannette | Tom Nolan | After four seasons, Jeannette resigned. |
| Houston | Alden Pasche | Guy Lewis | |
| Kansas | Phog Allen | Dick Harp | Allen retired following the season and was replaced by assistant Harp. |
| Yale | Howard Hobson | Joe Vancisin | |