# 1954–55 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

The 1954–55 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco in NCAA competition in the 1954–55 season. The Dons, a member of the California Basketball Association (now known as the West Coast Conference), finished the season ranked #1 in the nation.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| Dec 2, 1955* | | Chico State | W 70–39 | 1–0 | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Dec 10, 1954* | | at Loyola (Los Angeles) | W 54–45 | 2–0 | – | – | – | Alumni Memorial Gymnasium Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 11, 1954* | | at No. 13 UCLA | L 40–47 | 2–1 | – | – | – | UCLA Men's Gymnasium Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 17, 1954* | | Oregon State | W 60–34 | 3–1 | – | – | – | Cow Palace Daly City, California |
| Dec 18, 1954* | | No. 8 UCLA | W 56–44 | 4–1 | – | – | – | Cow Palace Daly City, California |
| Dec 20, 1954* | | vs. No. 17 Wichita State All-College Tournament | W 94–75 | 5–1 | – | – | – | Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Dec 21, 1954* | No. 17 | at Oklahoma City All-College Tournament | W 75–51 | 6–1 | – | – | – | Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Dec 22, 1954* | No. 17 | vs. No. 8 George Washington All-College Tournament | W 73–57 | 7–1 | – | – | – | Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Dec 29, 1954* | No. 5 | San Diego State | W 70–56 | 8–1 | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Jan 4, 1955 | No. 5 | at Saint Mary's | W 51–37 | 9–1 (1–0) | – | – | – | Madigan Gymnasium Moraga, California |
| Jan 10, 1955 | No. 5 | San Jose State | W 56–30 | 10–1 (2–0) | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Jan 12, 1955 | No. 5 | at Santa Clara | W 54–44 | 11–1 (3–0) | – | – | – | Oakland, California |
| Jan 14, 1955 | No. 5 | Pacific | W 62–49 | 12–1 (4–0) | 12 – Tied | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Jan 28, 1955* | No. 2 | Stanford | W 76–60 | 13–1 | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Jan 29, 1955* | No. 2 | California | W 84–62 | 14–1 | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Feb 4, 1955* | No. 2 | Loyola (Los Angeles) | W 65–55 | 15–1 | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Feb 5, 1955 | No. 2 | Saint Mary's | W 69–48 | 16–1 (5–0) | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Feb 9, 1955 | No. 1 | at Pacific | W 72–52 | 17–1 (6–0) | – | – | – | Pacific Pavilion Stockton, California |
| Feb 11, 1955 | No. 1 | at San Jose State | W 59–49 | 18–1 (7–0) | – | – | – | Spartan Gym San Jose, California |
| Feb 14, 1955 | No. 1 | at Santa Clara | W 66–52 | 19–1 (8–0) | 31 – Russell | – | – | San Jose Civic Auditorium San Jose, California |
| Feb 16, 1955 | No. 1 | at Saint Mary's | W 65–57 | 20–1 (9–0) | – | – | – | Madigan Gymnasium Moraga, California |
| Feb 23, 1955 | No. 1 | at San Jose State | W 64–40 | 21–1 (10–0) | – | – | – | Spartan Gym San Jose, California |
| Feb 26, 1955 | No. 1 | Pacific | W 67–57 | 22–1 (11–0) | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| Mar 2, 1955 | No. 1 | Santa Clara | W 73–61 | 23–1 (12–0) | – | – | – | Kezar Pavilion San Francisco, California |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 1955* | No. 1 | vs. West Texas A&M First round | W 89–66 | 24–1 | 29 – Russell | 11 – Tied | – | Cow Palace Daly City, California |
| Mar 11, 1955* | No. 1 | vs. No. 7 Utah West Regional semifinal | W 78–59 | 25–1 | 24 – Mullen | 9 – Russell | – | Oregon State Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon |
| Mar 12, 1955* | No. 1 | vs. No. 10 Oregon State West Regional Final | W 57–56 | 26–1 | 29 – Russell | 16 – Russell | – | Oregon State Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon |
| Mar 18, 1955* | No. 1 | vs. No. 15 Colorado National semifinal | W 62–50 | 27–1 | 24 – Russell | 9 – Russell | – | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar 19, 1955* | No. 1 | vs. No. 3 La Salle National Championship Game | W 77–63 | 28–1 | 24 – Jones | 25 – Russell | – | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | — | — | 17 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Coaches | — | — | — | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* Bill Russell, First Team All-America selection

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 11 | Jerry Mullen | New York Knicks |
| 10 | 76 | K. C. Jones | Minneapolis Lakers |