# 1955–56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team

The 1955–56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represented Southern Methodist University as a member of the Southwest Conference during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Doc Hayes and played their home games at Perkins Gymnasium in Dallas, Texas for the final season (SMU Coliseum opened in December 1956). Playing out of the Midwest region, the Mustangs made a run to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament – the first, and only, in program history. In the National semifinals, SMU lost to the eventual National champions, San Francisco, 86–68, in what was the Dons 54th consecutive victory. The Mustangs closed out the season with a loss to Temple in the consolation game to finish with a record of 25–4 (12–0). Three of the team's four losses came to Final Four participants.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| December 1, 1955* | | North Texas State | W 82–67 | 1–0 | Perkins Gym Dallas, TX |
| December 3, 1955* | | Austin College | W 94–56 | 2–0 | Perkins Gym Dallas, TX |
| December 6, 1955* | | Texas Wesleyan | W 65–42 | 3–0 | Perkins Gym Dallas, TX |
| December 9, 1955* | | at No. 4 Iowa | L 62–80 | 3–1 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| December 10, 1955* | | at No. 20 Minnesota | W 82–81 $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| December 12, 1955* | | at Wisconsin | W 75–62 | 5–1 | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| December 17, 1955* | | No. 18 Kansas | W 81–61 | 6–1 | Perkins Gym Dallas, TX |
| December 21, 1955* | | at Kansas | L 58–62 | 6–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| December 22, 1955* | | at Wichita | W 85–67 | 7–2 | University of Wichita Field House Wichita, KS |
| December 28, 1955* | | vs. Arkansas SWC Christmas Tournament | W 67–62 | 8–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| December 29, 1955* | | vs. Southern California SWC Christmas Tournament | W 70–64 | 9–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| Dec 30, 1955* | | at No. 17 Rice SWC Christmas Tournament | W 76–73 $^{OT}$ | 10–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| Jan 4, 1956 | | No. 18 Rice | W 87–65 | 11–2 (1–0) | Perkins Gym Dallas, TX |
| Jan 7, 1956 | | at Texas | W 66–63 | 12–2 (2–0) | Gregory Gym Austin, TX |
| January 10, 1956 | | Texas A&M | W 97–68 | 13–2 (3–0) | Perkins Gym Dallas, Texas |
| January 28, 1956 | No. 18 | Texas Christian | W 105–64 | 14–2 (4–0) | Perkins Gym Dallas, Texas |
| January 31, 1956 | No. 17 | at Baylor | W 92–72 | 15–2 (5–0) | Heart O' Texas Fair Complex Waco, Texas |
| February 4, 1956 | No. 17 | at Arkansas | W 58–53 | 16–2 (6–0) | Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| Feb 7, 1956 | No. 15 | Texas | W 109–96 | 17–2 (7–0) | Perkins Gym Dallas, TX |
| Feb 28, 1956 | No. 9 | Rice | W 89–75 | 22–2 (12–0) | Perkins Gym Dallas, TX |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 13, 1956* | No. 7 | vs. Texas Tech First round | W 68–67 | 23–2 | University of Wichita Field House Wichita, KS |
| March 16, 1956* | No. 7 | vs. Houston Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 89–74 | 24–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| March 17, 1956* | No. 7 | vs. No. 11 Oklahoma City Midwest Regional final – Elite Eight | W 84–63 | 25–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| March 22, 1956* | No. 7 | vs. No. 1 San Francisco National semifinal – Final Four | L 68–86 | 25–3 | McGaw Hall Evanston, IL |
| March 23, 1956* | No. 7 | vs. No. 15 Temple Consolation | L 81–90 | 25–4 | McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Standard Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Coaches | 18 т | — | — | 12 | 19 т | 10 т | 7 | 8 т | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Not released |

## Awards and honors

* Jim Krebs – All-American