page_title: 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game
section_title: North Carolina Tar Heels
hierarchical_section_title: 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game / Background / North Carolina Tar Heels
caption_attribution_description: English: The University of North Carolina's Lennie Rosenbluth cuts down the nets after winning the 1957 NCAA title over Kansas
context_page_description: The 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game took place on March 23, 1957, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Kansas Jayhawks at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The matchup was the final one of the nineteenth edition of the single-elimination tournament now known as the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament—commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament—organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It was used to crown a national men's basketball champion in the NCAA's University Division, known since 1973 as the NCAA Division I.
  After surviving numerous close games during the regular season, the conference tournament, and lastly, a triple-overtime game against Michigan State in the national semifinal, North Carolina came into the National Championship game with an unblemished record of 31–0. Led by coach Frank McGuire and Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth, the Tar Heels were ranked first overall in the AP Poll. Kansas came into the National Championship game with two losses, which were credited to poor ball control on the Jayhawks' part.
context_section_description: The North Carolina Tar Heels were coached by Frank McGuire, who was in his fifth season as the team's head coach. His offensive philosophy centered around passing before shooting. McGuire's starting line up, and most of the roster, consisted primarily of players from New York state due to McGuire's connections in the area from his time as St. John's head coach. Carolina squads prior to McGuire usually had several in-state players and select out of state talent. Tommy Kearns and Pete Brennan were two offensive specialists. Center Joe Quigg provided a solid presence in the paint (free throw lane) and grabbed almost nine rebounds per game. Guard Bob Cunningham was one of the team's best defensive players. Lennie Rosenbluth, who averaged almost twenty-eight points a game and served as the team's clutch performer, led the team.
  North Carolina began their 1956–57 campaign with three straight wins by a wide margin of victory. In their fourth game, the Tar Heels traveled to Columbia, South Carolina, to play the South Carolina Gamecocks. They took the Tar Heels to overtime before North Carolina was able to come away with a four-point victory. Near the end of December, the Tar Heels participated in the annual Dixie Classic. They won it and remained undefeated after beating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the championship game. North Carolina then won five more games before going into double overtime against the Maryland Terrapins winning the game 65–61 to earn their seventeenth consecutive victory. In the following game, the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina were tied with 73 points each before Tar Heel Kearns sank two free throws to give North Carolina a two-point lead before the game ended. The Tar Heels closed out the regular season with six more victories to finish with a record of 24–0. North Carolina won their quarterfinal match-up in the ACC Tournament by twenty points to advance to the semifinals against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons were leading 59–58 as the game entered the final minute. With time running out, Rosenbluth made a two-point shot but was fouled in the act of shooting, which sent him to the line to shoot a free throw; he made the free throw and the Tar Heels won 61–59. The Tar Heels then beat South Carolina in the championship to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
  The Tar Heels defeated the Yale Bulldogs 90–74 in the NCAA East Regional Quarterfinal to advance to the semifinal against Canisius College. North Carolina won the game by twelve points allowing them to move on to the NCAA East Regional Final against the Syracuse Orange. The final, and the semifinal, was held at the Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Syracuse Orange fell to the Tar Heels 67–58 allowing them to advance to the Final Four in Kansas City, Missouri. The Tar Heels' opponent for the national semifinal was the Michigan State Spartans. The Tar Heels were tied with the Spartans as regulation time was winding down. Michigan State's Jack Quiggle made a half court shot that would have given the Spartans the lead, but it left his hands after time expired, nullifying the basket. In the first overtime, Michigan State had a two-point lead with eleven seconds remaining and had a player at the foul line. The Spartan missed both shots. Carolina's Brennan gathered the rebound, dribbled down the court, and made a shot as time expired to send the game to a second overtime. The Tar Heels pulled away in the third overtime to win the game 74–70. The game saw the lead change thirty-one times before the Tar Heels were able to emerge victorious after three overtime periods.
caption: The Tar Heels' Lennie Rosenbluth cuts down the nets after winning the Dixie Classic.
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