1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season

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 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 ft to 12 ft.
• 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

Main article: 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball rankings

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.

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Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conference

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

Major independents

A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. Among them, (26–3) had the best winning percentage (.897) and Temple (27–4) finished with the most wins.

Informal championships

Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main article: 1956 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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 | RD1-seed1=E | RD1-team1=Temple | RD1-score1=76 | RD1-seed2=ME | RD1-team2=Iowa | RD1-score2=83 | RD1-seed3=MW | RD1-team3=SMU | RD1-score3=68 | RD1-seed4=W | RD1-team4=San Francisco | RD1-score4=86 | RD2-seed1=ME | RD2-team1=Iowa | RD2-score1=71 | RD2-seed2=W | RD2-team2=San Francisco | RD2-score2=83 | RD2b-seed1=E | RD2b-team1=Temple | RD2b-score1=90 | RD2b-seed2=MW | RD2b-team2=SMU | RD2b-score2=81

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1956 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 ** | RD1-seed1= | RD1-team1=Louisville | RD1-score1=89 | RD1-seed2= | RD1-team2=St. Joseph's | RD1-score2=79 | RD1-seed3= | RD1-team3=St. Francis (N.Y.) | RD1-score3=58 | RD1-seed4= | RD1-team4=Dayton | RD1-score4=89 | RD2-seed1= | RD2-team1=Louisville | RD2-score1=90 | RD2-seed2= | RD2-team2=Dayton | RD2-score2=83 | RD2b-seed1= | RD2b-team1=St. Joseph's | RD2b-score1=93 | RD2b-seed2= | RD2b-team2=St. Francis (N.Y.) | RD2b-score2=82

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1956 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

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.

References

References

1. . (). ["Playing Rules History"](http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf). *NCAA*.
2. . (). ["Playing Rules History"](http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf). *NCAA*.
3. [http://www.orangehoops.org/NCAA/NCAA%20Rule%20Changes.htm orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes]
4. [https://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2009/Rules.pdf 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section], [[NCAA]], retrieved 2011-04-10
5. (2009). "ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game". [[Random House]].
6. (2009). "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section". NCAA.
7. [http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/09mbkguide083112.pdf 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-03-03 , retrieved 2011-04-10)
8. [http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/west/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2008-09mbbrecordbook.pdf 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-05-23 , [[West Coast Conference]], retrieved 2011-04-10)
9. [http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/honorsandawards.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section], [[Southern Conference]], retrieved 2010-08-14
10. [http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/standingsandresults.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section], [[Southern Conference]], retrieved 2011-04-10
11. "1955-56 Men's Independent Season Summary". [[Sports Reference]].
12. (1998). "Inside Sports College Basketball". Gale Research.
13. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches".