1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1956–57 NCAA men's University Division basketball season began in December 1956. It progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1957 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1957, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The North Carolina Tar Heels won their first NCAA national championship with a 54–53 triple-overtime victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.

Rule changes

  • The width of the free throw lane (also known as the "key"), increased from 6 to 12 feet (1.8 to 3.7 m).[1]
  • When teams lined up along the key for a free throw, it became mandatory that the two spaces adjacent to the end line be occupied by opponents of the player shooting the free throw. Previously, one player from each team occupied the spaces adjacent to the end line, with a player from the home team occupying a space marked "H" and a player from the visiting team occupying a space marked "V."[1]
  • Grasping the rim of the basket was deemed a form of unsportsmanlike conduct.[1]

Season headlines

  • This was the first season in which NCAA basketball was split into two levels of play – the University Division for schools competing at the highest level of play and the College Division for teams playing at lower levels with limited or no scholarships. It also was the first season in which the NCAA held more than one championship tournament — one for the University Division and one for the College Division. In 1973, the University Division would be replaced by Division I and the College Division by Division II and Division III.[2]
  • The California Basketball Association was renamed the West Coast Athletic Conference. It would be renamed the West Coast Conference in 1989.
  • In 1957, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected its national champions for the seasons from 1900–01 through 1918–19.[3]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[4]

Associated Press
Ranking Team
1 Kansas
2 Louisville
3 North Carolina
4 Illinois
5 SMU
6 Dayton
7 Temple
8 San Francisco
9 Saint Louis
10 Western Kentucky State
11 West Virginia
12 Oklahoma City
13 Oregon State
14 Kentucky
15 Washington
16
(tie)
NC State
St. John's
18 Kansas State
19 Vanderbilt
20 Wyoming
UP Coaches
Ranking Team
1 Kansas
2 Louisville
3 North Carolina
4 Illinois
5 SMU
6 Dayton
7 Temple
8 San Francisco
9 Saint Louis
10 Western Kentucky State
11 West Virginia
12 Oklahoma City
13 Oregon State
14 Kentucky
15 Washington
16
(tie)
NC State
St. John's
18 Kansas State
19 Vanderbilt
20 Wyoming

Conference membership changes

School Former conference New conference
Drake Bulldogs Independent Missouri Valley Conference
Texas Tech Red Raiders Border Conference NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference Regular
season winner[5]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Atlantic Coast ConferenceNorth CarolinaLennie Rosenbluth, North Carolina[6]1957 ACC men's basketball tournamentReynolds Coliseum
(Raleigh, North Carolina)
North Carolina
Big Seven ConferenceKansasGary Thompson, Iowa State [7]No Tournament
Big Ten ConferenceIndiana & Michigan StateNone SelectedNo Tournament
Border ConferenceTexas WesternNone SelectedNo Tournament
Ivy LeagueYaleNone SelectedNo Tournament
Metropolitan New York ConferenceNYUNone SelectedNo Tournament
Mid-American ConferenceMiami (OH)None SelectedNo Tournament
Missouri Valley ConferenceSaint LouisNone SelectedNo Tournament
Ohio Valley ConferenceMorehead State & Western Kentucky StateNone SelectedNo Tournament
Pacific Coast ConferenceCaliforniaNone SelectedNo Tournament
Skyline ConferenceBYUNone SelectedNo Tournament
Southeastern ConferenceKentuckyNone SelectedNo Tournament
Southern ConferenceWest VirginiaRod Hundley, West Virginia[8]1957 Southern Conference men's basketball tournamentRichmond Arena
(Richmond, Virginia)
West Virginia[9]
Southwest ConferenceSMUNone SelectedNo Tournament
West Coast Athletic ConferenceSan FranciscoMike Farmer, San Francisco[10]No Tournament
Western New York Little Three ConferenceCanisius & St. BonaventureNo Tournament
Yankee ConferenceConnecticutNone selectedNo Tournament

Informal championships

Conference Regular
season winner
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Philadelphia Big 5La Salle, St. Joseph's, & TempleNo Tournament

Statistical leaders

Points per game
Rebound Percentage
Field goal percentage
Free throw percentage
PlayerSchoolPPGPlayerSchoolREB%PlayerSchoolFG%PlayerSchoolFT%
Grady WallaceSouth Carolina31.2Elgin BaylorSeattle.235Bailey HowellMississippi St.56.8Ernie WigginsWake Forest87.7
Joe GibbonMississippi30.0Boo EllisNiagara.234Alvin InnisSt. Francis (NY)56.1Jackie MurdockWake Forest87.5
Elgin BaylorSeattle29.7Charlie TyraLouisville.229Dennis RothMuhlenberg54.4Bob SeitzNC State87.2
Wilt ChamberlainKansas29.6Wilt ChamberlainKansas.227Bob HoltsmaWilliam & Mary54.2Dave RickettsDuquesne86.2
Chet ForteColumbia28.9Gene GuariliaGeorge Washington.218Boo EllisNiagara53.7Bobby PlumpButler86.0

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Frank McGuire brought the ACC its first national championship as his undefeated North Carolina Tar Heels defeated Wilt Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks in what is considered one of the best games in NCAA history – a 54–53 triple–overtime thriller. Chamberlain was named tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Final Four

Played at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri

National semifinals National championship game
      
E North Carolina 74(3OT)
ME Michigan St. 70
E North Carolina 54(3OT)
MW Kansas 53
MW Kansas 80
W San Francisco 56
  • Third Place – San Francisco 67, Michigan State 60

National Invitation tournament

Bradley won its first NIT title, defeating Memphis State in a one-point contest. Memphis State's Win Wilfong won the MVP in a losing cause as he poured in 89 points in the Tigers' four games, including 31 in the final.[11]

NIT Semifinals and Final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Semifinals Final
      
St. Bonaventure 78
Memphis State 80
Memphis State 83
Bradley 84
Bradley 94
Temple 66
  • Third Place – Temple 67, St. Bonaventure 50

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Wilt Chamberlain C Sophomore Kansas
Chet Forte G Senior Columbia
Rod Hundley G/F Senior West Virginia
Jim Krebs F/C Senior SMU
Lennie Rosenbluth F Senior North Carolina
Charlie Tyra C Senior Louisville


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Elgin Baylor F Sophomore Seattle
Frank Howard F Junior Ohio State
Guy Rodgers G Junior Temple
Gary Thompson G Senior Iowa State
Grady Wallace F Senior South Carolina

Major player of the year awards

Major coach of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team Former
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
Arizona State Bill Kajikawa Ned Wulk
Loyola (LA) Jim McCafferty Jim Harding
Texas A&M Ken Loeffler Bob Rogers
Virginia Evan Male Billy McCann
Washington & Lee Billy McCann Weenie Miller
West Texas A&M Gus Miller Borden Price
Xavier Ned Wulk Jim McCafferty

References

  1. orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
  2. "History of the NCAA". NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  3. Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved December 14, 2015.
    • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  4. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  5. 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2010-08-14
  6. Iowa State Athletic Site – Cyclone Tradition Archived 2010-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, Iowa State University, retrieved 2010-08-14
  7. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14
  8. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14
  9. 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2010-08-14
  10. The National Invitation Tournament. Arcadia Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-7385-3904-X.
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