1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1958–59 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1958–59 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1959
Tournament dates	March 7 – 21, 1959
National Championship	Freedom Hall; Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	California
Helms National Champions	California
Other champions	St. John's (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

The 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1958, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 21, 1959, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The California Golden Bears won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–70 victory over the West Virginia Mountainneers.

Season headlines

The Pacific Coast Conference disbanded at the end of the season.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[1][2]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Cincinnati
2	Kentucky
3	Kansas State
4	West Virginia
5	NC State
6	Tennessee
7	Kansas
8	Mississippi State
9	Saint Louis
10	Northwestern
11	Notre Dame
12	Auburn
13	North Carolina
14	Saint Mary's
15	Michigan State
16	Xavier
17	Marquette
18	SMU
19	Indiana
20 (tie)	Oklahoma State
20 (tie)	St. John's

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Cincinnati
2	Kansas State
3	Notre Dame
4	Kentucky
5	Michigan State
6	Washington
7	West Virginia
8	Xavier
9	Oklahoma State
10	St. John's
11	Maryland
12	NC State
13	Northwestern
14	North Carolina
15	Saint Joseph's
16	Saint Louis
17	Mississippi State
18	Purdue
19	Louisville
20	Iowa

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Canisius Golden Griffins	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Niagara Purple Eagles	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
St. Bonaventure Brown Indians	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Washington and Lee Generals	Southern Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[3]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina & NC State	Lou Pucillo, NC State[4]	1959 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Bob Boozer, Kansas State	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Michigan State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona State, New Mexico State, & Texas Western		No Tournament
Ivy League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Manhattan		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green State	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Saint Joseph's		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	California		No Tournament
Skyline Conference	Utah		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Mississippi State	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Jerry West, West Virginia[5]	1959 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia[6]
Southwest Conference	TCU	H. E. Kirchner, TCU	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Saint Mary's	LaRoy Doss, Saint Mary's, & Leroy Wright, Pacific	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	St. Joseph's	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National semifinals			National finals

E	West Virginia	94

ME	Louisville	79
			E	West Virginia	70

			W	California	71
MW	Cincinnati	58

W	California	64

Third Place – Cincinnati 98, Louisville 85

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals			Finals

	Bradley	59

	NYU	57
				Bradley	71

				St. John′s	76
	Providence	55

	St. John's	76

Third Place – NYU 71, Providence 57

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Bob Boozer	F	Senior	Kansas State
Johnny Cox	G	Senior	Kentucky
Bailey Howell	F	Senior	Mississippi State
Oscar Robertson	G	Junior	Cincinnati
Jerry West	G	Junior	West Virginia

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Leo Byrd	G	Senior	Marshall
Johnny Green	F	Senior	Michigan State
Tom Hawkins	F	Senior	Notre Dame
Don Hennon	G	Senior	Pittsburgh
Al Seiden	G	Senior	St. John's

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	New Coach
Loyola (LA)	Hank Kuzma	Bill Gardiner
Minnesota	Osborne Cowles	John Kundla
West Texas A&M	Borden Price	Metz LaFollette

References

ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
"1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
"2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

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[ESPN-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[3] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[4] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14

[5] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[6] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24