1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
1957–58 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
---|---|
Preseason AP No. 1 | None |
NCAA Tournament | 1958 |
Tournament dates | March 11, 1958 – March 22, 1958 |
National Championship | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
NCAA Champions | Kentucky Wildcats |
Helms National Champions | Kentucky Wildcats |
Other champions | Xavier Musketeers (NIT) |
Player of the Year (Helms) | Elgin Baylor, Seattle |
The 1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1957, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 22, 1958, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Wildcats won their fourth NCAA national championship with an 84–72 victory over the Seattle Chieftains.
Season headlines[edit]
- Adolph Rupp won his fourth championship as he led the Kentucky Wildcats to an 84–72 win over the Seattle Chieftains and their star, Elgin Baylor. The starting unit was nicknamed the "Fiddlin' Five," after a quip by Rupp that his team were fiddlers when he really needed violinists. The Wildcats fought back from two 11-point deficits to gain the victory.[1]
- Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson became the first player to lead the nation is scoring in his first varsity season. The sophomore (freshmen were ineligible) averaged 35.1 points per game for the Bearcats. He also became the first player to score 50 or more points in an NCAA tournament game when he scored 56 against Arkansas in a regional third-place game on March 15, 1958.[2]
- Dom Flora, a senior point guard at Washington and Lee University, finished his college career with 2,310 points and 696 free throws made, both of which were ranked fifth in their respective categories in college basketball history at the end of the 1957–58 season.[3]
- Future Hall of Fame coach Howard Cann of NYU retired at the conclusion of the season, after 35 years at the helm.
- The NCAA championship game saw the first use of an orange basketball. Previously, the NCAA had used brown basketballs.[2]
Major rule changes[edit]
Beginning in 1957–58, the following rules changes were implemented:
- Offensive goaltending was banned so that no player from either team could touch the ball or basket when the ball was on the basket's rim or above the cylinder. The only exception was the shooter in the original act of shooting.
- One free throw for each common foul was taken for the first six personal fouls by one team in each half, and the one-and-one was used thereafter.
- On uniforms, the use of the single-digit numbers "1" and "2" and any digit greater than "5" in player numbers were prohibited as a means of simplifying referees' hand signals to the scorer's table when calling a foul. A failure to comply resulted in the assessment of a technical foul against the offending team.[4][5][6] The single-digit numbers "1" and "2" will not be permitted again until the 1999–2000 season[7] and digits greater than five will not be permitted again until the 2023–24 season.[6]
- A ball that passes over the backboard – either front-to-back or back-to-front — was considered out of bounds.[8]
Conference membership changes[edit]
Regular season[edit]
Conference winners and tournaments[edit]
Informal championships[edit]
Conference | Regular season winner |
Conference tournament |
Tournament venue (City) |
Tournament winner |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Big 5 | Temple | No Tournament |
Statistical leaders[edit]
Points per game |
Rebound Percentage |
Field goal percentage |
Free throw percentage
| |||||||||||
Player | School | PPG | Player | School | REB% | Player | School | FG% | Player | School | FT% | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati | 35.1 | Boo Ellis | Niagara | .262 | Ralph Crosthwaite | W. Kentucky State | 61.0 | Semi Mintz | Davidson | 88.2 | |||
Elgin Baylor | Seattle | 32.5 | Al Inniss | St. Francis (NY) | .248 | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati | 57.1 | Gerald Myers | Texas Tech | 87.0 | |||
Wilt Chamberlain | Kansas | 30.1 | Elgin Baylor | Seattle | .235 | Pete Brunone | Manhattan | 56.2 | Arlen Clark | Oklahoma State | 86.5 | |||
Bailey Howell | Mississippi State | 27.8 | Wilt Chamberlain | Kansas | .216 | Bob Goodall | Tulsa | 55.7 | Joe Hobbs | Florida | 86.0 | |||
Red Murrell | Drake | 26.7 | Joe Cincebox | Syracuse | .206 | Hal Greer | Marshall | 54.6 | Hub Reed | Oklahoma City | 85.1 |
Polls[edit]
The final top 20 from the AP and Coaches Polls.[15]
|
|
Post-season tournaments[edit]
NCAA tournament[edit]
Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats won their fourth National championship by defeating the Seattle Chieftains 84–72 on March 22 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.[15] Seattle's Elgin Baylor led all tournament scorers and was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Final Four[edit]
National semifinals | National championship game | ||||||||
M2 | Kentucky | 61 | |||||||
W1 | Temple | 60 | |||||||
2 | Seattle | 72 | |||||||
1 | Kentucky | 84 | |||||||
S1 | Seattle | 73 | |||||||
E3 | Kansas State | 51 |
- Third Place – Temple 67, Kansas State 57
National Invitation tournament[edit]
The Xavier Musketeers entered the National Invitation Tournament with a 15–11 record, but surprised the field, defeating fellow Ohio school Dayton 78–74 to win the NIT.[16] The Musketeers' Hank Stein was named tournament MVP.
NIT Semifinals and Final[edit]
Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City
Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
1 | St. John’s | 56 | |||||||
3 | Dayton | 80 | |||||||
3 | Dayton | 74 | |||||||
2 | Xavier | 78 | |||||||
2 | St. Bonaventure | 53 | |||||||
2 | Xavier | 72 |
- Third Place – St. Bonaventure 84, St. John's 69
Award winners[edit]
Consensus All-American teams[edit]
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Elgin Baylor | F | Junior | Seattle |
Bob Boozer | F | Junior | Kansas State |
Wilt Chamberlain | C | Junior | Kansas |
Don Hennon | G | Junior | Pittsburgh |
Oscar Robertson | G | Sophomore | Cincinnati |
Guy Rodgers | G | Senior | Temple |
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Pete Brennan | F | Senior | North Carolina |
Archie Dees | F/C | Senior | Indiana |
Mike Farmer | F | Senior | San Francisco |
Dave Gambee | F | Senior | Oregon State |
Bailey Howell | F | Junior | Mississippi State |
Major player of the year awards[edit]
- Helms Foundation Player of the Year: Elgin Baylor, Seattle
- UPI Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
- Sporting News Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
Major coach of the year awards[edit]
Other major awards[edit]
- Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Guy Rodgers, Temple
- NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in NYC): Jim Cunningham, Fordham
Coaching changes[edit]
A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.
References[edit]
- ^ '58 The Fiddlin' Five Make Sweet Music
- ^ a b "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ "Dominick A. (Dom) Flora '58". Washington and Lee University. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ^ Garich, Ed (March 25, 1957). "Cage Rules Group Still in Session". Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. pp. 4, 8. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ a b McQuade, Dan (June 9, 2023). "College Basketball Players Can Wear Digits Above '5' Again". defector.com. Defector. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. pp. 5, 8. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book – Playing-Rules History section, NCAA, retrieved 2009-05-09. Archived 2009-05-13.
- ^ "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
- ^ Kansas State Athletic Site – Wildcat Honor Roll, Kansas State University, retrieved 2009-05-17
- ^ 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
- ^ 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
- ^ a b "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
- ^ "National Invitation Tournament - History - Tournament Result (1950s)". Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ "Frank "Bucky" O'Connor, Monroe, 1967". DesMoinesRegister.com. July 5, 2005. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ Raley, Dan (March 27, 2017). "Where Are They Now? John Castellani, Seattle U basketball coach". SeattlePi.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ "Bob Polk: Vandy Coaching Legend". January 3, 2007. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.