1956 NCAA basketball tournament
{{Short description|Edition of USA college basketball tournament}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox NCAA basketball tournament
| Year=1956
| Image=
| ImageSize=
| Caption=
| Teams=25
| FinalFourArena=McGaw Hall
| FinalFourCity=Evanston, Illinois
| Champions=San Francisco Dons
| TitleCount=2nd
| ChampGameCount=2nd
| ChampFFCount=2nd
| RunnerUp=Iowa Hawkeyes
| GameCount=1st
| RunnerFFCount=2nd
| Semifinal1=SMU Mustangs
| FinalFourCount=1st
| Semifinal2=Temple Owls
| FinalFourCount2=1st
| Coach=Phil Woolpert
| CoachCount=2nd
| MOP=Hal Lear
| MOPTeam=Temple
| Attendance=132,513
| TopScorer=Hal Lear
| TopScorerTeam=Temple
| Points=160
}}
The 1956 NCAA basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA college basketball. It began on March 12, 1956, and ended with the championship game on March 24 on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
The 1955–56 season was the last in which only one NCAA Tournament was held. Effective in 1956–57, the NCAA divided its membership into two competitive levels. The larger and more competitive athletic programs were placed in the University Division, and smaller programs in the College Division. Accordingly, that season would see separate tournaments contested in the University and College Divisions. In 1973, the University Division would be renamed NCAA Division I, while the College Division would be split into today's Divisions II and III.
This was the first NCAA tournament in which the four regionals were given distinct names, although the concept of four regional winners advancing to a single site for the "Final Four" had been introduced in 1952.
San Francisco, coached by Phil Woolpert, won the national title with an 83–71 victory in the final game over Iowa, coached by Bucky O'Connor. Hal Lear of Temple was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Locations
| class="wikitable"
! Round !! Region !! Site !! Venue |
| rowspan="4" | First Round
|East |
|---|
| Far West |
| Midwest |
| West |
| rowspan="4" | Regionals
| East |
| Far West |
| Midwest |
| West |
| colspan="2"| Final Four |
Teams
| class=wikitable
! Region !! Team !! Coach !! Conference !! Finished !! Final Opponent !! Score | ||||||
| colspan=7 | East | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Canisius | Joseph Curran | WNY3 | Regional Runner-up | Temple | L 60–58 |
| East | Connecticut | Hugh Greer | Yankee | Regional Fourth Place | Dartmouth | L 85–64 |
| East | Dartmouth | Doggie Julian | Ivy League | Regional third place | Connecticut | W 85–64 |
| East | Holy Cross | Roy Leenig | Independent | First round | Temple | L 74–72 |
| East | Manhattan | Ken Norton | Metro NY | First round | Connecticut | L 84–75 |
| East | NC State | Everett Case | Atlantic Coast | First round | Canisius | L 79–78 |
| East | Temple | Harry Litwack | Independent | Third Place | SMU | W 90–81 |
| East | West Virginia | Fred Schaus | Southern | First round | Dartmouth | L 61–59 |
| colspan=7 | Far West | ||||||
| Far West | Idaho State | Steve Belko | Independent | First round | Seattle | L 68–66 |
| Far West | San Francisco | Phil Woolpert | CBA | Champion | Iowa | W 83–71 |
| Far West | Seattle | Al Brightman | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | UCLA | L 94–70 |
| Far West | UCLA | John Wooden | Pacific Coast | Regional third place | Seattle | W 94–70 |
| Far West | Utah | Jack Gardner | Mountain States | Regional Runner-up | San Francisco | L 92–77 |
| colspan=7 | Midwest | ||||||
| Midwest | DePaul | Ray Meyer | Independent | First round | Wayne State (MI) | L 72–63 |
| Midwest | Iowa | Bucky O'Connor | Big Ten | Runner Up | San Francisco | L 83–71 |
| Midwest | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | Southeastern | Regional Runner-up | Iowa | L 89–77 |
| Midwest | Marshall | Jule Rivlin | Mid-American | First round | Morehead State | L 107–92 |
| Midwest | Morehead State | Bobby Laughlin | Ohio Valley | Regional third place | Wayne State (MI) | W 95–84 |
| Midwest | Wayne State (MI) | Joel Mason | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | Morehead State | L 95–84 |
| colspan=7 | West | ||||||
| West | Houston | Alden Pasche | Missouri Valley | Regional Fourth Place | Kansas State | L 89–70 |
| West | Kansas State | Tex Winter | Big 7 | Regional third place | Houston | W 89–70 |
| West | Memphis State | Eugene Lambert | Independent | First round | Oklahoma City | L 97–81 |
| West | Oklahoma City | Abe Lemons | Independent | Regional Runner-up | SMU | L 84–63 |
| West | SMU | Doc Hayes | Southwest | Fourth Place | Temple | L 90–81 |
| West | Texas Tech | Polk Robison | Border | First round | SMU | L 68–67 |
Bracket
=East Region=
{{8TeamBracket|seeds=n
| RD1-seed1=
| RD1-team1=Connecticut
| RD1-score1=84
| RD1-seed2=
| RD1-team2={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Manhattan Jaspers|title=Manhattan}}
| RD1-score2=75
| RD1-seed3=
| RD1-team3=Temple
| RD1-score3=74
| RD1-seed4=
| RD1-team4={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Holy Cross Crusaders|title=Holy Cross}}
| RD1-score4=72
| RD1-seed5=
| RD1-team5={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Dartmouth Big Green|title=Dartmouth}}
| RD1-score5=61
| RD1-seed6=
| RD1-team6={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=West Virginia Mountaineers|title=West Virginia}}
| RD1-score6=59*
| RD1-seed7=
| RD1-team7={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Canisius Golden Griffins|title=Canisius}}
| RD1-score7=79
| RD1-seed8=
| RD1-team8={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=NC State Wolfpack|title=NC State}}
| RD1-score8=78****
| RD2-team1=Connecticut
| RD2-score1=59
| RD2-team2=Temple
| RD2-score2=65
| RD2-team3=Dartmouth
| RD2-score3=58
| RD2-team4=Canisius
| RD2-score4=66
| RD3-team1=Temple
| RD3-score1=60
| RD3-team2=Canisius
| RD3-score2=58
| RD3b-seed1=
| RD3b-team1=Dartmouth
| RD3b-score1=85
| RD3b-seed2=
| RD3b-team2=Connecticut
| RD3b-score2=64
}}
=Midwest Region=
{{6TeamBracket-Info|seeds=n
| RD1-team1={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Morehead State Eagles|title=Morehead State}}
| RD1-score1=107
| RD1-team2=Marshall
| RD1-score2=92
| RD1-team3={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Wayne State Warriors|title=Wayne State (MI)}}
| RD1-score3=72
| RD1-team4={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=DePaul Blue Demons|title=DePaul}}
| RD1-score4=63
| RD2-team1=Iowa
| RD2-score1=97
| RD2-team2=Morehead State
| RD2-score2=83
| RD2-team3={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Kentucky Wildcats|title=Kentucky}}
| RD2-score3=84
| RD2-team4=Wayne State
| RD2-score4=64
| RD3-team1=Iowa
| RD3-score1=89
| RD3-team2=Kentucky
| RD3-score2=77
| RD3b-seed1=
| RD3b-team1=Morehead State
| RD3b-score1=95
| RD3b-seed2=
| RD3b-team2=Wayne State
| RD3b-score2=84
}}
=West Region=
{{6TeamBracket-Info|seeds=n
| RD1-team1=SMU
| RD1-score1=68
| RD1-team2=Texas Tech
| RD1-score2=67
| RD1-team3=Oklahoma City
| RD1-score3=97
| RD1-team4={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Memphis State Tigers|title=Memphis State}}
| RD1-score4=81
| RD2-team1=Houston
| RD2-score1=74
| RD2-team2=SMU
| RD2-score2=89
| RD2-team3={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Kansas State Wildcats|title=Kansas State}}
| RD2-score3=93
| RD2-team4=Oklahoma City
| RD2-score4=97
| RD3-team1=SMU
| RD3-score1=84
| RD3-team2=Oklahoma City
| RD3-score2=63
| RD3b-seed1=
| RD3b-team1=Kansas State
| RD3b-score1=89
| RD3b-seed2=
| RD3b-team2=Houston
| RD3b-score2=70
}}
=Far West Region=
{{5TeamBracket|seeds=n
| RD1-team1={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Seattle Chieftains|title=Seattle}}
| RD1-score1=68
| RD1-team2={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Idaho State Bengals|title=Idaho State}}
| RD1-score2=66
| RD2-team1={{cbb link|1=1955|sex=men|team=Utah Utes|title=Utah}}
| RD2-score1=81
| RD2-team2=Seattle
| RD2-score2=72
| RD2-team3=San Francisco
| RD2-score3=72
| RD2-team4=UCLA
| RD2-score4=61
| RD3-team1=Utah
| RD3-score1=77
| RD3-team2=San Francisco
| RD3-score2=92
| RD3b-seed1=
| RD3b-team1=UCLA
| RD3b-score1=94
| RD3b-seed2=
| RD3b-team2=Seattle
| RD3b-score2=70
}}
=Final Four=
{{4TeamBracket
| RD1=National Semifinals
| RD2=National Championship Game
| RD2b=National third-place game
| RD1-seed1=E
| RD1-team1=Temple
| RD1-score1=76
| RD1-seed2=MW
| RD1-team2=Iowa
| RD1-score2=83
| RD1-seed3=W
| RD1-team3=SMU
| RD1-score3=68
| RD1-seed4=FW
| RD1-team4=San Francisco
| RD1-score4=86
| RD2-seed1=MW
| RD2-team1=Iowa
| RD2-score1=71
| RD2-seed2=FW
| RD2-team2=San Francisco
| RD2-score2=83
| RD2b-seed1=
| RD2b-team1=Temple
| RD2b-score1=90
| RD2b-seed2=
| RD2b-team2=SMU
| RD2b-score2=81
}}
See also
Notes
- Canisius's first-round victory over the second-ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack, considered by many to be among the top ten upsets in tournament history,{{cite web| url = https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/ncaatourneyupset.html| title = ESPN.com - Page2 - When underdogs dance}}{{cite web| url = http://www.prepticket.com/album/823292:Album:51478/market/national/id/823292:Photo:51457| title = Top 25 Upsets in NCAA Tournament History--#5}}, Prepticket.com. Accessed 2009-04-02. {{cite web| url = http://www.prepticket.com/album/823292:Album:51478/market/national/id/823292:Photo:51457| title = Archived| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090420204304/http://www.prepticket.com/album/823292:Album:51478/market/national/id/823292:Photo:51457| archive-date = 2009-04-20}} 2009-05-04. set a record for most overtime periods in a Division I men's tournament game with four, a record that still stands {{as of|2023|lc=y}} (tied once, in 1961).{{cite web |title=The Sports Network – Men's College Basketball |author=The Sports Network |url=http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cbask/mmad/2009/stat.aspx?f=teams_records |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526000053/http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cbask%2Fmmad%2F2009%2Fstat.aspx%3Ff%3Dteams_records |archive-date=2011-05-26 |url-status=dead |access-date=2009-04-02 }}
- Northwestern University previously hosted the first ever NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game on March 27, 1939, in the first Patten Gym.1939 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
- Alabama (21–3, 14–0) had won the Southeastern Conference and had their all-time highest ranking (#4) at the end of the 1956 season, but due to a rule that players could not play as freshman, as their entire starting lineup had previously done, they were ruled ineligible for the 1956 NCAA Tournament.{{cite web |author1=Jimmy Bank |title=Throwback Thursday: Jimmy Dee |url=https://www.si.com/college/alabama/history/throwback-thursday-johnny-dee-alabama-basketball |website=FanNation |publisher=Sports Illustrated |access-date=7 May 2022 |date=18 Feb 2021}}
- There were six new participants in the 1956 tournament: Houston, Manhattan, Marshall, Michigan State, Morehead State and Wayne University (which became Wayne State University later that year). This was the only tournament for the Tartars (now Warriors), as they would drop to the College Division and eventually Division II. They are one of five teams to win a game in the tournament and drop from what is now Division I afterwards.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament navbox}}
{{1955–56 NCAA championships navbox}}
{{1956 San Francisco Dons men's basketball navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1956 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament}}
Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament