| Year: | 1959 |
| Preseason Ap: | None |
| Tourney Start: | March 7 |
| Nc Date: | 19, 1960 |
| Champ Stad: | Cow Palace |
| Champ City: | Daly City, California |
| Champ: | Ohio State |
| Helmschamp: | Ohio State |
| Nit Champ: | Bradley |
| Helmspoy: | Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati |
The 1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1959, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1960 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 19, 1960, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The Ohio State Buckeyes won their first NCAA national championship with a 75–55 victory over the California Golden Bears.
See main article: 1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings.
The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[1] [2]
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| Conference | Regular season winner[3] | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| Lee Shaffer, North Carolina[4] | Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina) | Duke | ||||
| Kansas & | None selected | No Tournament | ||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| Jerry West, [5] | Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia) | West Virginia[6] | ||||
| Jay Arnette, | No Tournament | |||||
| Jerry Grote, | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
A total of 47 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, (23–4) had the best winning percentage (.852) and (24–5) finished with the most wins.[7]
See main article: 1960 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1960 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game.
See main article: 1960 National Invitation Tournament.
See main article: 1960 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
| Player | Position | Class | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darrall Imhoff | C | Senior | California | |
| Jerry Lucas | F/C | Sophomore | Ohio State | |
| Oscar Robertson | G | Senior | Cincinnati | |
| Tom Stith | G/F | Junior | St. Bonaventure | |
| Jerry West | G | Senior | West Virginia |
| Player | Position | Class | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Dischinger | F | Sophomore | Purdue | |
| Tony Jackson | G | Junior | St. John's | |
| Roger Kaiser | G | Junior | Georgia Tech | |
| Lee Shaffer | F | Senior | North Carolina | |
| Len Wilkens | G | Senior | Providence |
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | Interim Coach | New Coach | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | Tom Scott | Lefty Driesell | ||
| Georgetown | Tom Nolan | Tommy O'Keefe | After four seasons, Nolan resigned to focus on his role as head coach of Georgetown's baseball team, a position he had assumed in 1959 and held until 1978. His assistant O'Keefe succeeded him.[8] | |