1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball season explained

Year:	1960
Preseason Ap:	None
Tourney Start:	March 14
Nc Date:	25, 1961
Champ Stad:	Municipal Auditorium
Champ City:	Kansas City, Missouri
Champ:	Cincinnati
Helmschamp:	Cincinnati
Nit Champ:	Providence
Helmspoy:	Jerry Lucas, Ohio State

The 1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1960, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1961, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Cincinnati Bearcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 70–65 victory in overtime over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Season headlines

• A gambling scandal rocked the NCAA University Division and resulted in the arrests of 37 students from 22 different colleges and universities.
• In the 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament national third-place game, Saint Joseph's defeated 127–120 in four overtimes, tying the record for the longest game in NCAA tournament history, set in 1956 in a first-round game between Canisius and North Carolina State.^[1] The Saint Joseph's victory later was vacated because of the gambling scandal.^[2]
• On March 25, 1961, two teams from Ohio, Cincinnati and Ohio State, met in the 1961 NCAA University Division basketball championship game, the first time two teams from the same U.S. state had played one another for the NCAA championship. Cincinnati defeated Ohio State 70–65 in overtime.^[3]
• Ed Jucker of Cincinnati became the first head coach to win the NCAA championship his first year at a school.^[4]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

See main article: 1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings.

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^{[5] [6]}

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 Ohio State 2 Bradley 3 Detroit 4 Indiana 5 North Carolina 6 St. Bonaventure 7 St. John's 8 Duke 9 Louisville 10 NC State 11 Auburn 12 Maryland 13 UCLA 14 Utah State 15 Georgia Tech 16 (tie) Kansas Wichita 18 Utah 19 Illinois 20 (tie) Kansas State Kentucky

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Ohio State 2 Bradley 3 Indiana 4 Kansas 5 North Carolina 6 (tie) St. Bonaventure Utah State 8 Cincinnati 9 Detroit 10 St. John's 11 Kansas State 12 Georgia Tech 13 Providence 14 Providence 15 Utah 16 Duke 17 California 18 Washington 19 Western Kentucky State 20 Dayton

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[7]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
		None selected	No Tournament
		Len Chappell, Wake Forest^[8]		Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Wake Forest
		None selected	No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
	Arizona State &		No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
			No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
			No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
	, &	None selected	No Tournament
			No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
		Jeff Cohen, ^[9]		Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	George Washington^[10]
		Carroll Broussard,	No Tournament
		Tom Meschery,	No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

University Division independents

A total of 46 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, (20–3) had the best winning percentage (.870), while (24–4) and (24–5) finished with the most wins.^[11]

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

See main article: 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1961 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game.

Final Four

• Third Place – St. Joseph's 127, Utah 120 ^(4OT)

National Invitation tournament

See main article: 1961 National Invitation Tournament.

Semifinals & finals

• Third Place – Holy Cross 85, Dayton 67

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

See main article: 1961 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Terry Dischinger	F	Junior	Purdue
Roger Kaiser	G	Senior	Georgia Tech
Jerry Lucas	F/C	Junior	Ohio State
Tom Stith	G/F	Senior	St. Bonaventure
Chet Walker	F	Junior	Bradley

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Walt Bellamy	C	Senior	Indiana
Frank Burgess	G	Senior	Gonzaga
Tony Jackson	G	Senior	St. John's
Billy McGill	C	Junior	Utah
Larry Siegfried	G	Senior	Ohio State

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
• Associated Press Player of the Year:Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
• UPI Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State

Major coach of the year awards

• Henry Iba Award: Fred Taylor, Ohio State
• NABC Coach of the Year: Fred Taylor, Ohio State
• UPI Coach of the Year: Fred Taylor, Ohio State

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Bruce Drysdale, Temple
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Tony Jackson, St. John's

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Arizona	Fred Enke		Bruce Larson
Baylor	Bill Henderson		Bill Menefee
Holy Cross	Roy Leenig		Frank Oftring
North Carolina	Frank McGuire		Dean Smith	McGuire resigned to become head coach of the Philadelphia Warriors. Thirty-year-old assistant Smith was elevated to the head coaching spot.^[12]
Texas Western	Harold Davis		Don Haskins

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Sports Network - Men's College Basketball . The Sports Network . https://web.archive.org/web/20110526000053/http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cbask%2Fmmad%2F2009%2Fstat.aspx%3Ff%3Dteams_records . 2011-05-26 . dead . 2009-04-02 .
2. Web site: Review of the Literature.
3. Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 11.
4. Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 12.
5. Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . 978-0-345-51392-2 . . 2009 . 836.
6. Web site: 1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll. College Poll Archive. August 8, 2020.
7. News: 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section. 2009. NCAA. 2009-02-14.
8. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/09mbkguide083112.pdf 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section
9. http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/honorsandawards.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section
10. http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/standingsandresults.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section
11. Web site: 1960-61 Men's Independent Season Summary . . August 12, 2024.
12. News: 'Frank McGuire resigns as basketball coach at UNC. Asheville Citizen-Times. August 3, 1961. 28. Newspapers.com. May 1, 2021.