The 1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1962, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1963, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Loyola University Chicago Ramblers won their first NCAA national championship with a 60–58 victory in overtime over the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Season headlines
The Western Athletic Conference began play, with six charter members. While playing Wyoming in the All-City Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on December 28, 1962, Loyola of Illinois replaced starter John Egan with Pablo Robertson during the second half, becoming the first team ever to have five African American players on the floor at the same time. Terry Baker of Oregon State became the first college football Heisman Trophy winner to play in the NCAA tournament's Final Four. The Metropolitan New York Conference disbanded at the end of the season after 24 seasons of competition.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The Top 10 from the AP Poll and the Top 20 from the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1Cincinnati2Duke3Kentucky4Loyola (Ill.)5West Virginia6Mississippi State7Oregon State8Illinois9St. Bonaventure10Wisconsin UPI CoachesRankingTeam1Cincinnati2Duke3Kentucky4West Virginia5Loyola (Ill.)6Oregon State7Mississippi State8St. Bonaventure9Wisconsin10(tie)Bowling GreenStanford12Dayton13Illinois14Kansas State15Arizona State16NYU17UCLA18Colorado State19Creighton20Indiana
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Border Conference Western Athletic Conference Border Conference Western Athletic Conference Mountain States (Skyline) Conference Western Athletic Conference Mountain States (Skyline) Conference NCAA University Division independent Mountain States (Skyline) Conference NCAA University Division independent Border Conference NCAA University Division independent Mountain States (Skyline) Conference NCAA University Division independent Mountain States (Skyline) Conference Western Athletic Conference Border Conference NCAA University Division independent Middle Atlantic Conference NCAA University Division independent Border Conference NCAA University Division independent Mountain States (Skyline) Conference Western Athletic Conference Mountain States (Skyline) Conference NCAA University Division independent Border Conference NCAA University Division independent Mountain States (Skyline) Conference Western Athletic Conference
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAthletic Association of Western Universities Stanford & UCLA None selected No TournamentAtlantic Coast Conference Duke Art Heyman,Duke2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1963 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) DukeBig Eight Conference Colorado & None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Illinois & None selected No TournamentIvy League Princeton None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference Fordham No TournamentMid-American Conference Bowling Green State None selected No TournamentMiddle Atlantic Conference Saint Joseph's No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Cincinnati None selected No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Morehead State & Tennessee Tech Harold Sergent, Morehead State No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Mississippi State None selected No TournamentSouthern Conference West Virginia Fred Hetzel, Davidson2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1963 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Arena(Richmond, Virginia) West Virginia2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference Texas Bennie Lenox, No TournamentWest Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Steve Gray, No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference Arizona State None selected No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament Conference standings
University Division independents A total of 56 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Loyola of Illinois (29–2) had both the best winning percentage (.935) and the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Penn & Villanova Wali Jones, Villanova, & Jim Lynam, Saint Joseph's Penn and Villanova both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Ron Bonham F Junior Cincinnati Jerry Harkness G Senior Loyola (IL) Art Heyman F Senior Duke Barry Kramer G/F Junior NYU Tom Thacker G Senior Cincinnati
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Gary Bradds F Junior Ohio State Bill Green F Senior Colorado State Cotton Nash F Junior Kentucky Rod Thorn G/F Senior West Virginia Nate Thurmond C Senior Bowling Green
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Art Heyman, Duke Associated Press Player of the Year:Art Heyman, Duke UPI Player of the Year: Art Heyman, Duke Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Art Heyman, Duke Sporting News Player of the Year: Art Heyman, Duke
Major coach of the year awards
Henry Iba Award: Ed Jucker, Cincinnati NABC Coach of the Year: Ed Jucker, Cincinnati UPI Coach of the Year: Ed Jucker, Cincinnati
Other major awards
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Wali Jones, Villanova, & Jim Lynam, Saint Joseph's NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Barry Kramer, NYU
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArmyGeorge HunterTates Locke AuburnJoel EavesBill Lynn Boston CollegeFrank PowerBob Cousy Bowling GreenHarold AndersonWarren SchollerConnecticutHugh GreerGeorge WigtonFred Shabel Greer passed away due to a heart attacked on January 14, 1963. Assistant coach George Wigton finished the year as interim coach going 11–4.IdahoJoe CiprianoJim Goddard Cipriano left to coach Nebraska.Idaho StateJohn EvansJames Nau La SalleDudey MooreBob Walters MarshallJule RivlinEllis T. Johnson MassachusettsMatt ZunicJohnny Orr NebraskaJerry BushJoe Cipriano NorthwesternWilliam RohrLarry Glass RiceJohn FrankieGeorge Carlisle RichmondH. Lester HookerLewis Mills RutgersDonald WhiteBill FosterSeattleVince CazzettaClair MarkeyBob Boyd Texas A&MBob RogersShelby Metcalf TulaneClifford WellsTed Lenhardt VirginiaBilly McCannBill Gibson West Texas A&MMetz LaFolletteJimmy Viramontes XavierJim McCaffertyDon Ruberg
References