The 1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1961, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 24, 1962, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cincinnati Bearcats won their second NCAA national championship with a 71–59 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Season headlines
The Associated Press (AP) Poll changed format, abandoning the Top 20 format it had used since its inception in the 1948–49 season and becoming a Top 10 poll.sports-reference.com Matchup Finder Cincinnati's national championship was its second in a row as well as second overall, and the national championship game was a rematch from the year before between Cincinnati and Ohio State. The 1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament set a new attendance record for an NCAA tournament, with a combined 177,469 fans attending its 29 games.Smith Barrier, "Unusual West Coast Watch Factory -- They Don't Make Any, Just Win Them", 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, Published by College Athletics Publishing Service The Border Conference and Mountain States (or Skyline) Conference both disbanded at the end of the season.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The Top 10 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1Ohio State2Cincinnati3Wake Forest4USC5Providence6Purdue7Duke8Kansas State9St. John's10Seattle UPI CoachesRankingTeam1Ohio State2Cincinnati3Kansas State4Providence5Duke6Purdue7USC8Arizona State9West Virginia10Wake Forest
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference non-University Division NCAA University Division independent
Regular season Conference Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAthletic Association of Western Universities UCLA None selected No TournamentAtlantic Coast Conference Wake Forest Len Chappell,Wake Forest2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1962 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) Wake ForestBig Eight Conference Colorado None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Ohio State None selected No TournamentBorder Conference Arizona State No TournamentIvy League Yale None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference St. John's No TournamentMid-American Conference Bowling Green State None selected No TournamentMiddle Atlantic Conference Saint Joseph's No TournamentMountain States (Skyline) Conference Utah No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Bradley & Cincinnati None selected No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky State None selected No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Kentucky & None selected No TournamentSouthern Conference West Virginia Rod Thorn, 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1962 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 SMU & Carroll Broussard, No TournamentWest Coast Athletic Conference Pepperdine Harry Dinnel, Pepperdine, & , No TournamentYankee Conference Massachusetts None selected No Tournament Conference standings
University Division independents A total of 47 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Loyola of Illinois (23–4) had the best winning percentage (.852), while (24–5) and (24–6) finished with the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Villanova Hubie White, Villanova Villanova finished with a 4–0 record 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 Len Chappell C/F Senior Wake Forest Terry Dischinger F Senior Purdue Jerry Lucas F/C Senior Ohio State Billy McGill C Senior Utah Chet Walker F Senior Bradley
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Jack Foley G/F Senior Holy Cross John Havlicek F Senior Ohio State Art Heyman F Junior Duke Cotton Nash F Sophomore Kentucky John Rudometkin F Senior USC Rod Thorn G/F Junior West Virginia
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Paul Hogue, Cincinnati 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): Hubie White, Villanova NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): LeRoy Ellis, St. John's
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonBoston CollegeDino MartinFrank Power Power will continue to be the Freshman coachBucknellBen KribbsGene Evans ColgateHoward HartmanBob Dewey DenverHoyt BrawnerTroy Bledsoe Eastern Kentucky StatePaul McGrayerJim Baechtold Hardin–SimmonsBill ScottLou Henson Memphis StateBob VanattaDean Ehlers Vanatta left to coach Missouri.Middle TennesseeEd Diddle Jr.Bill Stokes MissouriWilbur StalcupBob Vanatta MontanaFrosty CoxRon Nord Montana StateDobbie LambertRoger Craft New MexicoBob SweeneyBob King OklahomaDoyle ParrackBob Stevens Ole MissB. L. GrahamEddie Crawford PacificVan SweetDick Edwards PrincetonJake McCandlessButch van Breda Kolff RutgersTony KuoltDonald White Saint Mary'sJim WeaverMike Cimino Santa ClaraBob FeerickDick Garibaldi South CarolinaBob StevensChuck Noe Stevens left to coach Oklahoma.SyracuseMarc GuleyFred Lewis Virginia TechChuck NoeWilliam Matthews Noe left to coach South Carolina.
References